My image of Asia danced in my head like Marionettes based on the images I had seen on television, and the excitement of actually stepping foot on the continent grew in my heart like the anticipation before Christmas or one's birthday. I was giddy like a child knowing that soon I would have my favorite gift.

The closer we got to the airport it intensified and I no longer cared that the trip would take close to 20 hour in flight. We flew from Phoenix to New York, New York to China, China to Penang, Malaysia. flying over the Arctic was pretty exciting as well and actually being over Russia was also pretty thrilling in and of itself.

​The food on China Southern Airline was really good and the portions were larger than I would your traditional airline food I thought. every meal was followed by hot tea and a warm towel to refresh yourself. Being such a long flight they were rally good about letting folks walk the cabin and I found myself doing plenty of stretches in the back galley way. Having an emergency exit row seat helped with the legroom for being 6'1 I'm not the tallest but I do have long legs and the extra room definitely helped.

One of my highlights of the flight was crossing over the international date line, that was a phenomenal experience for you actually can see going from dark to light in a matter of minutes, we were told to have the curtain closed but I was like I just HAVE to see this phenomena for myself and so I not only captured a picture, but I wanted to completed a video as well because I knew no one would believe me.

We arrived in Penang the next day at close to 1:30 am and when I tell you that second wind kicked in, take that feeling and multiply it. going through customs was an experienced, for there were 2 separate lines, one for the locals (Malaysian passport holders) and another one for everyone else.

Taking pictures was strictly forbidden and I truly didn't see any signs until the moment I snapped a picture, and like a scene out of a movie I hear this custom agent YELL across to me" HEY you can't take pictures here DELETE that right now" he steps out of his cubicle and mind you there were at least 200 people there but now all silent as to see what was going to happen next. He takes my phone out of my hand and says your in MY country now you can't be taking pictures here delete all those pictures you took, what's wrong with you.

Now I CAN'T just get into another line cause that would have looked really suspicious so nervously I wait my turn, I'm now next, I approach his line and he says again, you can't be taking any pictures, what are you doing here? In a nervous and cautious voice I said forgive me I was just excited to come visit my wife's country and I didn't mean any disrespect.. His demeanor immediately changes and his voice was now friendly, "You married a Penang girl? where is she? obviously she was in the other line, he says this is your first time here? I said yes, "ah man have a good trip enjoy..

I meet up with my wife and like 12 of her family members all laughing at me from the ordeal, apparently marrying a woman from Penang is a good thing.. We then drive to our hotel to get some much needed rest for our adventures in the morning.

​The Vistana hotel is a modern gem of a hotel with all the amenities you would get in the states, the pool was remarkable and the gym (my favorite place) had plenty of equipment necessary to get a good workout. If someone were to ask me the highlight about staying her is, well there are several, the rooms are very accommodating, it truly felt like home away from home, but I would have to say the morning breakfast buffet hands down some of the best food I have tasted in or out of the states.

I want to thank the good people at Vistana - The breakfast buffet was AMAZING. to the people at the Snake Temple, thank you for the laughs and for not allowing that snake to bite me. Until next time Malaysia..

The Snake Temple Of Penang, Malaysia was one of the highlights of the trip.

The Temple was built in the 1805 for Chor Soo Kong (祖師公), a Buddhist monk.[1][2] Devotees from as far away as Singapore, Taiwan and China come to pray in the temple on the monk's birthday (the sixth day of the first lunar month)

When visitors think of Penang, Malaysia’s smallest state, it’s often summarized as ‘Asia condensed’. Penang conjures up images of clear beaches and Baba Nyonya culture (a blend of Indian and Chinese traditions). Meanwhile, locals swear by its cuisine and the island is the country’s unofficial culinary capital; food is practically a religion in and of itself and trying the local fare is a must for visitors. About 12km from Georgetown, the Snake Temple is one of Penang’s ‘Malaysia – Truly Asia’ sights, to quote Tourism Malaysia.

At the entrance of the temple you begin to smell the incense burner which fills the main prayer hall with ‘smoke’: the incense that wafts through, acts as a tranquilizer, making them appear motionless, or asleep, but don't be fooled there are NO cages, except the one snake they let you hold to take pictures with, but the other ones WILL still bite you and are all over the place..

Nowadays it is hard to determine the amount of snakes that live in the temple grounds. Some say that the temple’s population is declining due to the rapid development that is disturbing the snakes’ natural habitat. However, during festivals you’ll see more of them, probably due to the extra offerings available.

At the back of the temple is a snake ‘pool’ filled with fruit trees – take a closer look at the trees to see snakes coiled around the branches.

Snake Temple

• Completed: 1805

• Opening Hours: 06:00 – 19:00

• Location: Bayan Lepas

• Pinang, Malaysia

• District: Southwest Penang Island District

• Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, Bayan Lepas

• Industrial Park, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Pulau

• Tel: +604 643 7273

• Price Range: For Temple: FREE Snake farm: Adults – RM5, Kids – RM3