Jeab had told us years ago that Khon Kaen is known as the cobra capital of the world. Silly as it seems now, I must admit that Bruce and I had harbored a teeny little fear that we would encounter cobras all over the place. Bruce, especially, has a deep fear of snakes. Fear AND fascination! So, one of the things on our agenda for Khon Kaen was a visit to King Cobra Village.
King Cobra Village is set in a tiny, dusty settlement about 20 miles outside of the city. Jeab took us there with her nephew, First, on the day before we left Khon Kaen. Given its reputation, it certainly was very different from what we had anticipated. Very "down home". We were the only "farangs" there. The venue consisted of some bleachers surrounding a raised stage. Although the whole place was covered by a roof for shade, the sides were all open. Next to the stage, on the ground, were old wooden boxes, which, we were to learn, were filled with snakes. The show was in progress when we arrived. Only a donation was required, collected in baskets that were passed around later in the show. Audience members, consisting of families and local folks, came and went. There was lots of laughter and commentary.
Note the heavy stones on top of the boxes! Reassuring.
We took a spot high up on the bleachers with First. I noticed that Bruce sat as close to the edge as possible, despite not being able to see quite as well there. Having the snakes in anything but thick glass cases was a little edgy for him!
The snake handlers seemed to be known to the audience and ranged in age from 5 or 6 years old to..... well, at least as old as we are. The handler would climb onto the stage, bowing all around to the applause of the audience. An assistant would pick the snake out of its box, using a long curved stick and flop it onto the floor of the stage. Then the show would begin! The handler would provoke the snake by pulling its tail, bopping it on the nose - anything to get it to defend itself and create a little excitement. Agility was the name of the game as the handlers jabbed and then quickly jumped back out of striking range of the cobras, which reared and puffed themselves in defense. A bit like bull fighters. Bruce read later that some handlers were missing fingers, as amputation is the only way to save the life of someone who has been bitten on a finger. We were especially intrigued by the young boy who tangled with a viper of some sort.
A brave and skillful little showman.
After awhile teenage dancers, both boys and girls, appeared on stage, doing a simple dance to recorded music. I thought it was a lovely diversion until suddenly there was a snake around each dancer's shoulders. In a flash, my relaxed interest snapped to alert attention. The dancers, in unison, waved around their vipers, ending up with the scaly creatures' heads in their mouths! Yuck! We were all glued in delightful horror to this show of bravado!
Hard way to earn money!
The only act that came close to topping this was the guy who put a snake's head into his pants. Hmm. Sounds like the start of a bad joke. When the handlers ended their routine by bringing the big snakes out to the audience, we make a quick exit!
King Cobra Village is obviously a badly needed source of revenue for the villagers, as well as a source of pride in the skill and courage of the snake handlers - and a focus of village amusement! We were certainly entertained!
King Cobra Village is set in a tiny, dusty settlement about 20 miles outside of the city. Jeab took us there with her nephew, First, on the day before we left Khon Kaen. Given its reputation, it certainly was very different from what we had anticipated. Very "down home". We were the only "farangs" there. The venue consisted of some bleachers surrounding a raised stage. Although the whole place was covered by a roof for shade, the sides were all open. Next to the stage, on the ground, were old wooden boxes, which, we were to learn, were filled with snakes. The show was in progress when we arrived. Only a donation was required, collected in baskets that were passed around later in the show. Audience members, consisting of families and local folks, came and went. There was lots of laughter and commentary.
Note the heavy stones on top of the boxes! Reassuring.
We took a spot high up on the bleachers with First. I noticed that Bruce sat as close to the edge as possible, despite not being able to see quite as well there. Having the snakes in anything but thick glass cases was a little edgy for him!
The snake handlers seemed to be known to the audience and ranged in age from 5 or 6 years old to..... well, at least as old as we are. The handler would climb onto the stage, bowing all around to the applause of the audience. An assistant would pick the snake out of its box, using a long curved stick and flop it onto the floor of the stage. Then the show would begin! The handler would provoke the snake by pulling its tail, bopping it on the nose - anything to get it to defend itself and create a little excitement. Agility was the name of the game as the handlers jabbed and then quickly jumped back out of striking range of the cobras, which reared and puffed themselves in defense. A bit like bull fighters. Bruce read later that some handlers were missing fingers, as amputation is the only way to save the life of someone who has been bitten on a finger. We were especially intrigued by the young boy who tangled with a viper of some sort.
After awhile teenage dancers, both boys and girls, appeared on stage, doing a simple dance to recorded music. I thought it was a lovely diversion until suddenly there was a snake around each dancer's shoulders. In a flash, my relaxed interest snapped to alert attention. The dancers, in unison, waved around their vipers, ending up with the scaly creatures' heads in their mouths! Yuck! We were all glued in delightful horror to this show of bravado!
Hard way to earn money!
The only act that came close to topping this was the guy who put a snake's head into his pants. Hmm. Sounds like the start of a bad joke. When the handlers ended their routine by bringing the big snakes out to the audience, we make a quick exit!
King Cobra Village is obviously a badly needed source of revenue for the villagers, as well as a source of pride in the skill and courage of the snake handlers - and a focus of village amusement! We were certainly entertained!
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