There are unbelievable sights. People watch, on television, as ordinary citizens speak up to question ministers and Party bigwigs, while in Moscow, big brother is now frowning fit to kill.

Wandering, we dug into a pile of floury, handmade noodles, followed by pig's-blood cake covered with crushed peanuts and cilantro; fried buns stuffed with bitter greens; pungent soup with slivers of fresh ginger and whole pigs' feet; big hunks of melon, just in season; and heaping bowls of sweet, slippery douhua—chilled tofu pudding with azuki beans, mung beans and boiled peanuts.

[…] a ship well freighted with the stores The sun matures on India’s spicy shores,

Their skin was the real giveaway: again and again it turned out to be fattier and softer than average and therefore warmer.