I find Thailand to be a very spiritual place, and I love visiting temples, giving Merit, and exploring the spiritual lives of those practicing Theravada Buddhism.

A historical tradition of many is to get sacred tattoos called Sak Yant. This art form is rich with symbolism and meaning, and is done with a steel needle.

I received my first Sak Yant on a previous trip to Chiang Mai, and I’m now returning for artwork.

My driver and I traveled from the Sak Yant office on the outer rim of the Old City in Chiang Mai to a temple about 20 minutes away. Before I met with the monk, I had the opportunity to explore the grounds of a new temple being built close by. So beautiful to see the details being added into the design of this new structure.

I also peeked into another temple on the grounds.

After exploring, I arrived at where I got my tattoo. The scene is a little more *humble* and yes, I did see a chicken run by while I was waiting. Below I am taking a picture of the set up, and you can see the monk finishing up the man’s tattoo in front of me. I am next in line to meet with the Buddhist monk.

I chose to get a couple of different designs. You can see the one I got from before, which is the large dragon on the center of my back. This time, I asked the monk to put the Yant Phaya Hong Koo, a mythical bird, facing each other on the top left and right sides of my back.

And now the second Yant which is a swan on my arm. Such amazing art.

After receiving a blessing from the monk, I returned back to Chiang Mai.