- Home
- 80 Days
- Pole to Pole
- Full Circle
- Hemingway
- Sahara
- Himalaya
- New Europe
- 80 Days Revisited
- Brazil
- Photo Gallery
- Keyword Search
- Photo Search
- Geography
- Accommodation
- Activity
- History
- Nature
- Person
- Transport
- Advanced Search
- The Chatter Box
- Chat Room
- Competition
- Polls
- Register
- Bookshop
- Bibliography
- Links
- Instructions
Full Circle
Day 72: Guiyang to Nanning
'Sooner or later the revolution will take place and will inevitably triumph.' With Mao and his thoughts in Guiyang.
John pours me a local Wanshi beer. 'In China the food is very important. Especially for peasants, you know. If they can eat well it means they have a really good life. I think that's their thinking.'John, who's particularly partial to a bit of stomach, admits that the Chinese will eat most things if they're cooked properly.
'Rat?'
He nods emphatically.
'Oh yes, mountain rat. A delicacy.'
When I ask how mountain rat is cooked he has to consult fellow diners. The consensus seems to be that braised rat is best.
I talk to John of what I've seen in China and the sense I feel of tremendous national resurgence. He cautions against thinking that society has changed much. Overseas travel is still the privilege of a tiny minority and the old communist 'unit' is very much alive and well as the basis of social organization. Everyone in China is expected to belong to a social unit, and to report to that unit regularly.
As we turn in for bed we are flung round steep curves at a heart-stopping pace, only to jerk suddenly to a screeching halt. Not a peaceful night as we are hauled over the mountains from Guizhou into Guangxi Province.
Choose another day from Full Circle
PALIN'S GUIDES
- Series: Full Circle
- Day: 72
- Country/sea: China
- Place: Guiyang
- Book page no: 106
Bookmarks will keep your place in one or more series. But you'll need to register and/or log in.
RELATED LINKS
- China
- Day 43
- Around the World in 80 Days
- Day 76: Shigu to the Tiger Leaping Gorge
- Himalaya
- Day 44
- Around the World in 80 Days
){kind=link}