So far I have seen an alive snake whistling through the forest, thankfully in the opposite direction to me. I've also seen two dead snakes, one bright green one with it's head squished into the ground and another, larger, brown one crushed under a stone. I can only assume that they're not liked around here, because of their poisonous nature. There probably aren't 'many left either, given the number of snake heads I have seen in medicinal jars.
On Sunday afternoon I am walking through the streets of Sapa, enjoying the sunshine and laughter of the locals playing in the street. In the corner of my eye I see a large snake, flipping its body around the branch of a tree. Then I see another. Then another! "Arrrrrrgh!!! There are snakes on the loose in Sapa!" I think. I soon realise that theses snakes have been caught in the forest and their heads are tied to the branches, so that all they can do is flip their bodies about but are not able to escape. A small crowd of Hmong and Vietnamese gathers. A man then arrives carrying a large butcher knife and picks up the largest, brown snake with its head. He teases it and all the onlookers squeal and jump backwards. He then cuts deep into the snake's chest, revealing its still beating heart and proceeds to squeeze fresh blood that drips into a beer glass. The heart continues to pound inside the snake as he is squeezed dry of his own blood.
I walk away at this point. Obviously drinking snake's blood fresh from the live animal is good for you! Who wouldn't think that?! Apparently if the "Snake Wine" is drunk directly from the snake it can cure everything from farsightedness to hairloss and is believed to improve health, virility and sexual performance. Poor little snakey. I think I'll stick to my Bia Hoi, thanks very much.
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