What is a memorable date idea that you've experienced or would love to try on DateGlows?

Question

Sumeet Sharma · Answer

It was the summer of sophomore

Nervous was she, and I was even more

I arrived early to lay down the perfect plan

The coffee shop rigged

The waiter instructed with the commands

I was sitting at the table facing the door

Sweating and nervous

Anything worse, I couldnt ask more

And there she arrived in all whites

Surreal, the view was a delight.

Glances exchanged and a warm hug

Her habit of being late, responded by a shrug

On came the waiter following the sign

Her coffee with a creamy smile

The Bryan Adams on the cafe speakers

The best extra 200 invested in a while

Unfortunately the summer was too hot

For the flower I had brought

But she was so sweet and radiant

Those sparkling eyes responded so brilliant

The talks went on and time just froze

An hour past and her time to leave was close

A little ache as she moved away

Disappearing across the door

And like a parched land awaiting it to pour

Dissolved, submerged in my thoughts

Did I fare good or something went wrong?

And the cellphone blinked

Momentarily slipped a beat

While I opened the text to read

“Thanks for such a lovely evening,

The little things you remembered

Mean more to me than anything”

And things moved on,

Six years later I sit at the same place

Writing this song

Remembering her and the little things

The excitement of waiting

The funny feeling in your head

As your eyes are fixed on the door while the clock is ticking.

Alas the door is the same

But these memories are all that remain.

Anne Vitiello · Answer

I am 54 years old and have forgotten more dates than I can remember, good, bad and everything in between. Certain moments shine through and I was tempted to detail some of the most beautiful and creative gestures made by my Ex Husband and one or 2 other good men I’ve known. But, for it’s simplicity and chivalry, this date with my college sweetheart comes to mind most clearly:

It was a lovely and seasonally cool Spring day and we were taking a walk in the national zoo, Washington DC. While we were strolling in the aviary, a huge bird somewhere overhead took a perfectly-timed giant crap which landed on my shoulder and in my hair, and from there dripped down the front of my shirt partially landing on my hand. It looked as if a lawnmower had been driven through mud and spat a loogie on me.

So of course my picture of the perfect romantic afternoon was shattered and I was horrified at the thought of walking around in my bird-poopy shirt all the way out of the zoo. Since the shirt was already a wreck, I started to wipe my hair and hand with it, muttering vague omg’s…

He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t laugh at me (Well, he may have smirked). He smoothly took off his shirt (no undershirt!), and insisted that I wear it to cover up. We left the zoo with me feeling cared for and relieved, and this romantic young man’s head held high as if nothing were strange — getting odd glances and the snickering of strangers due to his shirtless appearance on a day when long sleeves, or even a sweater or light jacket would have been appropriate.

In a current social environment (where a young guy might be more likely to laugh at her and share an instagram pic of his shat-upon date before even thinking about helping her out and easing her embarrassment), this memory reminded me of how simple thoughtfulness beats grand gestures when it comes to romance.

Cathy Gardner · Answer

By way of background, not so very long ago, I was invited out on a date: we had met up for coffee previously, but this was our first ‘proper’ date. We went to a pub for an evening’s entertainment with a live band playing. The music impaired the flow of our conversation a little, but I was still able to get the general gist of comments. Our sporadic conversation shifted to entertainment: I mentioned that I had enjoyed watching horror films from an early age, especially ones with interesting special effects, such as The Omen (1976) and The Evil Dead (1981). He replied that he had worked on a cult British horror film in the early 1990s with Christopher Lee and we discussed some of the technical aspects of the death scenes, but not much more was said on the matter, as I confessed that I had not seen the film.

Fast forward to the end of the evening. I took a bus home and shortly after I arrived through the front door and waved off the babysitter, I noticed a text from my date: ‘the film is on now’. I dutifully turned on the television and changed the channel, only to witness an image of my date from that evening, dressed as Jester, with a copious amount of make up and prosthetics, forcibly spraying a large off-white removals van with the contents of his extended codpiece. He then proceeded to open the van door, take out a porn magazine and declared “Sorted.”

The image and actions of my date did not improve as the film progressed, as he proceeded to slaughter the rest of the cast. Admittedly, the high point for me was the vision of him singing in a faux Bavarian accent, whilst performing burlesque in stockings, French knickers, huge high heels, with a pair of extensive prosthetic boobs and titty tassels. The image was enough to make me fall off my sofa hooting with laughter: I momentarily wondered if I was going to wake the children up.

I later asked if he still had the prosthetic boobs (it transpired that he had and used them on a night out during a promotional trip to Cannes for the film festival, as the film had been nominated for the International Fantasy Film Award in 1995). He kept them precariously perched in a cupboard: a potential ‘booby trap’, no less.

So, bearing the personal dimension in mind and after getting over the initial shock of realising that I had been dating a (cinematic) homicidal maniac, what did I think of the film? I have reviewed the film elsewhere (Cathy Gardner's answer to What is your review of Funny Man (1994)? [ https://www.quora.com/What-is-your-review-of-Funny-Man-1994/answer/Cathy-Gardner-7 ]) and meeting Tim first did have a positive influence on my viewing. I also heard some interesting stories about the filming and production that made me view it with a slightly more appreciative eye.

To be honest, it was the contrast of the date, with the images that followed, that made it so memorable, rather than the date itself.

Howie Reith · Answer

My favorite date I've ever been on was when I was 18 years old. It was fantastic, but kind of lightning in a bottle, especially for my level of social awareness at the time, so I don't know how easily it can be re-created.

I'd bought a ticket to see my university's drama club perform a show that night and she and I happened to arrive very early. Since we were the only people there, we started chatting. She knew one of the cast-members who let us get seats and hang out in the audience while they were getting ready. For thirty minutes we got to hang out, talk about theater, and make jokes about what was going on on-stage. Then we got to watch the show and share our thoughts on it after.

While we walked around campus we saw a sign for a "Double-R rated hypnotist" show happening in one of the dorms. It sounded awesome, and it was free for students, so we ventured in and sat down. It was great. The guy made students give each other lapdances, have imaginary sex with their favorite celebrity, feel imaginary tongues licking their privates, and more. It was sexy, funny, and a blast.

After that we grabbed some ice cream and she invited me back to her dorm. It was a long walk, but an enjoyable one. We stayed together for six months.

Looking back on it, there were a few ingredients to this date that I think made it so great.

* Spontaneity
 * Lots of moving from place to place
 * Lots of scenarios where we were identified as a pair of people amongst "others"
 * Activity that involved sexual themes
As such, I tend to recommend a similar formula when planning dates.

* Plan three distinct activities that you will do together
 * Anything that encourages sexual tension is good
 * Avoid spending money or committing to your second and third activities such that if something spontaneous comes along, you can bounce without losing anything
As such, here are some solid date ideas I recommend:

* Drag show (seriously, the best date)
 * R-Rated hypnotist show
 * Improv show (preferably with audience participation and sexually themed)
 * Dance class (especially if the dancing is sexual)
 * Rent a hot tub (this one is very bold; I've only done it once, but she loved it)
Those are probably my top five "if you can't find sexual chemistry on these dates, you don't have any" ideas. Of course, there's a lot more to a successful relationship than finding out if you want to bang. I tend to recommend these activities as "Part 3" in a three-part date, once you both know you're not creepy, insane weirdos and you're comfortable letting your hair down. Precede them with whatever you like, preferably something that involves talking (so not a movie).

Have fun!

Sunny Carrol Moreno · Answer

My husband had me hop in the ranch truck and drove us to a location on the ranch I wasn't familiar with. When we finally bounced our way to the exact location he turned off the engine and said just wait for it and you'll see.

It was later in the evening of hay season in eastern Oklahoma. He had brought me to this beautiful freshly baled pasture that is lined with large oak trees to the west.

Less than five minutes passed and he came around and opened my door, took my hand and we rushed to the front grill guard where he said, “Ok, now look and he pointed to the sun setting on top of the tree line.”

That was the MOST THOUGHTFUL and innocent gesture of love and adoration I have ever been shown.

That moment is something that is out of imaginary fairy tales. But that evening on that day it was my heartmelting reality.

It sure feels nice to be loved and feel free to love back.

Blake · Answer

What's the most memorable date I've been on?

Well, mine was memorable for all the wrong reasons.

There was this guy in my main group of friends I had a crush on. I'd kept it to myself for a while before finally coming clean about it. He never really rejected me, but he didn't become my boyfriend or anything. After a while we were playing a game of online Uno with my friends when someone decided to try to add more excitement to the game by adding the rule, ‘whenever you win, you can ask another one of the players a favour. Anything, anytime.’ My crush won three rounds and I won one. No one else won any and after a while people started getting bored of it.

My crush later asked me how far I was willing to go with the favours. I flirted with him and said I'd do anything. He asked if I'd send nudes and I said no. He quickly passed it off as proving the point I wouldn't do anything as I'd originally stated.

Over the course of a week or two we became closer, but he never really seemed to show any interest in me. He ended up convincing me to take my bra off in a private video chat. This sort of stuff continued for months before I finally realised how wrong everything was. Even weeks after I'd stopped doing stuff like that and he'd started going out with another girl, he still asked me for nudes.

Anyway, back to the point of the question. A few weeks into doing the video chats I worked up enough courage to use my favour to ask him on a date. He agreed to it, but said he'd be more comfortable going on a double date with some of our friends that were going to a local shopping centre on the weekend. I agreed, happy that he was willing to go on a date at all.

The time came for the date and the other girl bailed, having some family issue come up. It was just me, my crush and the other guy.

I showed up a few minutes before the time we'd agreed to meet. I have pretty bad social anxiety so I was really nervous, plus I made the mistake of having two coffees beforehand, making me even more antsy. Half an hour after the time we all decided to meet and I call my crush, asking where he is. He says he changed the time we were meeting an hour later than first agreed, but forgot to tell me. I was a little irritated, but more felt embarrassed for being there so early and making it seem like he was making me wait. The other guy showed up within the next few minutes, so I at least had someone to talk to whilst I waited.

We walked around the shopping centre for a while before getting lunch and drinks. Neither of the guys had much money so I ended up paying for everything. We went to the movies after that and I payed for that too. Three tickets to a popular movie theatre on a weekend is not cheap, especially for a young teen without a job.

The entire time we were walking around and eating, I could barely get a word in. The other guy even asked if I was okay few times because of how quiet I was being. They talked about video games and a bunch of other things that I wasn't familiar enough with to be able to contribute to the conversation. I ended up tagging along behind them, carrying the other guys skateboard for him.

I basically third-wheeled the two guys as they walked around and got them free lunch and movie tickets.

After the date my crush started spreading rumours that I was really going on a date with the other guy, which really pissed off the other guys girlfriend. She ended up being mad a me for a while.

About a week after the date I asked him out again, and he refused, saying I'd already used up my favour. I tried saying he'd used up his favours many times over yet I kept going with the video chats. He did what he always did in those situations and threatened to cut all communications with me. We barely spoke at school, despite having five out of seven of our classes together and hanging out in the same spot during breaks.

Like I mentioned before, after a few months I stopped doing the video chats after I realised how wrong it was. I really should have been able to tell from the start that nothing good would come of it and he wasn't worth having a crush on.

The one date we went on was so memorable for me because of how shit I felt the entire time. I was anxious from the start, ignored in the middle and after it I felt disappointed and betrayed when my crush started spreading rumours about me.

Anonymous · Answer

My girlfriend and I live in the Philippines. We live in the Negros (not being racist) Islands, which is the sugar capital of the Ph. The school I attended at was surrounded by sugar cane plantations. When school was over, we would walk around school, in our right, sugarcane fields, in our left, houses made of coconut wood and dried coconut leaves.

One time, on a date, we decided to walk in the middle of the sugar cane field. We bought a sugary drink which tasted vaguely like diluted lemon and walked in. A minute in, we forgot where our backs were and got lost in it. In the sugar cane fields, a whole new world was discovered by us. Patches of land where the cane refused to grow became our picnic spot. Canals where irrigation water flowed became something we jumped at and fished in. We would cut stalks of sugar cane , biting on the hard stalk and letting the sugary taste of the cane’s dew just flow from our mouths. There are canes that grew horizontally in the middle, strong enough to sit on. We sat there what seemed like hours. When the sun started to hide, we started to find a way out and made our way to a small village opposite of where we went in. The farmers suddenly looked at us in shock as if to say “where did these two kids in uniform come from?”

We shyly nodded to them as we walked away, trying to get ourselves in familiar territory. When we did, we both looked at each other and laughed. The sugar cane fields became our date place. Many things happened in the sugar cane fields. Sadly, the ground there isn’t as nourished as it once was, and now the cane’s refused to grow in such barren ground. Our love though, grew there, and it’s still growing among that barren soil.

Adarsh Kumar · Answer

She: Hi, you must be Adarsh.
Me: Nope, just a creep who likes to chat with cute girls with a pseudonym.

She (with a smile): That’s… definitely not awkward. I think I’ll regret agreeing to this date but I’ve heard the dessert here are great.
She settles into the chair opposite me.

Me: You must be great at Photoshop because you look really awful as compared to your Tinder DP.
She (blushing): You suck at giving compliments.

Me: Yeah, that’s because it’s my first time.
She: Just for the record you yourself aren’t any Tom Cruise.

Me (laughing): So I’ve been told before.
She: So you are a chemical engineer by choice?

Me: Yeah, in 5th standard I produced alcohol from sugar-cane. Since then I wanted to become a chemical engineer.
She: Ha ha…shall we order?

We ordered for dinner and spent a pleasant evening. Thereafter we left the restaurant just to take a long walk into the cool Mumbai night. Our fingers entwined and all thoughts paused. No words were spoken and the silence was broken only by the occasional passing of vehicles.

Finally she said, ‘This was the worst night of my life. You disgust me’ and hoped I couldn’t see the escaped beginnings of a smile which had fallen from her mouth.

‘The feeling’s mutual’, I replied holding her face in my palms looking deep into her sparkling eyes.

Something magical was about to happen in that moment and we both could feel it. And it did happen. Yes you guessed it right – a call from her dad.

P.S. It was mutually agreed before the date that no truth shall be spoken – only lies. It turned out to be one of the most interesting dates I have ever been to.

Louis Cheek · Answer

When I was in college, a very long time ago, I worked part time in a supermarket.

I met this girl who was a cashier and we started talking. I could tell that she was interested in me. I was in college and therefore a few years older than her, which I think was her attraction to me but it was a very long time ago and who knows or cares at this point.

I remember that we’d sometimes meet in the storeroom or cooler during breaks and she’d get on her knees and do that thing with her mouth. She wasn’t the best but she was eager and was trying.

The question is “The most fun/creative date?”

Well, she was always asking me to be my girlfriend and I could tell that she wanted me to do nasty things to her. Typical young woman, you give them a little attention and they want more and more. Her birthday was coming up and she was begging me to spend time with her for her birthday. I told her no way was I going to a birthday party! Period.

Her friend agreed to drive her car (really it was her mom’s car) while her and I rode in the backseat and made out. I’ll never forget, although I’d like to! They drove up to my dorm parking lot and I saw the friend and WOW 🤩! Her friend was hot, smoking hot! Her friend was redhead with beautiful blue eyes. I was trying to be cool 😎, but at that age I was way more horny than cool. It was not a big secret that I was allowing the supermarket cashier to take me in her car to seduce me and have her way with me. I knew that she was a virgin and wanted me to take her virginity. She had beach towels over the back seat.

Anyway, her friend drove and we made out in the back seat of her mom’s car. I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it, anytime a girl is eagerly crawling all over me is a good time. When they dropped me off, I made sure to discreetly reach up front and touch Trish’s face and slide my index finger across her lips. Trish was the girl who quietly drove us around while we destroyed Annette’s virginity. I was hoping that Trish received my message that I wanted her to be next.

She did, it turns out that she was a bit more experienced than Annette but not quite as eager. I mean she came to the store and met me when she knew her friend wouldn’t be there. I was glad that she did, I was infatuated with her beauty and her stature. This girl was like a goddess, I’m not kidding. She gave me her number (this was pre-cell phone) and we talked on the phone a couple times a week for a while. I was bringing Annette to my dorm room and banging her on a regular basis but I was itching to smash Trish!

It was a Wednesday night and I hadn’t talked to Trish in about two weeks, I had all but given up on her. I was getting off work late (closing shift) from the supermarket and Trish was parked next to my car in the parking lot. I walked up and started talking to her and forgot about going home. I was so glad to see her. We talked for about an hour, the parking lot was empty except for us. I was oblivious to time because she was beautiful and I admired her! Finally, she asked if she could follow me to my dorm. Of course I said yes. We had to be quiet because I had a roommate and we weren’t supposed to bring girls in the dorms back then.

We ended up waking him up, she was a moaner! He went out to his car and slept the rest of the night. She left after a couple hours because her parents were strict about her being home by 1am.

At this point I was still sleeping with Annette a couple times a week and Trish was sneaking in and out at least once a week. Life was good.

So, I got distracted telling my story but the answer to the question is, doing it with a virgin in the beach seat while her friend was driving us around the back roads.

I hope this helps.

Jeff Guttenberger · Answer

Circa 1961 I was a US Navy sailor stationed in Japan. On night riding through the city on my motorcycle I noticed a beautiful young Japanese woman staring at me. I cut a U-turn, stopped, and she climbed aboard without further ado. We went to a movie house, and drank a beer, then we went to a hotel. She was a very skillful lover, and guided me through our love making which lasted for hours. Suddenly she got up got dressed, and said she would be back. I was resigned to the fact that I would never see her again, and fell asleep. Later I woke up, and there she was, with the most beautiful Japanese woman that I had ever seen. They stripped down to their underwear, and jumped in bed with me. Too drained to do anything I slept blissfully, nestled between their warm bodies. [ I acquired a girlfriend after that incident, and we never connected again.]

Amy Anderson · Answer

This is such a great question! I enjoy dates that truly allow you to get to know one another and to see the individual in group settings. One great idea would be to try an escape room. It allows you to be in a group atmosphere but to also see how the other person responds under stress as well as assess their communication skills and style. Another idea might be to take a class together i.e. cooking class or dance class. This is a fun way to learn something together and takes some of the pressure off. However, I found an article that has great ideas for dating while married (as I am not sure if you are married). You can find it here. I hope these help and enjoy your upcoming dates!

Nathanial Lee Vigder · Answer

Oh…there's several.

1. The picnic. Going to the beach at about 1800 hrs, with a dinner we made together. (Or got as takeout from an agreed upon favored restaurant) on lake Michigan, on an evening with a particularly gorgeous sunset. Laying on a blanket, and eating and cuddling. Maybe feeding each other. Feeding the seagulls, swans and ducks.
2. The asocial meal: staying in, and making dinner for her, or even together, if she's interested, eating at the table, sitting next to each other. Then taking the projector outside, and sitting in one of those hanging chair/pods, like this:
And watching either a chic flick, or a war movie on a 400 inch screen while cuddling. And eating chocolate. I really need to get one of those chairs/pods. They look comfortable.

3. Asking her what she'd like. As long as it isn't at a fancy place, I'm all for it. Fancy food is gross. All those weird sauces, and foods that taste nasty. No thanks. And there's usually vegetables involved. Ew. I don't mean to sound selfish, but…really fancy places just make no sense to me. Over $200 per person, for a meal that honestly doesn't even taste very good? It makes no sense to me. It really doesn't. For the price, and quality? Eh. There are much better choices. If we want to dress up, we can always find other places to go, to be fancy. A play. A public event. Anything. Im flexible. Even an art gallery if she so desires. I do like wearing a suit and tie on occasion. It's not always blue jeans and a button up shirt.

4. After getting to know her a bit, piecing together her interests and passions, and putting together as many as possible, and creating a themed date, possibly lasting all day. Followed by an intimate meal, and…maybe cuddling. This would likely not be a 1st date though, as it takes awhile to get to know somebody to pull off something of this magnitude.

Anonymous · Answer

I met a woman at a party one Saturday night. We got on ok but I didn't think it would go anywhere

On Wednesday night that week she phoned me and asked this brilliant question, “What are you doing for breakfast on Sunday?”

I replied I had no plans.

“Great” she said. “Come over on Friday night with two bottles of wine and we'll talk about it “

She cooked a beautiful dinner, we got naked and did the deed. Neither of us got dressed again until late Sunday night when I went home exhausted.

I never saw her again.

Still the best pickup line ever!

Brian Lehr · Answer

Everybody loves good art right?

I'd known her for a while but this was a first date. After dinner together I drove her to an old neighborhood near the outskirts of downtown to a...wait for it...furniture store.

This was no ordinary furniture store, it was virtually an art exhibit staffed by interior designers. This old building which I believe was in an historic district was set up more like a walking tour of an aesthetically-pleasing, grand old home with theme-furnished rooms. Their use of antiques along with old and new woods, wall hangings, exotic area rugs and whimsical stuffed animals was so artful, while bold, vivid colors played off each other making a bedroom or living room seem like a destination rather than just a functional space.

The prices were higher there but the imagination and creativity of the designs were through the roof. The professionalism was high too. Whenever someone would send a message over the intercom, the recipient would always say "Thank you!"

A thought crossed my mind that my date might think it was odd going to a furniture store, so that part was kept a surprise, but this was a wonderful date for both of us.

Raviteja Chirala · Answer

Any place where you both get to spend time with each other. Don’t ever take to any place like movies where you can’t talk to each other. My favorite ideas.

* A food tour. Identify the favorite food choices to both of you and go to the food tour. You both get time to talk, walk and enjoy the food.
 * Walk the beach. If you live in a beach town or have access to any beautiful walk near the water then a walk followed by lunch or dinner. This idea is never disliked.
 * Old and traditional. Any nice restaurant with live music. This type of venue gives ample opportunity to both of you to get to know each other.
Finally, If you’re a Man don’t forget to take her flowers. Whether she likes you or not, flowers will make her smile.

Anonymous · Answer

I once had a date with a PanAm pilot (this was a while ago) that started off incredibly dull until I began asking questions about his work. He then woke up and became fabulously entertaining. And I learned a ton of cool stuff about flying and about airplanes, as well as collecting a bunch of hilarious anecdotes that I still use sometimes.

Anonymous · Answer

Yes… recently I met this guy online…. who lived quite far away but just to come and meet and be with me he drove down to see me like five times in five months which for his salary and his other goals, it was a lot of time, money and effort. And I loved him to bits for it… but then he said he can’t come and be with me till November next year and I can’t be waiting on hold for an entire year dating only once a month. My ultimate goal was for him to come here and we could both work on our dreams faster together.

But he can’t see how he can afford to do so and his dream simultaneously and he has chosen to follow his dream… and I can’t blame him. What a waste of time and effort for nothing… or to leave me “on hold”.

Unfortunately I have two separate dreams… one is to become financially independent on my own…. I’m almost there… and the second one is to find a supportive partner who is a dreamer just like me with whom I can build an empire with. The second dream could include him … but if I’m entertaining him bearing in mind how loyal I am and how exclusive we both are… it’s like putting both dreams on hold for him. And I have enough stress on my daily life to add up a long distance relationship to it. If it can’t be here and now I can’t put my life on hold for dreams he doesn’t want to come and build with me.

I know his hands are tied there still, but obviously that’s not the impression he gave me at first, the only reason why I entertained it… thinking that he was freer than he was. Now all of a sudden he can’t quit his job all that easily as he made it seem and well, that makes all the difference.

Sammy Miller · Answer

I like to do something fun that neither of us has done before, like a beginning class in swing dancing, flight/driving simulators, or pottery or cooking. Then, after we've shared this fun and built a memory together it's off to ice cream sundaes we go.

Besides being fun it's also strategic. Doing something new that may not be a strength for either of us tells me how he deals with awkwardness and pressure.

* If he laughs and has a good time being awkward together then he's a keeper.
 * If he gets mad and frustrated then he's not a keeper.
I've found that gently creating a little friction during a date let's you get a glimpse underneath all the “best behavior” and you get insight into who your date really is and not what s/he wants you to believe they are.

And, the keepers have a lot of fun with you and that's a great starting point for any relationship.

Ann · Answer

The first date I had with someone that was a lot of fun, I will suggest to you. He had driven in from another state for our date. I got in my Jeep; he was in the passenger seat. I pulled into a pizza joint, picked up a pizza and put it on the back seat and took off on a venture of a wonderful scenic drive into the mountains. Somewhere along the way, there was a picnic table and we sat and enjoyed a wonderful time in a wonderful setting with nature and a great appreciation for spontaneity!

Moha Khandelwal · Answer

Boyfriend and I had been dating for a while before my birthday in October came. My birthday falls in the first week of October and 2 years back , it happened to fall quite close to a long weekend. 3 days before my birthday, boyfriend called me in the evening and said he had a surprise for me and if I'd like to go for a trip. I live in Pune which has a lot of picnic spots around. Thinking we might be going away for the long weekend somewhere close by, I said yes. That night, he showed up to my place with a bag. I had an office call to attend, and by the time I was done with the call, he and my roommate had packed a bag for me. I was incredibly surprised and wanted to know where we are headed, but all I was told was that it's a surprise.

Next morning, he woke me up around 4.30, and told me we have to get ready as the cab. Now I am not a morning person, and was a little irritated at being woken up so early. I thought, 'ok, no issues, I'd sleep in the cab. Barely 20 minutes passed, and the cab stopped. I was at the airport. I kept asking me where we are headed, and all I could see was a huge smile on his face. After initial bag check in, I was finally handed my ticket. We were on our way to Andaman and Nicobar islands. And not just for the long weekend, for 5 day trip. I was a little surprised and happy but also a little annoyed thinking how I'd explain another 2 day off at work. Turns out he had already spoken to a good friend and teammate if she'd cover for me.

We reached Andaman and explored port Blair for 2 days. All in all a good trip. I was beginning to relax and enjoy and get in the holiday mood. On the third day we reached Havelock. The resort we stayed in was beautiful, right next to beach and with a lot of greenery. We visited the beach in the afternoon when it started to drizzle. He got a call after which he suddenly seemed very distracted and lost. I asked him if anything is wrong, and he told me all was well. That he didn't want it to rain. I didn't pay much attention to it. We spent our evening on the beach and when it was around dusk, we headed back. He was quiet during the ride back. We reached the resort and he went in to check something with the manager. I went in to change and shower. When I came out there was a nice dress laid out on the bed. He came in and told me it's his birthday gift. I wore the dress and was happily adoring it when he said let's head out for dinner. I thought it'd be a quick bite at the hotel restaurant. While we were walking, I saw a small pathway really lit with small floor lights. I was busy admiring them when boyfriend suggested, let's go there. The huge smile on his face had already told me something is up.

The lit up pathway led to a small clearing on the beach. Where a small sitting space was created with a table in the centre. There were small lights all around to give it a candle light effect.

I was overwhelmed. I was actually going to have my candle light dinner on the beach. I had read about this stuff and watched it in the movies, but never thought I'd someday experience it. We had a great dinner , danced on the beach and talked. After some time the manager showed up to ask if everything went okay. We complimented him on all the arrangements, and that's when I found out this resort is known for its candle light beach dinners, and it was only for this reason that boyfriend chose to travel all the way to Andaman from Pune. The manager later told me they almost cancelled it in the evening due to rain, and offered to have the whole setup in the covered porch area. But my boyfriend was so insistent on having this by the beach. That's the reason he was distracted all evening, hoping for the rain to stop.

What made this trip the most romantic was the effort and planning that he did to make it perfect. He saved up for weeks before the trip, and planned all this with the help of my roommate. Today we are happily married, with many domestic and international trips after that, but to this day, this remains my favourite and most romantic trip.