Recently, cat cafes are spreading across cities and countries. They are well and popular; people love it. But, if you want to get creepy-crawly rather than cuddly while sipping a latte or munch a pie, check out this first reptile-themed café in Cambodia.
Inside the Reptile Café in Phnom Penh, an albino python, an orange corn snake or a scaly, or bearded iguana will welcome you and be a remedy for anyone who terrified of those creatures.
Chea Raty launched his business to revamp the skin-crawling reputation of lizards and snakes and convince haters that they are merely misunderstood.
"They will love them as I do," the 32-year-old told AFP while stroking the scaly neck wattle of an iguana.
The walls of his cafe are lined with lit-up glass tanks containing snakes of various lengths and colours, while a bright macaw screeches in the corner.
Some visitors look hesitantly at the cages; others are bolder in their embrace of the creatures.
There's no entry fee, so visitors can order a coffee and request a sit-down with a serpentine friend from one of the tanks.
Ice tea for a young customer instantly becomes a cool object for a yellow-and-cream-coloured ball python to twist its body around. A woman giggles as an albino python creeps from her shoulder and wraps behind her head. Nearby, a bearded dragon iguana perches on a table while a man gently pets it.
Customer Y Navim was wary at first of a corn snake, an orange-coloured serpent that kills its prey through constriction. But it was soon resting on her palm as she sipped her coffee. "This cafe is unique. I've never seen some of these reptiles before. They are beautiful and scary."
Chea Raty says women are providing an unexpected boost. "They put the pythons around their neck, take selfies, and they are happy."
sources: ndtv.com, nypost.com