Hitching in Taroko Gorge (Taiwan)

During the construction of the Cross Island Highway, deposits of marble—known as white jade—were discovered around Hualien. The Taroko Gorge was declared a national park. Here cliffs drop hundreds of metres into rivers gushing around slabs of gleaming marble. Suspension bridges lead to monasteries, pagodas and sleepy villages.

I'd planned a few days hiking—with immediate effect. The bus dropped me 19 kilometres from Tienhsiang, the nearest village.

A man on a scooter stopped and patted the pillion. I hung on for life as we skidded on gravel and leaned into hair-pin bends. The road weaved through tunnels hewn into the towering granite and around boulders dropped by landslides. We stopped by a pavilion overlooking the Liwu river. I disentangled myself from the driver who nearly had the breath squeezed out of him.

We were alone. As we absorbed the view he reached for my hand.

I flinched.

"Don't worry", he said: "Dance!"

So we danced, bizarrely, with the rushing waters of the Liwu providing the sound-track.