#RealTravel: My Vacation to Indonesia Led to Love
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Who: Sarah and Daniel Krings
Where we met: Pulau Weh, Sumatra, Indonesia
When: 2008
Relationship status: Married
(As told by Sarah)
In May 2008, I had just come out of a relationship, was bored with my job, and in need of a mini adventure. A good friend was working as a scuba diving instructor on an island called Pulau Weh off the tip of Sumatra, and she invited me to visit her. It sounded like the perfect place for a break.
There is a certain irony that I met my husband on this holiday because I was besieged with bad luck right from the start. The night before I left, the lock on the front door of my house failed for no apparent reason. It required me to call an emergency locksmith, which almost made me miss my flight. During the 22-hour trip, I had three flights. I almost missed one because of delays, and another had dysfunctional seat belts partnered with storm-induced turbulence. Then, when I finally arrived, my luggage hadn’t made it. Despite the bad start, I was excited, happy, and relieved when we eventually reached the beautiful island of Pulau Weh. The tiny, rocky tropical island is a small slice of heaven with jungles, volcanoes, lakes, and an emerald-green ocean.
When I arrived at my friend’s home on Iboih Beach, she took me to meet some of her fellow travelers. The first people I met were divers — including Daniel — who were chatting away about the currents and coral they had just experienced. Daniel could not have appeared less interested in me. He barely managed a smile, although I am not sure I even registered that at the time. Today when we discuss that first meeting, we agree that neither of us was interested in a relationship, so we almost deliberately didn’t make an effort. In fact, he thought I was a loud English girl, and I thought he was an arrogant German — both of which are probably true to a certain extent!
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However, as the days went by, we got to know each other. As it turned out, we seemed to have quite a bit in common, including our love of travel, adventure, and diving. Daniel and I had some good times on the dive boat and also in the evening over Indonesian food and a few beers.
We got together toward the end of our time on the island and had a few romantic days snorkeling, diving, and exploring the area on a motorbike. Daniel lived in Belgium and I was in the U.K., so we talked about visiting each other, but I was never convinced that it would actually happen.
He left the island before me, and I was quite sad that he had gone. We stayed in email contact for a few months afterward and then decided to meet up. I had plans to be in Belgium on a work trip and arranged to stay with Daniel. With trepidation I got off the train to meet him, and although I was excited, I couldn’t help but have doubts. Was this just a holiday romance and nothing more? Would we have anything to say to each other? Should I book an earlier train home?
All my fears were unfounded — we had a fabulous and memorable weekend. In fact, that was the official start of our relationship. The problem was, we still lived in different countries and had to make do with meeting up all over Europe as often as possible. Eventually we decided to really commit to each other and leave our lives behind for a year in South America. Daniel was offered a sabbatical, and we thought it was an opportunity too good to miss. To agree to spend a year backpacking together was, to us, the biggest commitment we could make to each other. So, we rented out our homes in Belgium and the U.K., left our jobs, and hit the road.
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About five months into our trip, we decided to climb Huayna Picchu, the mountain that spectacularly rises over the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu. At the very peak, Daniel proposed and I said yes. After a muddy and rocky two-hour climb, there were literally lots of sweat and tears during his proposal. Still, it was probably the most romantic moment of our lives.
That was a few years ago. Since then, we’ve moved a bit. We lived in Belgium for a while; got married in a beautiful stately home in Farnham, Surrey; and now reside in Kent. We both work in London — Daniel works in IT and I work in media. Both are exciting and busy jobs, but we still find time to travel whenever possible.
I often look back at those moments before I left for Indonesia when I was considering canceling the holiday and realize how incredibly fortunate I was to get on that plane.
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