Bamboo for Two

It never ceases to amaze me that when you start looking for something you need, it always seems more difficult to find than the day before, when it was everywhere. This is exactly what happened to us when we tried to find a tattoo tout that we had met on the beach when we first arrived. Every other day that we went to the beach we stumbled upon him again (or rather he wandered up to us on our beach chairs). Since we couldn't find "James Bond" (the tattoo tout) we decided to try to find Patong tattoo, which according to the reviews on the internet was the most reputable place for bamboo tattoos in the area. Again, we were out of luck as the streets and addresses here are remarkably confusing. We found the sign for it once, but it was no where near the actual tattoo parlor.

We ended up asking another tattoo tout that was working the beach if she knew who James was and where we could find him. It turns out that he was sick, but she and her partner would be able to take us to the same tattoo parlor that James worked for. We figured that we had tried looking around enough, lets go for it. The tout and his partner went to go get their scooters so that they could take us to the parlor which was on the other end of the beach. It was our first scooter ride in Thailand and although we were a little nervous about hoping on the back, our fears turned out to be unfounded and it was an awesome ride.

As we zoomed down the road, passing parlor after parlor (getting a tattoo seems to be a very popular thing to do while on vacation here) we pulled up to none other than Patong tattoo, the place that we had been hunting for! We met Mit and Wat, the owners and tattooists and Ryan took a look at some of their work and designs. They had the exact tattoo that Ryan had been looking for, khmer script that is used for protection. Since they had the time and Ryan had the nerve, he decided to get it done right away. Ryan was definitely nervous, it had been more than 10 years since his last tattoo and that was done with a gun. He had no idea what this experience had in store for him. The spot that he picked for his new work was the inside of his bicep which is a very tender area. Prior to getting the tattoo, Ryan watched them prepare the brand new needle and the bamboo method was a more elaborate set up than he anticipated. The tattoo turned out very well and unlike gun tattoos there was no bleeding and he would be able to go into the water after only a few hours.

After a couple days, Ryan decided that one of the other tattoo designs that he looked at while deciding on the first one caught his attention heavily because it was a design that he had seem previously to coming to Thailand but never thought he would be able to get. We decided to go back to Patong tattoo to see what we could work out with Mit and Wat. The deal was pass up and they even offered a trip to a temple to get both new tattoos blessed by a monk to receive the protection that the tattoos truly stand for. The second tattoo went as well as the first although it took about twice as long to do. This one was also in a rather awkward and ticklish spot, on the side of his torso. Once it was complete, Ryan made arrangements to come back in a couple hours to travel to the temple.

The monk that he encountered once he arrived greeted him happily and Ryan was prompted to remove his shirt to show him the tattoos that he had received. The monk, who was himself covered in similar tattoos all over his body including the ones Ryan had, invited Ryan into the temple which was covered in amazing statues and imagery. Ryan was instructed to sit, legs crossed, looking out of the temple. The monk then started lighting candles and incense and gathering items he would need. He then smothered the tattoo in rosewater, started patting the tattoo, chanting and blowing against the it after he finished different sections of the chant. Once this was done, he read through the tattoos all the while holding a lit candle. After reading through it he put out the candle by flicking the candle towards the tattoo, dowsing the flame and sending the wax towards the tattoo. This was repeated for both tattoos. It was an intense moment and the hair on the back of Ryan's neck was standing up at the end of the blessing.