In Thailand, a bpai tiao is a trip of any length. I’ve written about some of my more significant bpai tiaos to tourist destinations here, to be used as travel ideas and tips.
My last post was about festivals here in Thailand that I do not want to miss over this next year here, and I left one out. But that is because I tried to go to it this last weekend. Every year, at Wat Bang Phra in Nakhon Pathom, a couple hours outside of Bangkok, there is the Sak Yant Tattoo Festival.
Sak yant tattoos originated in Cambodia and use ancient Khmer script. The practice spread across Southeast Asia, but has died out in most places, except for Thailand. The tattoos are made either with a piece of bamboo sharpened to a point or a long needle and are tapped into the skin by hand. They are typically done by monks or Buddhist teachers and are believed to be imbued with magical powers for good luck or protection.
On Saturday, some friends and I took a cab out to the wat from Bangkok, but it’s also possible to use public transportation. Because the magic of the tattoos wears off over time, this temple holds an annual ceremony that allows the bearers to have their protective powers recharged in a mass assembly. However, when we arrived it appeared that the event had finished. There was still a ton of people milling around and making merit, and the wat was beautiful, so we wandered around for a bit.
My friend decided that since things had calmed down a bit that he wanted to get one done. He purchased the offering that is made to the monk or teacher – flowers, incense and a pack of cigarettes – and sat down and waited his turn. He had some ideas of what he wanted, and a couple of them were rejected because he is not Thai, but he ended up getting a tiger, which represents power and authority. It was really neat to watch and photograph.
