Once Upon A Honeymoon

Picture Courtesy

We were together for seven years before we got married. We never lived in the same city until marriage and hence, marriage was something we looked forward to, to spend time together and be with each other. Once the wedding date was fixed, we got busy with the preparations along with other stuffs to sort out like finding an apartment, household items shopping and other boring chores. In all this chaos, we forgot to plan our honeymoon and by the time we realised that, we were too tired to think about a getaway and add the bookings to be made for the honeymoon in our already overflowing list. 

To our surprise (a very pleasant one!), we were gifted with a honeymoon package to Udaipur. I jumped up to the offer, extended my joining date at work by one week, booked our tickets to Udaipur and all of a sudden, out of the blue, we were all set for a honeymoon - one that we never got to plan. Packing done, itinerary set, we were off to the airport for our honeymoon. We had a 3 day 2 night stay in Udaipur and I was all set to explore the place. I absolutely love travelling and when I get a chance to visit a new place I wish to explore the place inside out, even if it means being outdoor the whole day, walking, driving or even, having lunch on the go. So, it was with this hope and dream that I reached Udaipur. We had the hotel car waiting for us at the airport and from there, we were taken to the hotel, which was situated on the banks of Lake Pichola. The property, in itself, was stunning with orchards and gardens and everything about the place was picture perfect. We had a duplex suite room waiting for us and it was beginning to feel like a fairytale honeymoon.

And then it started. I wanted to explore the whole of Udaipur and if possible, the forts and other cities nearby.  He wanted to just chill in the resort and take a break. Each plan we made for the next hour ended with cribbing and fighting. The only thing that could calm me was a book and this time, for the first time as far as I can remember, I didn’t carry a book with me since I was on my honeymoon and who would need a book when you are taking your first getaway with the love of your life. Ha, the illusions of life! We tried accommodating both our plans but if we were going out, he would end up being irritated and if we were spending time at the hotel, I ended up sulky. Our perfect getaway was just not going the way I imagined it to be. Until then, I was made to believe that honeymoon was all about love, romance, holding hands while exploring the city and being happy. The whole glossy picture I’d painted in my mind of a honeymoon couple was totally shattered. Instead of holding hands and walking dreamily like newly weds, we fought and walked with a mindful distance between us. All in all, neither did I get to see the places properly and have a beautiful memory associated with it nor did he get the rest he dreamt of for his perfect honeymoon. Our first trip together, and we did each other’s dream trip and the idea of a perfect trip. 

Looking at it now, the trip did indeed give us memories (we are yet to decide if it’s good or bad) – memories of realizing our differences and letting us take our first step in adjusting and compromising to be the couple that we are today. We learnt to rather keep our expectations low and be overjoyed than be upset because nothing is working out as we dreamt.  We still joke about our disastrous honeymoon trip and now, rather than being haunted by how it went wrong, we laugh about it. It was indeed the best counseling we could ever get as newly weds.

Now, 6 years of being married to each other, we’ve learnt to understand each other better and learnt to live life midpoint where both of us sacrifice a part of our happiness for the other. There have been a lot of adjustments and compromises and that has surely made our life smoother, trips memorable and with that has come a lot of happiness. Yes, since our honeymoon we’ve been to many trips together and each trip has been better than the one before.And yes, we redid our honeymoon on our 5^th wedding anniversary. This time, though, we had a little boy accompany us and we went to the Andamans. We had the perfect getaway, we enjoyed each other’s company, reassured of our love for each other and we didn’t want to come back. There was no cribbing or grunting of any manner and we spent three days as honeymooners (or honeymooning parents?). And, I fell in love with him all over again!