On Getting a Yantra Tattoo in Bangkok

I'm sure many of you, together with a good number of our friends, will think it is absolutely crazy to get a tattoo using a bamboo stick. Well, you may be right. And yes, we did our research. The tools they use do get disinfected. Does the artist use extra precaution? I would not go that far. It is a risk as any other, but the decision had been made and we just had to trust that nothing bad would happen. 

Let me begin by saying that finding information about where to get a yantra tattoo in Bangkok was not as easy as we thought it would be. We spent days reading people's blogs and forums and looking over websites. The thing is, these tattoos are supposed to be done by monks. They are considered sacred, so they can only be placed on the upper part of your back. Plus, if you do end up going to a temple where they offer to do those tattoos on laymen, it is up to the monk to decide what tattoo you will get. That complicated things because we wanted the tattoos to not be so visible and we wanted a specific tattoo, not the one chosen by a monk. This is when we got our Thai friend, Smith, involved in research. He forwarded us a website of the most talented and known tattoo artist, a former Buddhist monk and a practitioner of Thai magic in Thailand, yes, the same one that tattooed a Hollywood superstar. And no, that is NOT why we went to him. Well, he rarely does the tattoos these days anyway, it is his disciples that do them. Ours were done by one of them, a tall and muscular man (to Smith’s surprise) who observed us intently as he negotiated the price with Smith and discussed the choice of the tattoo. We came in with the last of our money for this trip and, combined, seemed like we couldn’t even afford one tattoo. As we began walking out, our artist pitched in his last offer, two tattoos for the initial price he had given us for one. Helpless, we looked at Smith who suddenly materialized the difference from his pocket and so we got ourselves a deal.

How did all this come about? It was the night before our last day in Thailand. Jessica and I were sitting in the internet lobby of Smith's condo in Bangkok and chatting with Smith about how to get to the temple-like place the next morning, avoid traffic and be there before any other people. We decided to leave at about 5:30 am, we were that serious about making this happen. Bangkok was just waking up as we drove through the main streets and then onto an unpaved road. "This is the real Thailand, right Smith?" He agreed. There were no more shopping centers, no flashy posters, no crazy traffic, just a sandy road with wild vegetation, simple wooden huts and run down buildings, stray dogs and only occasional temples, almost over-elaborate in contrast to everything else. We passed by a group of monks dressed in traditional orange robes, their heads shaven and walking alongside the road barefoot. It seemed like we were on the right track although we still had to stop and ask for directions.

As we pulled up to what looked like a temple, but was not a temple, as Smith informed, the gates were still closed. We were early. Way early. It didn't matter though. Soon after the guards opened the gate and we parked the car in a designated parking area, I changed into my temple-visiting-clothes and we looked around. The outside had two areas set up with statues of all sizes both Buddhist and Hindu, placed in order of importance and merit. Smith suggested we pray at one of the altars. He handed us several incense sticks and had us repeat after him in Thai. The prayer took quite some time as we asked him over and over to repeat the lines and slow down. It took so long, in fact, the ashes fell on my hand and burned it pretty bad. I jumped, looked at Jessica in shock, thinking, is this a bad sign, and then Jessica jumped as she burned her hand too. We hurried with the rest of the prayer feeling a bit apprehensive about the reason behind our trip to this place. 

The tattoo itself took an hour each and it WAS painful. It started off like intense poking into the skin that felt uncomfortable, but not unbearable. That was only about 1/5 of the tattoo. The real pain kicked in right after that and it grew exponentially. I sat there praying, meditating, trying to relax my body and, above all, reminding myself to breathe and relax my muscles. The digging into the skin soon became so excruciating, I wanted to cry. I envisioned myself getting up and breaking into an uncontrollable weep. I didn't care that there were other people around me. I didn't care that I wouldn't look tough. I just wanted to release the pain through the tears and make it go away. Suddenly everything became a nuisance, even Smith trying to film me as tears poured down my cheeks. I had an urge to throw something at him, to make him move away from me. And I just managed to say, "STOP. Please stop!"
Somehow, though, the pain was also therapeutic. It was as if all the pains I have suffered converged into that one spot on my back and they were so intense and so overwhelming, all I wanted to do was to get rid of them through this cathartic release that just wasn’t coming. 
Before we left, we asked for a blessing. As the water trickled down my sensitive skin, I finally felt the release in my muscles and my emotions. My body gave into the words pouring out of the mouth of the monk and I thought, things are the way they're supposed to be. Everything will align itself perfectly, just like the five sanskrit lines on my back. All that has happened, happened for a reason and the lessons learned are just that, lessons, conditioning for life, education. What comes after that is GOOD. Just good. It cannot be otherwise. Such was my prayer as I left that place marked for life, to help me remember the pain as the most intense purge that created space for the calm acceptance of everything that was yet to come. 

On our way out, we received booklets written in Thai that explained the meaning of each line. We asked Smith to translate them as best he could and this is what he came up with:
1) Giving your home (body) a balance (good energy)
2) Helps zodiac sign... Predicting bad and changing it to be good
3) If something bad happens to you and it is not your time it will keep you alive... Any voodoo will do no harm to your body
4) Good luck... You'll be successful in the future (job, marriage, life in general)... Whatever endeavor you engage in
5) You'll be charming and popular to the opposite sex
Perhaps not the most graceful translation, but the main ideas are outlined. Thank you Smith for taking us to the right place, lending us money and being our translator. None of this would have been possible without you!

That morning ended as such. Exhausted, we threw our bodies on the bed and took a restorative nap. Smith took this picture before he left the condo, probably laughing hysterically. I don't blame him. It is kind of funny. We barely slept the night before, woke up before the sunrise and then subjected our bodies to a continuous pain for a full hour. This was more exhausting than a 16-hour flight from Chicago to Hong Kong. Nonetheless, mission accomplished and what a beautiful ending to this very special trip.