Anantara Hotels, Resorts and Spas’ flagship hotel, Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel, is introducing private sacred tattoo sessions by one of the City of Angels’ most famous Sak Yant masters, Ajarn Neng Onnut. Anantara Siam is the only hotel in Thailand that offers this exclusive private service by the revered master.

Sak Yant tattoos, also referred to as bamboo tattoos, are expertly engraved into the skin entirely by hand using a traditional Khem Sak – a handcrafted metal rod designed to replicate the shape of a bamboo stick that is often passed down to an Ajarn, meaning master in Thai, by their own master.

These tattoos are popular among Thais who mostly visit a temple to get inked by a Buddhist monk and are traditional forms of tattooing magical ancient geometric and deity symbols with Buddhist prayers onto the body.  The tattoos are sacred blessings that are believed to impart magical powers for luck; protection; charisma; fortune; and other powers onto the wearer to help in their own personal journey.

A master, teacher and learned scholar in the sacred art of Sak Yant, Ajarn Neng Onnut has more than ten years of perfecting his expert craft on over 10,000 people under his Khem Sak, and his fascination with this sacred art has been described as something of an obsession. 

Sak Yant is one of the world’s most ancient and sacred traditions and becoming learned in it includes mastering the intricate art work of the tattoos, which consists of almost 1,000 different graphic images.  Ajarn Neng’s passion to become a master also saw him learning how to read and write the entire ancient Khmer and Pali scripts, memorising all the unique prayers and secret spells, chants and mantras that relate to the sacred tattoos.

Commenting on the introduction of private Sak Yant tattoo sessions by Ajarn Neng Onnut at the luxury urban retreat in the heart of one of the world’s most enigmatic capital cities, Daniel Simon, Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel’s General Manager, said that Anantara takes pride in connecting travellers to the indigenous with passionate expertise.

The private Sak Yant tattoo sessions by Ajarn Neng Onnut are performed in the privacy of a guest’s suite, or in a private treatment room.  A consultation by the Ajarn takes place the day before when the master meets and learns about the guest’s life and goals in life and decides on a fitting Yant.  Before and after inking the Yant, the Ajarn performs a ceremony where the body and art are blessed, giving the wearer a permanent and deeply significant reminder of the unique experience.

Prices for a private Sak Yant tattoo session by Ajarn Neng Onnut at Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel start from $800 USD for a small symbol called Na and $1,000 USD for a one-line Yant, to $3,000 USD per hour for a Twin Tiger design.

A prior reservation is essential and more info can be found at Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel website.