In Taipei, there is no hesitance; not even a hint..........the motorcycle glides through, undetected by the unsuspecting pedestrian.

The writer had a shocking encounter with speeding traffic ...

In Taipei, there is no hesitance; not even a hint of a second thought. The first time I stepped from a Taipei kerb, it was as if I had transported myself back to the deathly confines of the Colosseeum in Rome I dodged bus, car and motorcycle, crossing like a dazed animal using only my keen sense of survival for direction. Surviving that encounter, I vowed only to use the zebra-crossing. a big mistake. In Europe, it's magic. You place one foot on the rectangular white blocks, and the city traffic screeches to a halt. In Taipei, zebra-crossings are used much like a hi-lighting pen is used for studying, they underscore, indeed expose, potential victims. at a busy intersection,  stepped boldly onto the zebra-crossing. I looked back in amazement to find I was the only pedestrian with the courage to cross the road. "Poor sheep," I muttered, only to be stirred from my musings by the respective whooshing blurs of a bus, car and motorcycle passing centimeters from my nose. I dashed back tot eh kerb, and hid myself among the flock. The ubiquitous Taipei motorcycle is the pedestrian's most feared and despised enemy. For just as you miss being flattened by that bus, or side swiped by that taxi, the unseen motorcycle strikes. The motorcycle is like the shark, it never stops stalking its prey. Traffic could be stopped for a kilometer, but the motorcycle glides through, undetected by the unsuspecting pedestrian.

Summary: The writer had a shocking encounter with speeding traffic. It was a similar experience even while using the zebra-crossing Traffic never stopped for him. He had to pull back the moment he stepped onto the zebra-crossing. He learnt that motorcycles were the most feared enemy of pedestrians as they seemed to appear from nowhere.