From Forbes

As travellers increasingly seek transformative wellness experiences, Indigenous cultural practices have entered the mainstream. From the commercialization of ayahuasca retreats to Mexican sweat lodges (known as a temazcal, it’s now easier than ever to access ancient modalities of healing on your next trip. But many of these cultural practices are divorced from their origins, eliciting criticisms of cultural appropriation. Subsequently, travelers pursuing a more ethical and regenerative approach to travel look to go to the source for their next culturally rooted wellness experience.

In Thailand, one such ancient practice that is attracting travelers is bamboo tattoos known as “sak yant.” While the exact origins are not clear, the tattoos are believed to date back centuries; first used by Holy men and later by Buddhist monks across Southeast Asia in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. Translating to “magic tattoo,” they’re believed to hold magical powers; ward off evil spirits and bestow the wearer with strength and courage. Due to their role in providing protection and good fortune, they are only to be applied by a spiritual master who can impart their energy in the application process. As a result, sak yant masters in Thailand are in high demand, and can develop an international following for their practice, particularly when they ink celebrities.

Now travellers can access one of the most coveted sak yant masters, Ajarn Neng Onnut at Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel. A master and teacher in the art of sak yant, Onnut has over ten years of experience applying sak yant tattoos to over 10,000 people, including celebrities like Brooke Shields and Ryan Phillippe. As the first hotel in the country to provide sak yant, Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel has already seen guests fly from Europe and the United States specifically for the service.

In Thai, “sak” means “to tap,” describing the method of tapping the ink onto the skin using a traditional khem sak, a metal rod designed to replicate the shape of a bamboo stick which is often passed down through generations from a preceding sak yant master. Perhaps even more important as the application process of “sak” is the ritual that surrounds it. At Anantara, master Onnut consults the guest the day before the inking to learn about the guest’s life and goals in order to decide on the most appropriate yant, which can range from the most famous Haah Taew five-line yant to larger designs like the Twin Tigers. In becoming learned in sak yant, master Onnut studied the intricate artwork of the tattoos—which consists of almost 1,000 graphic images—and learned to read and write the entire Khmer and Pali scripts, memorizing the tattoo’s associated prayers, chants and mantras.

Continues at

https://www.forbes.com/sites/annahaines/2024/04/11/would-you-travel-to-thailand-for-a-tattoo

 

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