Globe Trotting Adventures

Tour guide and author Leesan has been travelling the world for nearly four decades.

The proboscis monkey is only found on the bornean island. — photos: Leesan

WITNESSING an army of red crabs marching their way to the coast on Christmas Island was a wonderful spectacle for tour guide extraordinaire, Dato’Sri Lee Ee Hoe.

“The crabs swarmed the roads, heading to the ocean for their annual migration in the external territory of Australia. I got to see this while on a visit to the island in 2016,” said Lee, more popularly known as Leesan, in an exclusive interview recently in Kuala Lumpur.

Leesan, 60, is the founder of tour and travel agency Apple Vacations. He still regularly leads tours, and writes the Travel Gab column (every second and fourth Saturday) for StarLifestyle.

Having experienced many special moments – like the one on Christmas Island – throughout his tour guiding career, Leesan was inspired many years ago to officially document his travels in a book…make that several books.

To date, he has authored six books, the latest being Isshokenmei, Story Of A Globe – trotter book in English (the rest are in Chinese), it is also his first autobiography.

It follows Leesan’s life from his early days of travelling right up to the wondrous adventures he’s embarked on post-pandemic.

Having travelled for close to 40 years now, Leesan said one of the things that fuels his passion for travel is the opportunity of discovering lesser-known destinations.

Being both a tour guide and an author allows him to introduce fellow travel enthusiasts or anyone eager to expand their global knowledge to fascinating destinations, be it in real-time or through his books.

“I am on a crusade to unearth hidden gems across the globe,” revealed the avid traveller, who has visited 141 countries and territories so far.

Leesan visited North Korea in 2016.

Leesan recommends going on the trans-Siberian railway.

Leesan enjoying a dip in icy cold waters of the North pole.

The early days
As someone who enjoys “being around people, making friends, exchanging knowledge and experience”, it only made sense for Leesan to carve out a career for himself in the tourism industry.

He got his first taste of leading tour groups during his teenage years in Johor – where he grew up – when he was commissioned by his school principal to organise “graduation trips”.

“I made phone calls, rented school buses and arranged accommodations and meals,” he shared, listing some of the things he was responsible for back then. This was also illustrated in one of the earlier chapters of his new book.

Inspired and perhaps also encouraged by the positive reactions he received for his organising skills, Leesan eventually founded a youth club with a group of like-minded companions in KL, after leaving school. Through it, they organised trips around Malaysia for other young folks.

“However, we later went on to pursue our own endeavours,” said Leesan.

Now thoroughly interested in pursuing a career in tourism, Leesan started working as a tour guide with several travel agencies in KL. “During my time as a guide and driver, I met travellers from around the world, such as Italy, Australia and New Zealand, which broadened my horizons.”

Leesan wanted to expand his knowledge in the business world, too, so he decided to head to Japan to further his studies in 1991, spending about half a decade there studying International Business.

He revealed that it was his time there that inspired him to use the name “Leesan”. “San” is a gender-neutral Japanese honorific, so “Leesan” simply protranslates to “Mr Lee”.

He also shared that his love for Japanese culture largely stems from the people he met during his time in the country. “It was the people I came across along the way that have helped mould me into the person I am today,” he said.

While in Japan, Leesan took up odd jobs to fund his studies; international students were allowed to work up to 20 hours a week back then, according to him.

One of the many people he greatly admired and had the privilege of working with was a chef named Toyoda. “He put his heart and soul into his job,” he recalled, saying that Toyoda’s unwavering dedication “sparked something in me”.

Inspired to follow in his employer’s footsteps, young Leesan went on to start his own business not long after returning to Malaysia in 1995.

Established in 1996, Apple Vacations has now become one of the top travel agencies in the country, specialising in group tours.

Leesan was even awarded the “Order Of The Rising Sun” honour by the Japan Embassy in Malaysia in 2015, to show appreciation of his contributions in promoting the tourism industry between Japan and Malaysia.

The Order Of The Rising Sun is a badge of honour introduced in 1875 by emperor Meiji in recognition of a person’s merit.

The tour guide was delighted to see red crabs on Christmas Island.

The author has also been to antarctica, and loves seeing the penguins.

Seeing the Serengeti migration was inspiring for Leesan.

Travelling the world
“I’ve dabbled in many things, but tourism has remained my favourite shtick,” said Leesan. His recent exploration took him (and a group of travellers) to Uluru, an ancient and sacred rock formation located in the expansive desert of Australia’s Northern Territory. He said that they were the first group of Malaysian tourists to set foot in the plains after the pandemic.

“Uluru is a sacred symbol to the Anangu folks, who inhabit the lands surrounding it. Learning about the history and culture linked to the place made our visit all the more fascinating,” said Leesan.

Travelling is more than just enriching one’s mind through the historical and cultural lessons one learns along the way. It’s also an eye-opening experience that will teach travellers to see a destination as is, and not a romanticised version of it. This is something that Leesan tries to stress to his readers and fellow travellers, in hopes of reshaping people’s perception of places.

He cited his most recent visit to Uganda in East Africa as an example. Although Uganda is often perceived as “dangerous and dirty”, Leesan said that the nation is really “blessed with spectacular nature, a rich culture and surprisingly friendly people”.

“The people are warm and hospitable, and the streets are clean as well,” he added.

Changing trends
The tourism landscape today has evolved, especially in terms of travellers’ mentality and expectations, the guide said. “Global disasters – the Asian Financial Crisis and Covid-19, for example have played a major role in the mindset shift,” he noted.

During the pandemic, when travels were restricted, Leesan recalled how he and his team started selling imported fruits and other products from Japan as a way to stay connected with their customers.

“With little to no improvement in domestic and international tourism, selling these items also helped to pay my employees’ salary, which ran up to about RM400,000 monthly,” he revealed.

Once travel bans were lifted, people were not only eager to explore again but they had also become more receptive to exploring new places, either on their own or with loved ones. “Covid-19 will always serve as a reminder to everyone of how precious life is,” said Leesan.

“There is a growing urgency to travel now, more than ever.”

Holidaymakers are seeking experiential travel opportunities, where they can truly immerse themselves in the destination.

Expanding on this, Leesan urged local tourism players to take advantage of Malaysia’s thriving ecotourism scene, as doing so will allow visitors to truly experience the country by engaging with its environment and people.

Malaysia has its own natural beauty worth checking out, he said, encouraging local travellers to explore our own backyard. “Sabah’s Danum Valley and Kinabatangan are home to many wildlife.

I was greeted by a troop of proboscis monkeys as we cruised along the Kinabatangan River, the second longest river in the country, which measures 560km in length. I took home not only beautiful memories of the place, but also lessons about the long-nosed primates,” he said.

This eco-educational trip is one of the memories he shared in his autobiography, along with more fascinating facts about the endangered proboscis monkeys.

Aside from natural wonders, Malaysia also has various urban attractions to offer.

In KL, for instance, workshops such as batik painting and pewter making have been a hit with visitors.

“These workshops have been one of the main draws among travellers. It’s always fun to experience activities that are unique to our country.

“To learn and truly experience a place, one has to travel with an open heart and mind,” he concluded.

Story By GISELE SOO