Only yesterday halloween pumpkins, skeletons and spiders were decorating all the shops of the city and just 24 hours later it’s all Christmas trees and carols. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like the pressure and the rush to make resolutions, buy gifts or to make a balance of the things I did or didn’t do in 2022. As I see it, there are still a couple of months left of this year and we should be able to appreciate and enjoy them. Christmas things will come later on and Mariah Carey will only be allowed to sing in December - at least in my house. Plenty of incredible things can still happen in these 60 or so days that we have left.
As a matter of fact, something incredible happened in October. We are finally free to travel! The Hong Kong government decided to ditch the quarantine requirement that we’ve had to follow for the past 3 years every time we travelled outside of the territory (it was 7 to 21 days quarantined in a hotel with awful food and without the possibility of opening the window for fresh air). I experienced the quarantine twice for 7 days and it was not fun.
To celebrate our new-found freedom, we chose to visit South Korea because I wanted to see the colours of autumn. In Hong Kong we only experience a mild and pleasant autumn but I loved the drama of the red and yellow trees. I wanted to see it up close and to breath the fresh air of autumn.
Walking under yellow trees really inspired me so I wrote a blogpost - and shared some pictures of Korea - about why I love walking outside in autumn and why I think you should try it too.
In the post I’m also sharing ideas to walk mindfully and to engage with nature.
You can read it here or by clicking/tapping on the image below
I’d be delighted if you could share with me pictures of how autumn looks like where you live. You could either tag me on instagram @ginamaldonado_ or if like me you’re trying to spend less time over there, you can share them here on Substack. There’s a new chat feature on the app (you can download it here) - at the bottom of the screen you can find the chat icon, tap it and in it you’ll see a thread for you to post your pictures.
I look forward to seeing your pics!
À la prochaine,
Gina :)
SNEAK PEEK OF NEW ART
I’ve been working on a new series of paintings inspired by Chinese textiles and ceramics. I went to the new Palace Museum in Hong Kong and felt drawn to the intricate embroidery of royal robes and the details of old bowls. The collection is still a work in progress, I’m a slow painter.
THINGS I’M LOVING
Being a vegetarian in Korea wasn’t easy but I tried some delicious deep-fried vegetable dumplings in a restaurant in Seoul called Oh Gae Hyang. I’m still dreaming about those dumplings. Do you know if there’s something like that in HK?
I’ve been enjoying listening to this beautiful, dreamy song called Kaät (feat. Blick Bassy) - click to listen. I think this is a perfect song for autumn walks.
We found a random art supply shop in a small city in Korea and I bought a few new art supplies. I discovered a Korean brand of gouache called Shinhan. So far I’ve done some tests and I really like the vibrancy and final texture of the paint once it’s dry.