KUALA LUMPUR: IN September last year, avid photographer and building-climber Keow Wee Loong, 28, scaled the world’s highest bridge, China’s Beipanjiang Bridge over Beipan River that connects Guizhou and Yunnan provinces in the country’s mountainous region.
Scaling the 564m-high bridge, he got inside the crane cage hoisted 740m above the bridge’s peak. With his feet placed firmly on the cage bars, he held up a sign that reads: “Will You Marry Me?”
Keow’s grand proposal, which has a happy ending, was picked up by news portals around the world.
Better known as Kiwi Loong to his Facebook and Instagram fans (he prefers to remain anonymous and refused to have his picture taken for this interview), the couple are now planning for the big day, set to take place sometime this year.
Here is Keow’s story.
“I was born in Kuala Lumpur and my parents split up when I was 12.
“When I was 21, I wanted to take my own life when I found out that my girlfriend of five years had cheated on me. My life changed completely after that and that’s when I began to see life in a different light.
“I began to develop an interest in photography and travels shortly after that. To me, the world is my oyster and there is so much to discover.
“I met my fiancee when I was in Fukushima (exclusion zone) in Japan to photograph the aftermath of the horrors and destruction following the The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011.
“During the trip, I lost a huge amount of cash. I just came back from making a police report and was looking for Wi-Fi connection to access the Google map, when I came across the family mart where my fiancee worked. You can say that I met my future wife when I was searching for Wi-Fi!
“She is originally from Poland and she speaks fluent Japanese. We talked a lot and found many things in common.
“She told me that she had been following my travel photography posts. She also gave me food and helped me got back on my feet.
“I remember having no money but wanted to give her flowers and thanked her for her kindness. So, I grabbed a bunch of flowers from the street (the gesture was shared on his Facebook account) and gave them to her.
“My initial plan was to take my proposal picture on top of China 117 Tower, the tallest building in Tianjin. However that plan fell through.
“For the next three weeks, my videographer and I went to Beijing, Wuhan and Shanghai, with the intention to be on top of their skyscrapers and get our shot. However, the plans did not work.
“I almost gave up when I saw news about the completion the Beipanjiang Bridge on TV in Shanghai.
“So, we took a 27-hour journey by train to Liupanshui in the Guizhou province. It was cold, with temperature between eight and nine degrees Celsius.
“To get to the bridge, we had to hike up to the mountain, which took three hours. There was nobody around because it was the Mid-Autumn festival. So, I went up with the help of a bridge crane that was there. Finally, we got the shot.
“I didn’t tell my girlfriend about this until we had our vacation in Bali in November.
“I posted the photo on Facebook and asked her to meet me at the hotel restaurant. While waiting for me, she saw the post and started crying. When I arrived, she looked at me and shouted ‘yes’.
“We created quite a scene at the restaurant, with people cheering and congratulating us. I don’t see myself as a romantic person at all. I just wanted to make it a special day for her. Some people do it with songs, others do it with a dance.
“But I can’t sing and dance, so I do the one thing that I can — scaling high buildings and professing my love this way.”