By Lee San

In his book "To Let Go Or Not To Let Go", Chiang Hsun touched on the painting "Travelers Among the Mountains and Streams" by North Sung dynasty painter Fan Kuan, on display at the National Palace Museum in Taipei. From what I understand, many foreign artists are amazed by this masterpiece that depicts the grandeur of Chinese landscapes. I had the opportunity to see this painting myself in Taipei although I didn't quite understand it at that time!

And now, after reading the chapter "Woods" in Chiang's book, I suddenly come to the realization that Fan Kuan's painting is actually describing the universe and life, teaching the world how to confront the cruel reality.

I love the way Chiang Hsun looks at this painting. He says the world is huge and immense but human existence is so insignificant, and our personal feelings immaterial. Indeed, I do concur with him that we should take things in stride and fearlessly face all the challenges that come our way.

Unfortunately, "Some in our modern day world are still constantly burdened with all sorts of worldly preoccupations, leading their busy lives day after day. Just like the travelers in the painting, even though the road ahead appears wide, there is no breakthrough in their journey. They don't see the sky above them, as they don't even have time to lift their heads…" Such an interpretation seems to be reflecting the extremely stressful living environment of people. As a result, people keep grumbling and are perpetually frustrated. Indeed, in the vast expanse of space, human existence is too minuscule to be of any worth and therefore all our grumbling has become redundant and futile. When we feel lost, we can always choose to face the eventualities boldly. We must learn to take things easy. Looks like Fan Kuan's painting can be interpreted in more ways than one!

During the RMCO, I stepped into the age-old rainforest with a bunch of like-minded traveler friends, to Kinabalu National Park, Mulu Caves, and the forests and hills along the mighty Kinabatangan river… Walking across the shallow creeks inside the thick virgin forest, listening to the flow of the river, every turn we make promises the exciting discovery of life in its crudest forms. Walking in the gyrating shadows of tropical foliage, beneath us is mud and decayed branches, but over our heads are budding new leaves! As the ancient saying goes, the fallen leaves are not heartless objects, as they'll turn into spring soil to nourish the flowering shrubs. Additionally, wherever we go, we hear the insects hum and see butterflies flutter their wings along, some having only this couple of days in their entire lifetimes! Despite their brief existences, they struggle so hard to live their lives. What a wonderful teacher Mother Nature is!

Fan Kuan, the ancient Chinese printer, once said: Instead of imitating the styles of earlier painters, why not observe closely things around us? Instead of attentively studying the objects and scenes around us, why not explore our own styles and skills? Because of that, Fan decisively embraced a teacher closest to his own characters: Nature, and hence the "Travelers Among the Mountains and Streams", the most prominent artistic masterpiece during the North Sung dynasty.

As for me, now standing under the tremendous pressures of real life, I have opted to change my angle and look at things from a different perspective. Am I ready to let go of something in the prevailing coronavirus pandemic?

As such, I need to be constantly on the move. Because of the virus, I find myself in Perak's rustic fishing village Kuala Kurau, visiting the time-honored Joo Hong Chan salted egg factory, and having very intimate talks with its third generation owner Tan Swee Lee in our first ever meeting. Tan and his wife have devoted their time to the preservation of rich traditional flavors that appeal tremendously to the gluttons. They even took the trouble to personally show us how to make salted eggs. Indeed, we could feel a strong sentimental bond as if we were instantly transported back to granny's house. As a matter of fact, superior craftsmanship has been in existence mostly outside of people's knowledge in our midst!

But that's not all! The creative Hor Ka Sai hot coffee by the Kor Lau coffee shop brothers, the traditional chai koay, fish noodle, prawn fritters and other local delicacies from the street hawkers nearby, all have been inherited for generations!

Kuala Kurau's sunset is mesmerizingly beautiful. I was sitting on the 200HP boat of the captain's fat neighbor boy, listening to his stories of this fishing village. The sad thing is: the fattened siakap raised in the fish farms here have hardly any buyer at all.

Like me, I believe many people go on local tours only because they can't travel abroad due to the microscopic germs. While the pandemic has hit very hard on people's lives, at least it gives us a unique opportunity to explore home destinations that are so near yet so far away. Do you know that you will not only discover whole new meanings of life in the journey, you'll also bring cheers and blessings to people you come across?

Life is like a circle. Stepping out of it is way better than locking up yourself inside the cocoon of miseries and endless grumbling. Don't you agree?

I need to make mention here of the two travelers on donkeys at the bottom right corner of the "Travelers" painting. The destination ahead of them represents the prosperity of the material world, but they are just rushing through their day-to-day routines, preoccupied with their current hardships and burdens and not noticing the many excitements life has to offer as well as the spiritual realms beyond.

Reading up till this point, will you momentarily put aside all the stuff that is bothering you now, and lift  your head to gaze at the clear blue sky or just go on a short trip with me?

P/S: I'm writing this aboard a local tour bus almost three months since Go Apple Cuti-Cuti first took to the road.

(Lee San is Founder and Group Executive Chairman of Apple Vacations. He has traveled to 132 countries, six continents, and enjoys sharing his travel stories and insights. He has also authored five books.)