Port Keelung with Rain

Paul Hallman
Apr 9
4 min read

We arrived in Port Keelung, Taiwan, on the Coral Princess—our last stop on this part of the trip. (Some people still refer to Taiwan as “China,” but Taiwan’s political status is controversial and widely debated.)

First impressions of Keelung

Keelung is a busy northern port city—compact, hilly and built around the water. It’s known for frequent rain and it definitely lived up to that reputation for us. Even through the drizzle, the city felt energetic and lived-in: scooters, tight streets, harbour activity, and neighbourhoods climbing up the hillsides. Keelung City has a population of roughly 360,000–370,000 and it feels like a working city tied closely to shipping and fishing.

Harbour walk: Keelung Port & Maritime Plaza

We got off the ship around 9:00 a.m. and started with a walk near the port. Right outside was Keelung Port with cranes, ferries, cargo activity and the smell of the sea. We also walked by Maritime Plaza, near the waterfront facing the harbour entrance and watched the movement of boats and people.

Renai Market: it was very local and real

Next we visited Renai Market a traditional market full of everyday essentials—meat, vegetables, seafood, and food stalls. It felt very local and practical, the kind of place residents shop because they need to. They even had chicken feet, fingers, hearts but it was not very appetizing.

As we walked to the market we passed a special massage parlor which was up a set of stairs with delightful rates advertized openly on the wall.

Keelung Miaokou Night Market

From there we headed to the Keelung Miaokou Night Market. It’s called a “night market” because it’s most famous in the evening, but many stalls are open during the day as well. Even in the morning we saw breakfast and snack foods already going—Taiwanese sausage, fried tempura-style items, peanut ice cream rolls and icy desserts like bubble ice.

Dianji Temple: colour, incense, and detail

One of the highlights was the temple right in the market area—Dianji Temple. We spent a long time there because it was so visually striking: bold reds and golds, lanterns, carved details, and layers of offerings and decorations. It was impressive.

We saw one part of the display where there was some incense burning in an urn and it made a perfect spot to take some portrait photos of Marilyn and Rick as well as Jan and myself.

Lunch attempt: Keelung Gang Seafood Restaurant

By lunchtime we were hungry and decided to try a restaurant that ChatGPT had suggested. It was the Keelung Gang Seafood Restaurant because it supposedly spoke English, had English menus and served authentic Taiwanese seafood. It took us over 20 minutes to walk there in the rain. When we arrived, it was a huge building with a grand marble staircase and what looked like a banquet hall inside with round tables for 8–12 people, like a wedding or convention venue.

When we walked in we could not help but notice that it was completely empty. There were three people working there. The staff seated us, handed us menus and then said: “No English.” We pulled out our phones, tried translating the menu, looked at each other, and decided to leave.

Can you read this menu?

No cash, no cards, and a rainy reset

We started to search for something to eat and there were many great looking spots along the streets but that is when we ran into a bigger issue. Not one place would take credit cards, and we had no local cash. After about 30 minutes of searching in the rain, Jan and Marilyn headed back to the ship making sure Rick and I had our passports and transit paperwork this time. We could not afford another issue at Customs & Immigration in China.

Rick and I eventually found a small café where we could pay using credit. We had soup, and a caramel latte, and we planned the afternoon from there.

Chris-Craft factory area and the Khengbin painted houses and fishing boats

We’d heard about an abandoned factory site connected to Chris-Craft (the American boat manufacturer) and decided to take an Uber to check it out. It was about 20 minutes from central Keelung. What we found out about this site is too much information for this blog so I will make a separate post in a day or so. Here are a couple photos of the site.

The site was located beside a cultural center which was down the street from the abandoned factory.

Nearby we visited Khengbin, where we found the colourful painted houses, and we enjoyed checking out the fishing boats—a reminder that Keelung isn’t just a cruise port; it’s a real maritime city with working docks and coastal neighbourhoods.

Big Buddha, Zhongzheng Park, and the WWII tunnel

After that we went up to the Big Buddha and temple area on a hill overlooking the city and the ship. We wandered through the temple grounds, found bells to ring, and took in the views over Keelung Harbour. On the way down, we walked through Zhongzheng Park, following the paths as they wound downhill.

WE could see our ship from the top of the hill but in the rain no one was on their balconies to wave back at us - not even our wives who were safely inside their warm dry cabins.

As we descended we passed another massive temple with a lookout built into it.

When we reached a huge stairway down to street level, we opted for an elevator instead. The elevator let us out into a limestone tunnel leading toward the street—and only then did we learn it had been used as a Japanese headquarters during World War II. We learned that there were other tunnels in the city as well but we didn't have time to check them out.

Back to the ship—soaked

When we finally exited the tunnel, we headed back toward the ship along with other passengers doing the same. We were drenched. It poured all day—so much that the rain sometimes triggered our phone screens, opening apps by accident and at one point Rick's phone even managed to place several accidental calls to Marilyn.

Even with the rain, the language surprises and the cash problem, it was an exciting day and quite an adventure. Next stop is Jeju, South Korea and we’re not sure yet, what we’ll see there, but all in all, everyone enjoyed a memorable day in Keelung, Taiwan.