Thailand Part 5: Sak Yant

In the midst of it all

Om and his handy work



My beautiful new tattoo

close up

Sak Yant is a form of sacred tattooing practiced in Thailand. They are normally tattooed by Buddhist monks and the designs date back to Ankgor times (800-1200 A.D.) when they were received by masters through visions. The tattoos are sutras made up of writing and geometric patterns and are meant to protect those bearing them from bodily or spiritual harm. Thus they have been very popular among the military and muay thai fighters.

The tattoos are applied using a bamboo rod, a technique which is about 3,000 years old. A fine needle is attached to the rod and then tapped into the skin. Because the skin is punctured and not torn as it is with a gun tattoo, the healing process is quite different. Pain is reduced and there is no bleeding or scabbing. The entire healing process only takes about four days and there is no need to cover the tattoo or avoid the sun or sea. Another benefit is the color tends to stay strong much longer with a bamboo tattoo.

I decided that I wanted one six months ago during my first visit to Thailand. It's hard to explain but there is something special about the connection one develops with this country. By my last count I've been to 17 countries, some that I have loved very deeply, but I have never felt such a deep bond between traveler and place. The rest of the world seems to melt away while you are there. There is no yesterday or tomorrow, no sense of urgency or stress. Life feels simple, all you need is a nice place to rest, a bit of shade, and some good food to eat. The needs and desires of everyday life, particularly for the material, fade into the background. Time passes only with the rising and setting sun.

I wanted to keep a small piece of that feeling with me, to remember who I am when it's all stripped away. I loved the beauty of the art and I wanted it all to be a part of me. So after discussing it with Om, our tattoo artist and finding the perfect design for me, I felt completely confident. I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out.

Most people want to know if it hurt. It didn't. It was more of an annoying "quit poking me with that needle for an hour" sensation. The placement of my tattoo was also not in a sensitive area (unlike Maddy who got one on her side, right over her rib cage). The discomfort was over in under an hour anyway, and it felt like a rite of passage.

My tattoo is supposed to bring harmony, safety and luck to me and those closest to me. I don't believe that anything in this world can protect you from all harm, nor would I want complete immunity, but so far my tattoo seems to be working its magic. It helps me remember, it protects me from lives I don't want.

FIGHTING!

Let me start off by saying that bungee jumping is not fun...

... It's awesome! Still, I stand by my first statement. It really isn't fun. You get off a bus on top of a bridge and climb a tower until you are standing on a platform 52 meters above a river. Tiny people dot the banks waiting to watch you plummet towards the water as you flail and scream helplessly. You can't help but wonder why we humans feel the need to do things like this. Did I mention that 52 meters is approximately 15 stories?

To rewind for a second I should tell you that as a child I was afraid of everything. Really... EVERYTHING... sky rides, roller coasters, downhill skiing, bees... ESCALATORS. I had to work really hard to become a thrill seeker, but this time I was really testing my limits. So when after watching my friends dive off the ledge and scream bloody murder my number was up, I hated myself just a little. I edged closer to my executioner - I mean "the bungee dude" - and as he tried to attach a giant hook to my back I asked him (through gestures due to the language barrier) why my harness was so loose.

"OOOOH Riiiiiight, I should probably tighten that!" he seemed to gesture back. I then pulled on the harness to show him that it was going to go around my neck and choke me to death. When I put my hands around my neck and made a gagging face I caught the attention of the other bungee dude. His eyes opened wide and he rushed over. Turns out they had put my harness on the wrong way. Greaaat. I was feeling really confident at this point. I then had to make them tighten the leg harnesses. Good job guys.

Finally I was hooked up to the chord and they pushed the slack over the ledge and told me to go stand at the edge.

Wait! No! I don't want to stand over the edge, I don't want to look I just want to close my eyes and run off. They told me I couldn't do this and this time I hated them a little.

"Toes" they said. I edged closer. Why oh why was I doing this? I was afraid to fall off of the very ledge I was about to throw myself off of. It made no sense. I finally had my toes curled over the edge of the platform, but I didn't realize I was clutching the railing. "No touch" they said. It took every ounce of courage in me to let go. "Okay, three, two, one BUNGEE!" said the bungee dude wayyy too quickly. I turned around. The other jumpers had told me they would count for me and damn it, I needed the support. I knew, however, that when they reached one I had to jump. No hesitation. No matter what I was jumping off this platform and if I waited I would only prolong the agony. Sure enough when they reached one I leaped (okay maybe I spasmed) off the edge.

No words can describe what it feels like to plummet towards the ground but I'll do my best. All of my insides seemed to occupy the space that my lungs normally inhabit. I started to scream but it was abruptly cut off. Air was rushing out of my mouth but the sound was gone. I remember thinking that it was weird in between trying to crawl into my happy place. Then, suddenly I was flying upwards and I was screaming again. Loudly. Going up is strange because you really can't feel the movement. When you are high enough that you can't judge your distance above the ground you just feel like you are staying still. I really thought for a moment that I was suspended in the air. It felt really great until I realized I was going to fall again.

I had bounced high enough to look down at the bridge again. I cursed elasticity and shrieked my way through several more drops. When it was over I hung helplessly by my bungee chord until I was lowered into a waiting boat. My legs were shaking so hard I couldn't even stand as he unhooked me. All I could think was, "I did it! I did it and now it's over!" I was high on adrenaline and fear and the new sensation that is free falling. In the end, that's probably why we force ourselves to do things like this - the novelty. I didn't actually want to jump off that bridge but the idea that so many people have and I had no idea what it felt like killed me. So now I'm part of the club and can move on with my life until the next new sensation beckons. Plus I've got a great video of my jump, which I will try to upload eventually but you can see on facebook now if you are friends with me. I look like a deranged spider...

Taipei Taipei!

A nice little upgrade...

An interesting weather description at the Taipei Airport


the park by our hostel

Chinese

Confucian Temple

Confucian Temple

Chiang Kai Shek Memorial

Taipei 101

Shillin Night Market

The choice of Taipei as our destination for Children's Day Weekend had a lot more to do with plane ticket prices than anything else, but I'm really glad I got the chance to go. For one thing, I have been considering teaching there in the future because the jobs are well paid and the climate is nice. For another, it was a whole lot of fun.

The glow of euphoria was still upon me when I woke up at Maddy's on Saturday morning and we headed for the airport. The universe was most definitely happy with us because we were informed at the ticket counter that there were no more seats in coach and we would therefore have to endure an upgrade to business class. Fiiiiiiine. On the way through security my skin, warmed by a slight sunburn, set off the heat sensors they had set up to find sick passengers and I was stopped for a quick temperature check. I was informed that I didn't have swine flu, so all in all it was a positive start to the day.

After stopping for some extremely necessary mocha lattes, we realized we were a bit late to our gate. With a little hustling, we made it in time and settled into our cozy business class seats with our lattes and the Wall Street Journal. We wanted to look the part. A few glasses of complimentary champagne later and we had arrived.

A large sign in the Taipei airport informed us that the weather outside was "sultry," and I thought that sounded like a great time. We hopped a bus into the city and my spirits brightened even more (if that's possible) when I saw the blue skies and palm trees. I could definitely do this. We dropped our stuff at our hostel and immediately set out for some exploring, lunch at a veggie restaurant, and some serious lounging in Peace Park. It was Saturday, so we felt it was our obligation to check out the Taipei nightlife as well. We went to a really cool club called Luxy where a DJ played some awesome music while we danced all night long.

The next day, we rallied for some sight seeing even though our skulls were rebelling. We visited a beautiful and unique Confucian Temple first. Then we headed to the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial which was a gorgeous, absolutely huge white building with an intricate blue roof. It was in the middle of a large public square where some sort of health fair was taking place. The Taiwanese are seriously into giving out free samples, and I am seriously into getting them, except for one weird drink that Lacy described as "a little bit like dirt in my mouth." Later that night, we headed to Taipei 101, the World's Tallest Building. It was really cool to see, because it towers of everything else in the city and I really love the design. The building itself looks like a large bamboo shoot and its exteriors are walls of glass. Conveniently Taipei 101 also has the World's fastest elevator. It only took 36 seconds to get to the observation deck on the 88th floor. Later we headed to the famous Shillin Night Market to try out some Taiwanese street food. We had oyster pancakes and Thai papaya salad (oh how I missed you!!!) But we were way to scared to try to the stinky tofu, a fermented dish that smells like dead bodies. I just couldn't get past that minor detail.

Tragically, our beach day turned out to be the only rainy day of our trip. Instead of the glorious day in the sand I had been dreaming about we decided to visit the hot springs in a local town about one and a half hours away by train. We went to a nice little hotel whose owner, Oliver, was very eager to befriend us and make sure we were comfortable. "I love Americans. I want American friends, they are so nice." he told me enthusiastically, "But Koreans and Japanese I don't like." he added ominously. He gave us a gorgeous room with a private mineral bath to relax in, which also allowed us access to the larger rooftop hot spring. Maddy and I decided to splurge on massages first and soon two Taiwanese women arrived at our room. The next hour can only be described as the most painful thing that has ever happened to me. These women took the term deep tissue to the next level. Not wanting to seem like a baby, I gritted my teeth and tried to go to my happy place, hoping I wouldn't end up covered in bruises the next day. It turns out both Maddy and I contemplated whether our massages were anything like real torture at several points during our ordeal.

My date with pain behind me we headed upstairs for some relaxation. The rooftop hot springs were immediately dubbed "The Grotto" for their resemblance to Hugh Hefner's backyard. There was even disco lights. Someone had the bright idea that Oliver should take our picture for his hotel brochure and within minutes he had set up a tripod and the picture became a full on photo shoot. I hope we end up on a billboard somewhere.

Maddy and I left the other girls and headed back to Taipei because our flight was leaving the next afternoon. We have gotten used to restaurants never closing in Korea so we were dismayed to find the Buddhist Vegetarian Buffet we had trekked all over the city looking for was closed when we got there. Instead we ate Pizza at the world's classiest Pizza Hut ever. A poor substitute and we felt kind of defeated, but I won't lie, it was damn good.

We flew back to reality in Korea where I was happily not quarantined for swine flu and for the first time I was "coming home to Korea." It felt really nice. When I opened my apartment door I just flopped onto my bed happily. I had missed my little apartment and I immediately felt comfortably at home. It seems I'm settling in.