They say that our oldest genetic memory is reptilian, the root of our most primordial impulses – fight or flight, aggression, territoriality. Basically some raw dinosaur s*#t. The Chinese, for their part, maintain that a dose of blood & bile freshly drained from a snake is a panacea for countless ills – impotence, diabetes, liver complaints, rheumatics, asthma, skin diseases, kidney & gastric problems and a host of other ailments. Having just slammed a thick, semi-coagulated cup of cobra blood mixed with gall bladder and rice wine I gotta say I’m feeling kinda…sprightly & errmm… a bit feisty and there’s the metallic taste of blood in my mouth. Istana Raja Kobra (Palace of the King Cobra) specializes in snake-based remedies, from Diabetes capsules to Pleasure capsules (they improve sexual desire), banded snake powder for asthma and rice wines mixed with a snake’s vital organs (for stiff muscles, allergies, impotence etc…). The highlight though is the live cobra & python room, where writhing masses of snakes await an ignominious fate. We were presented with two specimens who seemed energetic enough, flaring their hoods and striking at the handler. Unperturbed, he took the first and beheaded it on a chopping block, catching all its blood in a delicate china cup, before removing the gall bladder and deftly skinning it. The second suffered the same fate. 3 minutes later that deep crimson blood is sliding viscously down our throats.
And now? Well, I don’t feel like tearing a Brontosaurus to pieces with my bare teeth but I can feel that inner grrrr. Or is that purrrrrr…JD
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