Keelung, Port of Taipei, March 11, 2026

We arrived in the port of Keelung this morning. Keelung is a small, young city today with about 360,000 residents. It has developed around the modern port established in 1916. This modern port, suitable for large ships, was completed by the Japanese and remains the port for Taipei. It is based on earlier plans from 1888 by the Chinese. However, the first settlement here was established by the Spanish in 1624, following the 'discovery' of Taiwan by Portuguese navigators in 1517. The Spanish, however, could not hold their ground for long. They were expelled by the Dutch, who had also conquered the southern part of the island in 1624.

Compared to Hong Kong, it is a livelier city. Although there are many jewelry and gold shops, we did not see any top brands. In all the streets and alleys, almost every building hosts shops, restaurants, food stalls, and craftspeople. The traffic is quite manageable. However, there are also countless motorcycles here, most of which are parked on sidewalks or the common covered walkways.

Taiwan takes 'immigration' more seriously than previous countries we visited. Typically, the passport remains on board, and identification is done with the boarding pass and possibly an additional document. Here, we had to pick up our passports at Guest Service and carry out a proper entry and exit procedure, complete with photos and fingerprint scans. Even our luggage was checked to see if we were carrying any food items.

We booked a local city tour that included Taiwanese food, visits to markets and shops. At first, we felt it could be boring. However, our guide blossomed more and more, and it became quite exciting. Occasionally, we had something special at a food stall or street restaurant, and in between, we moved through the streets, temples, and markets. We were explained how certain foods and traditions developed and how Taiwan differs from other Asian countries. We were fascinated by the incredible number of gaming halls which had 20-30 machines where one could use a claw to grab a plush toy or some other gadget. It remains a mystery to us why so many people do this and how it can be profitable. What was also interesting is that they do not have actual souvenirs. We did not see T-shirts, magnets, or anything else with 'Keelung', 'Taiwan', or 'Taipei' printed on them. Near the port, there are maybe three to four shops that call themselves souvenir shops. They only sell alcohol, chocolate, chips, and other food items.

The pace of our guide was brisk, so after the city tour, we only had time to visit the Keelung Tower and the city's cultural center. That was enough for the day.