Destination: Keelung

Overshadowed by mountains and its larger neighbour Taipei, Taiwan's northern port town of Keelung is also often overshadowed by rainclouds. The city centre is further darkened by wall-to-wall buildings that once drew sailors from around the world, until cargo ships started diverting to mainland China in the 1980s. A fish market still operates in the pre-dawn blackness.

But an odd mix of food and drink sold just off the harbour reveals some local history and casts a special glow on the city of 390,000 people.

Missing are sit-down Chinese restaurants (save for Taiwan's obligatory all-you-can eat diners). Instead, expect steakhouses, patisseries and coffee shops - evidence of foreign clientele. A sailor bar still operates near the railway station. Karaoke clubs cluster not far away. Late hours are common as ships can pull in at any time.

"This is a port, so there are many foreign guests," says Chang Yu-hsiu, a tour guide. "They used to go into the bars and restaurants but, after 1979, the numbers dropped off," she says, referring to the year the US switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to the mainland.

Keelung's F&B anchor, however, is traditional. It's the Miaokou night market where more than 100 vendors sell Taiwanese snacks that are easily large enough to be meals. Miaokou is one of Taiwan's best known night markets on an island boiling over with rivals.