A tourist was startled after finding a deadly snake sitting next to her at an outdoor bar in Vietnam.

Traveller Evon Stephen saw the venomous pit viper coiled in her helmet while relaxing at a bar in Ong Lang Phu Quoc.

She said: "I feel lucky because he didn’t bite me, but it seemed ready to do so! It could have been fatal for me with the medication I’m on and the health issues I have! I was shaking with disbelief. I can’t believe I was so close!"

Evon added that she already has trauma from a snake bite before which caused her health problem.

She sat down on the bench for a few minutes without noticing the snake as she was busy resting her back, sipping on a beer and talking to friends while waiting for their food.

When she turned her head on the side she was face to face with the snake so the terrified woman jumped up and away so fast.

She asked from the authority with the help of her friends and the snake was relocated successfully into the forest down the road.

The serpent was identified white-lipped pit viper which is venomous and endemic to Southeast Asia.