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Published: January 23rd 2009
Inked
Something of much less size and visibility than Marc's tattoo, mine is my Zodiac sign (Cancer), with a little yin/yang influence.“Turtle tattoo on right foot” is now something to add to the list of Marc’s distinguishable features.
If our raving review of Chiang Mai didn’t sell you on our love of Thailand, the fact that we permanently branded ourselves with bamboo tattoos should thoroughly convince.
While the decision was largely spontaneous, I admit we have talked about getting these very tattoos for several years. When we stumbled into a small bamboo tattoo shop run by a peculiar and memorable man named Charlie it just seemed like the right place and the right time. We wanted to commemorate not just Thailand, but our entire adventure away from home, which we talked about doing for about as long as the tattoos.
We got inked on the last night of a week-long stay on the tiny, picturesque island of Koh Tao. Mostly mountains bordered by beach, the remote island was a stimulating scene for the senses. A patchwork of bikinis, beach towels and bronzed skin against green seas and golden sands; a waft of coconut, coffee beans and grilled pineapple on the breeze; and a blend of mellow tunes flowing from places with names like Blue, Vibe, Jibe or Cool Somethingorother.
No tuk-tuks, lavish resorts or any significant semblance of Western influence, it was a hippy-like locale that looked and felt like “paradise”. We spent one splendid week in a beachside bungalow on Sairee Beach.
Prior to and a few days after our week on Koh Tao, we spent about 10 days sharing a house on Koh Samui with a Canadian-American couple we met randomly through a friend-of-a-friend at a swimming pool near the tail end of our time in Saigon. Almost one month after meeting James and Rachelle for that first and only time, we happened to pass them on the street in Siem Reap. It was soon discovered that we were coincidentally staying at the same hotel and had strangely similar travel plans for visiting Koh Samui. There was something serendipitous about the Siem Reap encounter, and we could hardly refuse their extremely generous offer to stay with them when we arrived in Samui.
Despite some crummy weather, we enjoyed every moment of the easy island life where no shirt and no shoes never means no service. We lazed, explored, watched movies, read, wrote and got lost in great discussion while trying not to distract them from
their work (editing video and interview footage they collected in Vietnam and Cambodia). We ate wonderful Thai food - upping our spiciness tolerance by about half a pepper a day - and found new appreciation for the divine trifecta of a cheap breakfast, good coffee and a decent wireless Internet connection. The four of us celebrated the New Year together on Lamai Beach and traveled by boat, bus and train back to Bangkok before we flew to South Africa and they to India. We feel so fortunate to have met James and Rachelle, and we hope our friendship with them is as permanent as our new tattoos.
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Lily
non-member comment
Hey there, the tattoos look fabulous, and you guys look so well and so relaxed! Apologies for the long hiatus in contact. Between the sun coming out in Danang, Tet holiday and leaving plans (I got a new job - we're moving to Seoul in April) I've just been a real slacker... Thanks for giving me back the travel bug...