4 Comments
Asylum offers dispatches from the furthest reaches of Planet Earth.

Los Angeles was not a fun place for a screenwriter in early 2008 during the writer's strike. Scribe Ethan Furman was more than a little bummed out that filming on he and his writing partner's feature comedy "The Creepy Kid" (to be produced by Ivan Reitman) was put on hold by the industry shutdown.

Instead of sulking, Ethan decided to use the free time to tour South Asia. Little did he know that the beautiful locales of Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam would offer cuisine that was even more exotic than those countries' sandy beaches and lush jungles.

Below is a photo album of Ethan's travels, including his dining experience at a restaurant called O Sin on the outskirts of Hanoi. In this little cafe, Ethan looked a live cobra in the face ... then ate (and drank) the serpent only minutes later.

WARNING: Some images are not for the faint of heart.



Chowing on Cobra in South Asia

    Here is Ethan early in his vacation. At this point, he had never consumed a garter snake, much less a lethally venomous cobra.

    Ethan Furman

    Not surprisingly, our screenwriting adventurer was originally drawn to South Asia for vistas like this one near Koh Phangan, Thailand.

    Ethan Furman

    He also toured local villages. Pictured above is Siem Reap, Cambodia.

    Ethan Furman

    Along the way, Ethan made many friends, including a monkey sporting a stylish hot pink vest.

    Ethan Furman

    Vietnam especially made an impression on Ethan. This is a picture of Halong Bay.

    Ethan Furman

    Here are rice patties covering the terrain of the Vietnamese mountain town of Sapa. After leaving the countryside, Ethan moved on to the city of Hanoi.

    Ethan Furman

    Once in Hanoi, Ethan's curiosity took him to O Sin snake house. After being seated, the cafe's 65-year-old proprietor removed a large, hissing cobra from a bag, and held it up briefly for this picture.

    Ethan Furman

    Seconds later, the man snapped the snake's neck and sliced the carcass open with a straight razor. He then funneled the blood into a carafe of vodka. The cobra's heart was placed into a glass next to the carafe.

    Ethan Furman

    The rest of the cobra was then sent to the kitchen to be prepared for dinner. During the wait, the proprietor told Ethan how a snake had taken half his index finger.

    Ethan Furman

    Ethan and his group then shared a round of vokda and cobra snake blood shots. As the guest of honor, Ethan drank the shot that contained the snake's heart.

    Ethan Furman