So I’m going to get into the nitty gritty about getting a
Sak Yant Thai tattoo right here, right now with all you lovely readers. First
thing’s first, they hurt! That’s right, yes they do really hurt. And as you
know Thailand is hot, and humid, very hot and very humid. So expect to sweat.
And with every drop of your precious sweat and every really deep breath that I
took, that shooting pain as the monk put the old school sak yank bamboo right
into my skin and delivered a hit of the venomous ink (it is not really venomous
to us although it does contain venom!). So let’s rewind to where I had it done
which was in fact Chiang Mai province in Thailand.
As it happens, I was in fact the first one in line, this was
by choice. I wanted to not see people suffering and wailing out if it was going
to be off-putting; instead I jumped right in there. And, I would say this is
the way to do it! Go for it! You have set your mind on doing a Thai tattoo so
why hang around. Have the monk bring it on. Yeah I was a bit shaky this being
my first Sak Yant tattoo but hey, there’s a first time for everything right?
Now a bit of a further point about the pain you will feel.
Yes it does hurt and yes you will be trembling for the first 5 minutes. Is there
any good news to come? Yup, this anxiety does pass and if you’re nice and fresh
and not hung over then you’ll settle into it. You’re also at the mercy of a
religious Buddhist monk during the process and you can actually start feeling
as if you’re blessed, especially if you hold some Buddhist beliefs. As I had a
Thai Sak Yant Tattoo and with all Thai tattoos, they are performed by the hands
of a sacred monk with a good old fashioned bamboo and you really feel each
prick of the needle, and it really is a point by point slow process depending
on what they have in store for you in terms of the tattoo artwork chosen.
Sak Yant tattooing is a delicate and fine art, very precise and will be painful
The tattoo the monk had in store for me was a crystal crown
design which in Thai language is ‘Mongkuk Kaew’. So how did the monk decide on
this particular blessing tattoo? Well they have a little chat with you before-hand
and from this, he decided that I needed protection in my life in the form of a
stronger aura and a more positive energy.