During a jungle survival program February 20, 2013 taught by Royal Thai Special Forces in Sannapit, Thailand, U.S. Marines learned to catch cobras and drink their fresh blood, not to mention eat forest insects and pull the heads off of chicken. The training was part of Operation Cobra Gold 13, the 32nd edition of international military exercises hosted by the Thai. According to a U.S. Marines press release, Cobra Gold is the largest exercise of its kind in Asia and incorporates troops from five other nations in addition to the U.S. and Thailand. The Daily Mail reports that the Marines were invited to experience the local custom of drinking cobra blood after being taught to catch and kill cobras in the wild. As CNN notes, Cobra blood is believed to be a panacea and aphrodiasic in parts of Southeast Asia. In Jakarta, vendors can earn over $100 a night selling shots of cobra blood mixed with liquor. (Photo by Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/AFP Photo)

Visarute Angkatavanich gets incredibly close up to capture these stunning portraits of Siamese fighting fish in graceful, dancerly poses. The Thai photographer uses perfectly placed lighting to create the dramatic highlights and shadows that give personality to each little finned creature.

Thai office workers walk past armed soldiers standing guard outside the Shinawatra Tower Two in Bangkok, Thailand, 20 May 2014. Thai army Chief Prayuth Chan-ocha early on 20 May 2014, declared martial law giving the military full control to prevent further protest-related violence in the country. The statement was issued about 3 am on 20 May (2000 GMT), according to local media reports. Prayuth has the authority to declare martial law without the consent of the government, which has had caretaker status since 09 December 2013. Thailand has been wracked by six months of non-stop protests seeking to topple the government. At least 25 people have died in political-related violence and more than 700 injured. (Photo by Narong Sangnak/EPA)

People use large water guns to spray each other as they celebrate the annual Songkran festival in Bangkok, Thailand on April 14, 2025. Thailand celebrated the Thai traditional New Year, called Songkran in Thai and also known as ëthe water festivalí, on 13 April, with festivities going on on throughout the weekend. During Songkran, people celebrate the New Year by splashing water to each other as a sign of washing away sins and bad luck from the previous year. People across Thailand celebrate the New Year with parties and water related activities throughout the weekend. (Photo by Diego Azubel/Matrix Images)

Maya, 8, and Kishore, 13, pose for a wedding photo inside their new home, the day after the Hindu holy day of Akshaya Tritiya, called Akha Teej in North India. Despite legislation forbidding child marriage in India (Child Marriage Restraint Act-1929) and the much more progressive Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (2006) and many initiatives to prevent child marriage, marrying children off at a very tender age continues to be accepted by large sections of society. (Photo by Stephanie Sinclair/VII Photo Agency)

A eunuch dances during a rally to mark the congregation of thousands of eunuchs from different parts of India, in Jammu, India, Friday, March 13, 2015. The term eunuchs is used in India to describe transvestites, transsexuals and others who identify themselves as neither male nor female but as a member of a third gender. They traditionally survive by begging, dancing at weddings or blessing newborn babies and are frequently subjected to discrimination. (Photo by Channi Anand/AP Photo)

An Asian elephant called “Plai Deaw” goes for a walk on a mountain road in Nakhon Nayok, Thailand on July 11, 2022. The bull has become well known in the area for his taste for venturing out from the deep forest and emerging among cars and village homes. Thailand has an estimated 2,000 Asian elephants living in the wild but there is often conflict when they come into contact with humans on roads and in villages. A similar number of elephants are kept captive where they work in zoos and are hired out for religious festivals and weddings. (Photo by Mongkol Pitakmoo/ViralPress)

US film star Elizabeth Taylor and her first husband Nick Hilton, of the hotelier family, on their wedding day.