Most afternoon around 4:30pm they begin to gather. Parents with young children, singles and old people, boyfriends with their girlfriends, they come.
Some participate while others simply spectate, but they all share a common passion and a common perspective as they gaze skywards, oohing and ahhing, a uniting passion to go fly a kite.
*Images by Neil Featherstone
The Thu Thiem location is a one-stop shop with roadside kite sellers doing a busy trade.
They not only sell kites, they also assemble and instruct before sending their clients off to try their hand.
Almost as one, whether pilots or passengers, they gaze towards the heavens. A happy, friendly and inclusive group with apparently not a care in the world.
The kites range from cheap and cheerful everyman birds to elaborate racing creations that almost lifts their owner off the ground. One enthusiast even turns up with a USD2,000 drone that he can fly two kilometres from his position, guided by GPS from nine satellites that are apparently overhead.
Not an organised group, but simply a gathering of like-minded people of all ages and stations in life who enjoy the feeling of freedom, as they watch their kites soar to the heavens.
By 5:30pm, as twilight falls, they start to come back to earth, and by 6pm the field of dreams is empty again, until tomorrow.
