Snake Village

Thanks to some friends, I finally got a chance to get out of town for a little while on Sunday. I was ready to go check out a new church, the same one I didn't go to last week, when my housemate, Paul, asked if I wanted to go to Snake Village. Well, of course I want to go to Snake Village - whatever that is.

We met up with Paul's friend from work, Ben, his room mate, and one of his students. This was our ride for the day...
Snake Village turned out to not really be a village, so much as a part of town on the other side of the Red River that has restaurants that specialize in snake. This guy helped us pick out a nice cobra.
They weigh it, then they slit it open and pour it's blood into a beaker with vodka.
The bile from the liver is also squirted into a bottle of vodka to make a refreshing green aperitif.
After that it seemed like the snake dishes just kept coming. There was snake soup, fried snake meat, snake organs with star fruit, snake skin fried like pork rinds, snake bones mixed with seeds and served on crispy flat bread, more snake soup... It was really amazing. I was very surprised not to see the snake's head again.A good time was had by all.Someone ordered french fries for me. After my seafood diner experience, I was more than happy with my fries and a coke.Now, when you eat snake like this, it's customary for someone to swallow the snake's heart. While it's still beating...

Paul gave it a try...

And he did manage to get it in...

He tried again, but never actually swallowed it. He swears that he's really going to do it next time.

And then we all went for a little ride around the countryside. I even got a new hat, and Paul took care of everything as a late birthday present. He may not be much for swallowing snake hearts, but he's a really nice guy.