The Snake Farm

This weekend we decided to get out of Korat and spend some time in the big city. We left Korat at 6 am on Saturday morning and drove 3 hours to Bangkok. Our first stop was the Snake Farm, which was really cool. It was set up by the Queen and the Thai Red Cross Society in order to make antivenins for treating snake bite victims. Today it's a tourist attraction and museum along with its original purpose.

We learned about many poisonous snakes in Thailand which include the King Cobra ( they can get up to 18 feet long and can kill a person with a single bite), The Siamese Cobra, Banded Kraits, and Pit Vipers of all shapes, colors and sizes. :) They also had many non-venimous snakes which are only really there for education.

We also saw what happens to the unfortunate who get bitten. Even if you can get the antivenin in time, the poison from some of these snakes (like the cobras) kills your flesh immediately, so the area around the bite is usually lost. Either the limb needs to be amputated or you have to suffer through many plastic surgeries to try and fix the damage.

After walking through the museum they put on a snake handling demonstration where they showed us many of the deadly snakes and taught you how to avoid them. The snake handlers were either very brave or insane. They kept taunting the King Cobra and the Siamese Cobra, making them strike for the amusement of the crowd. Luckily, they seem to know what they are doing and haven't been bitten yet.

A really fun part of the show was when they brought out the 12 foot python! We each had a picture taken with it wrapped around our shoulders! His scales were very soft and smooth and it was cool feeling his muscles as he moved across your neck!