The Year of the Snake

Rather a cuddly-looking li'l thing, isn't it?

I have no recipes for snake.  The only time I would have gotten the chance to eat one was in the Philipines in 1981 when I was selected to attend jungle survival training (I don't know who thought that one up, but it wasn't me).

Turns out that because of a rather severe reaction I have to bee stings, the powers that be decided not to let me go; the nearest helicopter evac point was over an hour away from the training location*.  So I spent three days lounging by the swimming pool at Subic Bay while the rest of my platoon was hunting, killing and eating reptiles.

Broke my heart.

(Snake stamp image from xinhua.net).

edited to add: *and straight up a mountain.