It is hard to pick one favourite place in Australia, but Byron Bay is certainly one of the special places for me.

On June 23rd 2014, I was walking on the beach at sunset. The beach was not too crowded. Some dogs were playing with a ball, and some surfers were trying to catch the last wave of the day. The ocean was turning its hue from sunset orange to an evening azure. The moon was about to rise. 

I was just roaming mindlessly, and then I heard a beat. At first, I couldn’t tell what it was. As I walked towards the sound, I found a crowd near a parking lot and the beat was coming from there. It was djembe.

The crowd seemed to be a mix of tourists and locals. Surrounded by them, there were percussionists and a trumpeter. They seemed to be jamming ad-lib. 

Without thinking, I found myself started dancing. I just let my body move to the beat.

If I were not in Byron, I might have been more shy and felt awkward dancing. Or I might have gotten more self-conscious and not truly enjoying dancing. 
But I knew I didn’t need to care about such things in Byron. Everything felt as natural as a heartbeat. The music flowed towards the sea and melted into the early evening breeze. I untied my ponytail. 

The sound of the ocean waves, birds chirps, and the music. I just danced to them, and the moon was overlooking us. 

It was a moment when I could simply, truly, dance.