Our Self-inflicted Honeymoon in Singapore

By  Nasirah A. R.

Being two young adventurous people –  determined to not fit into society’s stereotype of a “married couple” and yearning to do something completely different to mark the start of wedded bliss, we decided to put our ability to work as a team to the test. Indeed in hindsight, I think I really am crazy to have gone along with it.

He knows that I really hate the outdoors, and I know that children make him nervous. There is no one else I know, who actually stutters and suddenly becomes incompetent around children. And that was how we decided to spend our honeymoon together; outdoors with children.

Our close friend runs a holiday camp for children ages 9 to 11 and has always mentioned the need for a new program, to keep things fresh and new.  “Let’s do this!” he gamely said and before I knew it, a day after our wedding, we were finalizing the details of this camp that we were about to run.

Basically, it involved exhausting the children out at Sentosa (an island theme park in Singapore) with a treasure hunt and activities, like trekking and swimming with the dolphins. The night ended with all of us camping out at Under Water World – a huge indoor aquarium.

Both of us were stretched to our limits. I hated all the running around, under the sun.  I was completely irritable and in so much physical pain, for some reason. My poor husband had to pull himself together and battle the ongoing mental challenge. I caught him sneaking off to collect himself, muttering “I love children” like a mantra, hoping desperately that if he said it enough, it would come true.

By the time night fell, and we finished rounding the children up and getting them to settle down in their sleeping bags under the gorgeous man-made ocean, both of us must have harbored so much resentment for each other. He settled in at one end of the aquarium with the boys and me, with the girls, on the other end. I remembered regretting our decision to torture ourselves, right at the beginning of our lives together. There’s a reason why it was called the “honeymoon”. We’re supposed to be in bliss. Yet, there I was, sweaty and a little sun burnt and sore – and not from titillating newly wedded sex either!

I was on the verge of tears, when my phone vibrated. “Meet me in the middle of this aquarium.” Sure, so short and curt. I got up and huffily stormed over. I was determined to make sure that he knew how unhappy I was with his “clever idea.” He motioned me to keep silent and grabbed my hand, directing me to press my face close to the aquarium.

And there it was. I giggled. Two great white sharks were dancing in the ocean for all to see. “They are making love,” I whispered.  It was like a scene out of National Geographic, right in front of our eyes.

He turned to me and said, “Look at where we are. A stingray just swam right across our heads, and I’m watching sharks mate with the love of my life, after what feels like the toughest day of my life. There was a point in time where I thought that I would rather be back at the office on my own honeymoon! But then I saw you, encouraging the kids not to give up their treasure hunt, despite knowing how much you hate the sand and the sea... and grass. It just proves to me that we can do anything.”

And he’s right. Together we can, and we have, since that faithful night under the sharks.