Text & Photos: Jasmine Nunns
When asked to share where my favourite spots for practicing Forest Bathing, or just feeling a sense of restoration from the Natural World, it felt easy to come up with locations I enjoyed going to. Yet I judged myself for not coming up with more unique or undiscovered places; the truth is, the secret undiscovered moments and places come from within us. What we’re able to sense, from where we visit and how our awareness is drawn, to getting to know it, are felt and experienced in more ways than simply taking that great Instagram shot.
You may already recognize certain specific elements of Nature which you particularly enjoy spending time in, whether you’re in Hong Kong or overseas.
Maybe you feel most alive when you’re at the summit of a mountain, with views all around you, seeing where you came from below.
Maybe you feel most refreshed when you are sitting by a stream, listening to the range of sounds of water rushing past the rocks and stones below.
Perhaps you feel a great sense of openness when you’re standing at the shoreline, witnessing the vastness of the ocean before you, bringing you a sense of wonder and adventure as to what lies beyond, as you feel your feet sink into the sand beneath you.
Or, you cherish the moments you feel protected and safe among the many layers and canopies of a forest, like elders watching on and guiding you, smelling the rich smell of damp soil as you move through the trees.
Wherever you find yourself wishing to go to, this will reflect a need that you have, and Nature knows that. Which is why it’s important to listen to your own needs and where that sense of restoration will be most held on the land.
There are times I wish I could hide in the darkness of a cave holding me, and other times I wish to stand at the peak of a mountain with my arms out saying YES to the world.
Instead of sharing my favourite spots for Forest Bathing, what I can share instead are different parts of Hong Kong that have nourished me in different ways and at different points of my journey. And perhaps this will inspire you to discover, and more importantly, to greet these spaces with an intention that you set based on your needs.
Intention: To let go
Bride’s Pool, Plover Cove
I have always been a ‘river’ or water person. The presence of water feels nourishing, exciting and new. It is a reminder for me to let my thoughts go, in the way that a droplet of water will be present with you for a moment, then be carried away. There is a sense of release, an emptying, as well as welcoming in the new.
Bride’s Pool has always held a special place in my heart, and my relationship with the land there changed the year I went almost every single day while guiding children in Forest School. I watched how they interacted with the land and water, and each time, got to know the creatures, trees, grass and stones more intimately. I also watched it change over the seasons where flowers would burst open, then transform into berries, and eventually fall to the ground where we watched insects devour them. Spending time in any space over a long period of time regularly allows you to witness its transformation, and you may feel yourself transforming along with it. This type of intimate relationship with a piece of land can also lead you to feeling like an integral part of it, and not just a guest.
Invitation: Spend a moment contemplating what it is that you wish to let go of. It could be something that no longer serves you, a weight or a worry you have been carrying around that causes you distress. Find a fallen leaf that will act as a symbol for what it is you wish to let go of, and watch it as it flows down the stream.
Intention: To gain perspective
Sunset Peak, Lantau
I should say, having climbed Sunset Peak multiple times, about half the time it has been shrouded, where you can barely see 50 metres ahead of you! This can bring its own magic too, reminding us to trust in where we are heading, even though we may not be able to see what lies ahead.
Sunset Peak isn’t one of those places where you have to reach the top to enjoy the view, the scenes all the way up feel like gifts to our eyes, and every time you stop to catch your breath, you are gifted with another. If you do hike it on a clear day, the vastness of the skies, mountains and ocean before you can make you feel like you can step right onto the clouds. It feels for me like I can breathe more deeply up there.
This is also one of those spots where it can feel like your worlds away from whatever stresses and concerns that everyday life holds. With each step taken towards the peak, however agonizing it may seem, it feels like we’re letting go of all the extra baggage we carry around with us unconsciously.
Invitation: Find a spot where you feel comfortable, if you have a question you’re asking of yourself, or a decision you need to make, send it out into the wind. As you continue walking, listen if the wind brings you an answer or a new perspective.
Intention: To inspire and awaken my senses
The Twins, HK island
Before you skip your eyes past this frequented and often quite busy trail on the south side of HK Island, hear me out.
You probably won’t find me there on a Saturday afternoon heading down to Stanley for beers after, but you may spot me at 5am climbing up the peak.
There is something magical about tearing yourself out of bed before dawn and heading up the face of a mountain, and believe me, it’s well worth it. Night walking brings your senses alive, all of a sudden, your dominant sense of sight is compromised, and you learn to listen with more of your body. The sounds, smells and air of the night also feels different. There is also something precious about knowing that most people in Hong Kong are tucked up in bed, and only a handful of others will witness what you’re about to see.
From the top of The Twins, sunrise will hit the clouds above you before anything else, casting its purple and red light overhead. Watch it slowly creep to change the entire landscape around you. The moment sunlight first hits your face, it feels like the sun giving you a kiss, well… that’s how I see it anyway!
Sunrise hikes are spectacular anywhere you are, my particular favourite just so happens to be here.
Invitation: As visually stunning as sunrise can be, take a moment to close your eyes. Allow your other senses, touch, smell, sound, taste experience the sunrise on this hilltop. On a safe, flat platform, stand with your eyes closed and slowly, carefully, turn your body around in a circle to notice your senses in all different directions.
Intention: To connect with ancestral roots
Nam Chung, Sha Tau Kok
This part of Hong Kong brings back nostalgic feelings for me. As a young girl, I would spend every Sunday out here with my PoPo (Grandmother) and my mother’s family. It wasn’t just the land there itself, it was the drive there, the road we took, the trees we would always pass that were all part of the journey.
It was shrouded in stories of my mother’s childhood growing up there, how different it looked now, and knowing that the same Longans and Lychees that we picked in the village in my childhood also nourished my mother when she was growing up.
Ancestral ties can bond us to land, but it’s more than ancestry. For example, you may discover you have a long-lost uncle you have never met – though you share the same family lineage, it doesn’t always mean you automatically know them. It take presence, time and listening to cultivate that relationship. This is the same with the Earth.
Now when I return to this area, walking through the old villages, seeing the weeds pop out through cracked concrete along the path (the same weeds we used to play with as children), the smell of someone cooking lunch in the distance, the egret that jumps and flies away when it hears you coming, all of this reminds me how connected I feel to this Earth home, no matter where I find myself in the world.
Invitation: Finding what you can on the land, such as leaves, sticks, or pebbles, create an offering, a symbol of acknowledgment and thanks for the generations of people and animals caretaking the land and the trail that you now walk upon.
