In the spirit of Lunar New Year, I have collected a few shots from my very short-lived Taiwan trip at this time last year during their Lantern Festival. Yes, it's been quite a while. Yes, I had to dig them out from my portable drive. Yes, I should probably have posted this earlier. But at the time, there was so much going on that I didn't really think about sitting down to edit or share these here. It's amazing to look back and really appreciate the beauty and magic of the moments you've had the chance to experience.

Short Recap: We first drove to Jiufen from Taipei by cab, where we mistakenly thought the Sky Lantern Festival was taking place.  Jiufen was a breath of fresh air with a hint of stinky tofu (literally). The delicious street food and beautiful scenery were undeniably worth the detour. Fortunately, we eventually made it to Pingxi where the lanterns were actually released. We ended up walking along train tracks surrounded by various shops and street stands where you could find local food and gifts. It was one of those moments where you just didn't care about where you were headed. You would just walk and enjoy the smell emanating from food stands, the view of hundreds of lanterns flying off in the horizon and the lively background noise of both visitors and locals. Finally, the night ended as we stood in the tracks and set our wishes-filled lanterns to the sky.

It's hard to fully grasp the value of a moment until it slowly...

...fades away.

Happy Lunar New Year everyone!