tattoo (via bamboo)

way back when we first got to Thailand, a thai tour guide in Chiang Mai told us that you could pretty much just get by in life by using two materials: 1. banana leafs, and 2. bamboo. I have to say that this statement has kind of proved itself true again and again.

I got a tattoo on an island called Koh Chang and of course, the #2 material was involved. Bamboo tattooing is something I didn't know about before coming here, but I dig it. Not only is it adhering to the rules by using bamboo, but it seems to me like it requires a lot of talent by the tattoo artist. And it's just a lot of freehand tapping that eventually magically produces a permanent tattoo. No bleeding, no scarring, just a half hour of ink being pounded in your skin and then you're on with the rest of your day.

here's the end result. but you know, the process was pretty freaking great too.