Snake Restaurant, Hat Yai

For reasons of taste (in both senses of the word) I did not put this tip in the restaurant section!

I had seen this spectacle on TV a few times but had not witnessed the real thing.
There is a place on Ngu (Snake) Street that has cages full of live snakes ready for human consumption. I have not got a strong enough stomach for anything like this so just went along for a viewing.

There are about 5 cages full of snakes. There are cobras and also black snakes with yellow bands.

For a thousand Baht or less they will slit a live snake along its belly and drain the blood into a cup for you to drink. It is mixed with honey and whisky to make it more palatable. The gall bladder is also eaten. A large cobra costs 1000 Baht, a small one 500 Baht and the black and yellow snakes can be had for the bargain price of 300 Baht.

The meat from the dead snakes is made into soup and sold for 150 Baht a bowl. The skins are made into belts and wallets, etc.

The photo is not great. I would liked to have got in close and used a flash but for some reason the shop owner wasn't keen.