Instead of preventing their child from coming into contact with the 16-foot-long, 220-pound snake, rice farmer and wife Khuong Sam Oi were ѕᴜгргіѕed and a little woггіed when their 7-year-old son, Uorng Sambo, often sleeping in a giant snake cage. curled up the female python, rode it on its back, kissed it and even powdered it.
“There is a special bond between them,” said Khuong Sam Oi. “My son played with the snake when he was learning to crawl. They often slept in the same cradle.” The boy and the python have become a tourist attraction in the village of Setbo, located about 12 miles south of the capital Phnom Penh, as well as a source of awe for locals.
“People sometimes call the boy and the snake husband and wife,” said Cheng Raem, a 48-year-old neighbour. “Maybe they’re a couple from a previous life.” The boy and the snake grew up together, since the python slithered into the house when Uorng Sambo was 3 months old. His mother, Kim Kanpara, 39, discovered the reptile, then the size of a thumb, curled up underneath the woven mat in their bed.
Khuong Sam Oi саᴜɡһt the snake and released it in the bushes by the river, but two weeks later, one morning, he found it in the house. He decided to keep it and named it Chamreoun, which means “progress” in English.