People say you find love when you least expect it……and a hostel pool party on Koh Phi Phi, Thailand was the last place we expected to find it. Rich was backpacking through Southeast Asia on his way to Australia, and I was teaching English at a primary school in a small Thai town. We were on two completely different paths, yet from the moment we met, we knew we were onto something special. We spent the next few weeks exploring the area around my town, Phang Nga: taking scooter rides to deserted beaches, waterfalls and temples, bringing him to class to meet my students, and getting to know each other (ie: confirming he was not a psychopath I had invited to stay in my apartment). When Rich’s flight for Australia came, we had a choice to make: say our goodbyes and leave it as a magical few weeks of memories OR…. go for it.

We went for it.

We spent a year in Australia, followed by 4 months of backpacking in Asia, 1 year of long distance between The Netherlands and California, and finally…I moved to Amsterdam. 6 and a half years after we met, he asked me to marry him while we stood on the whitewashed cliffs of Milos, Greece. It was the easiest yes yet.

- Annabel