I've only been building for six months or so, but I've recently bought a serpent too, and I have to say that it is truly amazing for the price - as others have said it's great for flavour and vapour, single coil, great airflow....what's not to like?....apart from the fact that you can't replace the glass if you throw it around.
Cleaning-wise, I have 'borrowed' a mascara brush from the missus and that seems to do just fine to get to those hard-to-reach places. Oh....I did thoroughly clean the brush first naturally!