Keelung Tour: A Cultural Walking Adventure In The City

As a foreigner in the city, I decided to go on a Keelung Tour – and a walking one at that – to put myself in the shoes the locals. The experience was unlike no other. From discovering hidden markets, watching the day-to-day activities along the streets, here’s a glimpse into my experience on the tour.

Guiding the route in English

I was slightly worried that I wouldn’t get anything out of the experience because I don’t speak Chinese, but I was very wrong. The tour guide, Ilun, speaks wonderful English and was able to tell me a lot. The group i was in were all Taiwanese, but I never felt out of place. As it happens one of the guys was a local from Keelung, and shared with me several fun facts about the city throughout the walking tour. 

Tour Highlights

I have been told Keelung is a rainy city but we got lucky. There were only a few showers and generally the weather was great! And a big section of the walk is either indoors or undercover at least. After walking through a few alleys, my favourite part came next – the traditional outdoor market right by the train tracks.

There were really fresh vegetables and fruits all around and the smells were something to behold. (Luckily I didn’t smell any stinky tofu!) 

Next, we went to an indoor market to get some food. To enter the market (Renai Market), you’d have to go up a pretty discreet flight of stairs hidden among the bustling market stalls on the ground floor along the main road – if not for the tour, I never would have dared to head upstairs! Thankfully I did, because there were stalls after stalls of authentic food  right, left and center. And it was there that I met these two lovely women serving us delicious curry rice.

Unforgettable Food in Keelung

The food was delicious and the company excellent. As we had to rejoin the tour group, we said our goodbyes and walked to meet up with the group at E-square, a big shopping mall with a running track on the roof and an excellent view of the harbour. We checked out the roof top track, now my go-to running track in Keelung, and continued on the tour.