A walk to remember

When it comes to cherishing The New Paper Big Walk, not many can top Mr Chris Lim and his wife Linda Lim.

The civil servant, 29, popped the question to his then-girlfriend in front of thousands at the 2011 Big Walk, at Siloso Beach.

Since then, they have always made it a point to commemorate Nov 7, the day he proposed.

This year, they will be going on a holiday to Taiwan, a trip they had planned some time ago.

That's the reason why they will skip the upcoming The Big Walk, which returns this year on Nov 30.

He said: "It's both a birthday trip for her and a holiday trip for the both of us."

Said Ms Lim, 25, an admin executive: "We will want to take part again. If we miss this year, we'll try again next year." Mr Lim agreed.

He said: "The Big Walk was a very meaningful event for me as it was just the two of us attending together and also a way to tell her my wish of walking with her till the end."

The Lims had their solemnisation ceremony on March 1 and plan to have their wedding ceremony in 2016.

FIRST BIG WALK

The 2011 event was their first Big Walk.

This year's walk, which will take the scenic route on the Benjamin Sheares Bridge, is presented by the Singapore Turf Club.

Ms Lim said: "We wanted to join previous Big Walks, but we couldn't because of our working schedules."

The route has always been a major motivator.

She said: "The Big Walk locations are always very exciting, such as the year we went to Universal Studios.

"We also wanted to go for the one (that skirted) Gardens By The Bay (in 2012) but weren't able to."

Ms Lim said the proposal at the 2011 Big Walk took her by surprise.

"I was excited that day as we were attending the Big Walk and going to Universal Studios, so I didn't suspect anything strange going on."

Mr Lim said that he had been mulling over proposal ideas in the days leading up to the Big Walk. Marrying the two seemed to be the perfect strategy.

SMOOTH

With the help of TNP's event organisers, the proposal went off without a hitch.

"The plan was to announce the winner for a lucky draw, and then call her up to receive the prize, except that I was the prize," he added cheekily.

When the story of his proposal appeared in TNP the following day, Mr Lim was surprised.

"I didn't know it was going to be on the front page. I bought 10 copies of The New Paper that day and cut out the pages one by one. I even showed it to my parents and her parents."

lwenqi@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Nov 6 2014.
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