Saying ‘I love u’ in the hectic city

JAKARTA. Hanging out in the city with loved ones poses a few challenges for some busy couples, who find it hard to express their love to each other while fighting the blistering heat, notorious traffic jams and hectic schedules.

Putrama Tuta, 31, and his wife, Ilya Sigma, are busy with filmmaking projects and two children. Like other urban couples dealing with the hustle and bustle of Jakarta, they struggle to find a mutually convenient time to sit together.

“It’s hard to get some time together because both of us are rarely at home,” Tuta told The Jakarta Post recently.

He said their best dating place was in front of the television, watching DVDs and eating home-cooked or takeaway food.

Tuta said the most romantic thing he had ever done was when he proposed to Ilya with the help of her favorite band playing her song. Although they may not be able to celebrate Valentine’s Day on Thursday, as Tuta will be away on a film shoot, the couple who love diving have made a plan to make up for it later with an out of town vacation.

Another couple enjoys getting away from the sweltering heat in the capital city and heading to vibrant culinary places.

“We love to swim together on weekends or escape to Puncak in Bogor to enjoy the cool air and relax. We also like hunting for restaurants that serve delicious steaks,” said Veronica Y. Prawitasari, a resident from Rawamangun in East Jakarta.

The 28-year-old said although her husband was not the most romantic kind of guy, she still expected to be treated to a romantic dinner on Valentine’s Day.

“I hope we can have dinner at the rooftop restaurant in the BCA Tower. It would be very romantic. My friends tell me the place is nice,” she said, referring to the Skye lounge and bar, which is located on the 56th floor of the BCA Tower on Jl. MH Thamrin, Central Jakarta.

Love has been in the air a few days ahead of Valentine’s Day. Some shopping malls and hotels have started offering various programs and food promotions. Meanwhile, red and pink roses are the in things, with prices doubling and even tripling at the Rawa Belong flower market in West Jakarta.

Merry, the owner of Aurora florist and two other shops, said the Semi-Holland red rose was the best-selling flower because it had a fine quality but was less expensive than roses imported from Ecuador and India.

Semi-Holland roses are grown with imported seeds in local areas, such as Bandung.

“We sold some 250 Semi-Holland bouquets on Monday and Tuesday and had orders for 150 bouquets for Wednesday alone. We have run out of red roses now and only have imported ones,” she said on Tuesday.

A bouquet of 20 Semi-Holland roses at her shops comes with a price tag of Rp 175,000 (US$18), while a bouquet of imported India roses costs Rp 300,000. The price of local roses from Malang, East Java, have tripled from Rp 25,000 to Rp 80,000 per bouquet for the special day.

Expressing love may be a bit different for older couples who may consider flowers and candlelit dinners a little odd in their relationships.

Septuagenarian couple Mien Uno and Razif Halik Uno, who have been married for more than 47 years, recalled their dating days while living in Bandung, West Java; days that they said were far from fancy.

Businesswoman and ethics expert Mien said he often arranged to meet Razif at the zoo in Cihampelas, which was located between their two campuses.

“At that time, people didn’t display affection in public because we were taught it was unbecoming. We don’t say ‘I love you’ out loud.”

After they got married, the couple lived in Riau province for 10 years before moving to Jakarta.

“Spending time together during the first years in Jakarta was already hard back then, because sometimes we had to work on weekends. We tried to be flexible, so we did not complicate life by forcing each other to meet up at certain times,” Mien said.

Before the presence of cellular phones and dating services, the couple used to communicate their feelings for each other in letters that they left in certain places at home for the other to find.

A well-planned activity such as a candlelit dinner is not on her list of romantic acts. To her, romance should be spontaneous.

Nowadays, a gym at a five-star hotel in South Jakarta has become the couple’s favorite place to get
together.

“When we have appointments in two different locations, my husband calls me to meet up at the gym, then we eat out and go home together,” she said. (Indah Setiawati, The Jakarta Post)