Entree Kibbles: Cobra Show @ Thailand

It's not difficult to know how disappointed i was with the floating market in Thailand and i am thankful there's a saving grace in the form of a cobra show (in English) that was part of the half day tour.

For some of you who are unaware, the moving thing i am most afraid of is the scaly looking reptile; the snake. Mild ophidiophobia, i have been trying to challenge (and hopefully reduce) my fear and one good option is to attend a close range snake show.

It's mentally thrilling when my eyes saw the less-than-a-meter wall separating the snakes from the audience. Getting bitten could be a better way to conquer the fear than anything else. And this psychotic thought was indeed enthralling.

After waiting 10 minutes for the spectators to slowly stream in, the show finally started with an ah pek battling the most famous snake in Asia; the venomous cobra.

Antagonising the cobra in every possible way that included slapping, the cobra was eventually subdued. Albeit in a very strange way! It was as if the upper body was hardened up like a rod and the cobra handler was able to hold it vertically with one hand.

That looked frightening amazing for ophidiophobics like me!

Next up was the extraction of venom using a glass with a plastic film covering the top.

As you can see, the ah pek gamely stepped out of his fighting arena and showed us the venom (with the snake) in really close proximity.

This was how close we were. Trigger happy spectators took the opportunity to "accidentally" touch the cobra and take close up pictures, which was allowed by the organiser without paying extra.

Some of you might remember a fighting story between the weasel and the cobra. This story was brought to the real life. As the story goes, the brave weasel won!

This was another human-snake battle but it was scary!!!!! The snake handler, a young chap, was swinging the snake out of his reach and then attempted to rein it in again!

Every time he swung it, my heart missed a beat. I was so afraid it will fly onto my lap!!! I trusted his expertise, despite the age and the fresh snake bites on his arm. Okay, i trusted a bit lesser after seeing the blood flowing down his arms and fingers.

The show got more creepy and horrifying (for me) when another handler pulled out a long python and started swinging it around.

*sobz* it got so bad; those seated in the front row started retreating to the seats behind me!

Last event was a battle with three snakes!!!! More swinging?!?!! The thought of that was enough for me to have goosebumps appearing on my arms!!

Thankfully, it was milder although with only a person on the battlefield, the aggressive pythons snakes took the opportunity to escape in different directions by climbing up the less-than-a-meter barrier!!

It was another heart stopping moment!!!