Ibn Battuta — "I saw a man in this city who could swallow swords. It was a terrifying but fasci…"

"The juggler then took the limbs of the boy and applied them one to another: he then stamped upon them, and it stood up complete and erect. I was astonished, and was seized in consequence by a palpitat…"

"The women here are very beautiful, and they do not cover their faces. This is a custom that is not found in other Muslim lands."

"I was once offered a marriage proposal in this land, but I declined, for the women were too stout, and their customs too different from my own."

"The people here have a strange custom of chewing betel nuts. Their mouths are always red, and they spit everywhere. It is not very appealing."

"The people of Sumatra eat dogs, which I found disgusting. But when I tried it, it was not so bad."