Contemplative Cloud Gazing on Da Nang’s My Khe Beach

Contemplative Cloud Gazing on Da Nang’s My Khe Beach

Hello sky looking friends,

During my regular sunset walks along My Khe Beach, when the winds pick up from the east, billowing clouds form photogenic landscapes in the skies over the Son Tra Peninsula. The jungle-covered mountain ridge sits just across the bay, partially obscured by fog banks that roll through like ocean waves.

As the clouds dance overhead, different shapes and visions appear to me. Sometimes graceful dragons soar through the gray mist, other times courageous horses gallop along an invisible trail. Today fanciful floating cottages caught my eye, with plumes of smoke rising from imaginary brick chimneys.

The clouds continuously shift in this aerial dreamscape. Bold strokes of light illuminate textures and edges for a fleeting moment before the scene changes once again. The experience feels mystical, as though reality momentarily parts to reveal a whimsical watercolor painting suspended over the South China Sea.

I capture a few photos with my camera phone to document the ephemeral visions. But images can only approximate the imaginative joy that cloud gazing from this seaside perch evokes within me. It’s a meditation that allows my mind to wander freely, detached from any earthly anchors. A refreshing mental clearing when I’ve spent too long lost in busy thoughts.

Dusk falls, the golden light fades, and the clouds drift onwards as if called back to some magical realm. The Son Tra ridge regains form and substance, no longer a blank canvas for my daydreams.

But I know tomorrow may likely gift another opportunity to lose myself for a moment in the carefree clouds above My Khe Beach.