Soon after, Mark whisked me away on a camping trip to the Outer Hebrides, where the rain came down sideways. But on the last day, after finally getting a bit of sunshine and under a sky full of stars, he asked me to be his girlfriend. I said yes, of course. I’d been waiting for him to ask ever since we pitched the tent on the first day. I had already told my best friend (and future bridesmaid) that he was the man I was going to marry.
Even so, I set off on my big adventure, knowing this was my moment to focus on myself and chase my dreams. After six months on a trip of a lifetime, chatting to Mark every single day, I came home with one thing crystal clear: I never wanted to experience anything like that without him again.
Since then, we’ve soaked up the sun in Portugal, skied in Switzerland, eaten our way through Vietnam, felt the desert dunes in Dubai, chased the northern lights in Iceland, caught COVID in Croatia, fallen in love with Bosnia and sailed down the canals of the Netherlands, organizing everything ourselves. We knew our next trip had to be more of an adventure, further afield. And that’s something we wouldn’t have had the confidence to do on our own—mainly because of the fear of missing out and the stress of organizing everything while balancing our jobs and house renovation.
During my six months in South America, I often spied Intrepid leaders in their red t-shirts, so I suggested that we check out their trips for inspiration. Borneo seemed to have it all: Wildlife, hikes, beaches. So we went for it. I had no idea I was booking my engagement trip. Yet in Mark’s head, as soon as he realized we’d be climbing Mount Kinabalu, he knew that was where he was going to pop the question.