Bangkok - In a cramped Bangkok room filled with statues of deities and plumes of incense smoke, a master is at work.
With expert precision Ajarn Neng repeatedly plunges a razor sharp needle dipped in black ink into the back of a disciple, each stab producing a perfectly placed pixel that forms a traditional Thai tattoo.
It is an ancient art carried out by ajarns (masters), steeped in superstition that Thais have prized for centuries. But increasingly it is foreigners beating a path to this Buddhist tattooist's door.
"I've been dreaming of getting a tattoo like this for years," says Silvia Falbo, from Rome, proudly showing five lines of Khmer script Neng recently inked onto her shoulder blade.
"I'm attracted to Buddhism and all the spirituality that goes with it. And the design is really beautiful and original," she adds.
Ever since American GIs passed through Bangkok for their R&R during the Vietnam War foreigners have returned home sporting traditional Thai tattoos -- known as "sak yant".
But it was when Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie unveiled a Khmer inscription -- traditionally used in the region for Buddhist scripture -- on her left shoulder that sak yant hit the mainstream.
Now the faces patiently waiting for their turn in front of Neng are just as likely to be from outside Thailand than inside.
AFP
