The car turned into the increasingly sparsely populated mountain road, and the mood changed accordingly. When we arrived at the camp, photographer Allen and herb chef Lan Weihua were elegantly drinking hand-made coffee and admiring the scenery under the canopy - they had already spent the night before.Set up camp first so that you can enjoy a complete day of mountain life the next day.Going up to the mountain twice a month for three days and two nights of camping has been a great pleasure for the couple in the past five years. Allen regards camping matters, big and small, as challenges and studies them in depth. He will carry out the camping to the end, rain or shine, and camp with him.My friends also gradually formed a camping style that is unique and integrated with each other.
Text: Jessin Tu / Photography: Ivy Chen / Picture provided: Allen Tao
The tent is the viewing window
Sitting in the earth-toned double-door tent decorated by Allen, you can feel the slower flow of time and the beauty of the outside world. The furnishings are elegant and exquisite, and the colors and styles from the lighting to the objects are coordinated, and all the small daily necessities are stored without leaving any trace., it’s hard to imagine that this was the tent where the two slept overnight.The view from the tent was the perfect camera spot chosen by Allen with his photographer’s eye, offering sweeping views of the open mountain landscape.As a photographer, Allen’s camping experience is very visual. “The location I choose is a bit like looking through the viewing window of my camera. I will definitely choose the campsite with the best view and try to avoid railings, faucets, wires, etc.” Allen’s camping selection is not restricted by brands and does not follow the lightweight route. Camping can be so comfortable and freehand, and can be done as you like. Every small detail is actually the result of Allen’s accumulated camping experience.
Grown-ups Playing House, Just the Way They Like
“In the wild, you have to rebuild a living environment from nothing within a few hours. It is a small construction project. Nature can be both gentle and unforgiving, and I enjoy planning ahead and facing the unknown. When the wind is strong and other tents collapse, why does mine stay up? Even when ours has been blown down, it becomes a fun story afterward.” Before falling in love with camping, Allen often cycled with friends. Hiking, cycling and camping all take place in nature, yet each has a different pace, relationship with time and approach to equipment. The purpose of a camping trip also shapes how it is done. For Allen, “Camping is a way to stay in one place for two or three days and bring your ideas and feelings about life into contact with nature.” Weihua puts it more simply: “It’s grown-ups playing house!” Allen smiled and agreed: “At home there are many family members, so compromise is inevitable. When camping, you can do exactly what you want: build everything from scratch, choose a different theme each time, keep it simple or make it elaborate, and change it according to your mood.” Through camping, Allen seems to filter out life’s distractions and return to what feels pure.
A movable villa integrated with nature
Allen talked about how his investment in camping corresponded to his early experience of going to the Aman Resort in Bali. The way in which nature and humanistic life are integrated in the open architecture of Bali particularly attracted him. "Camping can create this kind of openness, circulation, and integration."It feels like I can create my own style, build a movable villa, and do the same things as I did in Oman - enjoy the scenery, read books, daze, and drink coffee, but there is no swimming pool attached.” Allen likes the feeling of people participating in nature, and he prefers people and objects to blend into the beauty of nature."The conditions of each camp are different. I will look at the aerial photos of the camp beforehand and think about the general layout direction. Although the furniture and camping equipment are within a certain range, different combinations will present a different sense of situation."
Create a stage where you can act
For example, during this camping trip, Allen hired a carpenter to create a specially made kitchen countertop for the first time.That night Weihua was preparing his own spiced curry on the countertop, and Allen talked about his thoughts on the countertop: "I'm actually already thinking about having another palace-style tent, and I'm going to make a cool kitchen bar behind the tent."Allen's setting up is more like setting up a stage, providing scenes for the characters to perform according to his script. The couple has a great tacit understanding. In addition to some fixed friend characters, new characters will occasionally be added to become shining points.“For example, when we were camping, we held tea parties, collecting plants in the natural environment and using local materials.I have a picture in my mind where the countertop transforms into a late-night canteen or a coffee bar. It would be interesting to set it up like this at some point. If the props are not in place, the fun things behind it will not come out, and I will not be able to enter the character."If it's a play, background music often plays an important role. During the interview today, Allen played piano music that settled the mood, symphonizing with the rhythm of the insects in the mountains and forests. This was the background music he set for that day."There is a big difference between silent movies and movies with background music. Most of the camping music is chosen by me and will suit my wife's preferences. The first few times I played rap, she found that it was OK too.There is some music that I just want to listen to in the camp, and it feels very different from listening to it at home. "
As his camping life moves closer to his ideal, Allen remains absorbed in it. As long as he still feels inspired and can realize the scenes he imagines, he will keep playing this game of house. For him, camping is different from simply sleeping under the open sky. It is not merely moving from the city outdoors, or pitching a tent for one night. Camping is a way of interpreting life in nature—a private drama in which he immerses himself. Like swimming in an infinity pool by the sea, Allen creates his own boundaries within nature’s boundlessness, approaching the infinite through something finite.
