Mar 15, 2017
You may or may not have heard about the Sak Yant tattoo festival
before, but after hearing this episode of the Bangkok Podcast, you
sure as darn heck won't be able to forget about it. For years
travelers have been entertained by tales of screaming men rushing
the stage, possessed by the spirits of the tattoos that cover their
bodies in sheets of intricate sub-dermal ink. But it's not merely
an odd tourist attraction - the men who have them, the monks who
give them, and the shamans who 'recharge' them all hold the tattoos
- and the power they say they represent - in the highest regard.
With an origin story that involves a Burmese invasion, sinking
boats, lost Buddha images, and man-eating tigers, it sounds
like something from a novel by Graham Greene or Joseph Conrad, but
it's all - very probably - true. Evo and his lovely wife Sheila
headed up to Wat Bang Phra in Nakhon Pathom - about 50km west of
Bangkok - to check out the festivities and boy did they get the
goods. Hanging out with devotees on Friday evening and then
recording their screams, gurgles, laughs, and chants on the
Saturday, Evo gives a description of what it's like in the middle
of the action. Those screams, gurgles, laughs and chants can be
heard in the podcast, by the way. Here's a few pictures - but head
over to Sheila's Flickr album
to see more. 
Love, Loathe or Leave?
Evo springs his LLoL on Greg - what does he think of the national anthem that plays every day at 8am and 6pm? Is it an annoying distraction, a treasured cultural identifier, or something in between? Have a listen to the song in the video below if you're not familiar, then follow along with their discussion at home! https://youtu.be/BrcGzLIEsAU?t=10
Want more?
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