Body Art WeeklyStudio of the Week · Bangkok Ink · On tour
Sak Yant on tour
When you cannot come to the master, the master comes to Wigan
Bangkok Ink, Sukhumvit 33, Bangkok, Thailand
On tour
For over a decade Bangkok Ink has flown its Sak Yant masters to the people who cannot come to Bangkok: the USA, Australia, China, Sweden and, every year, the UK. The next tour brings Senior Master Ajarn Sak to Wigan and London in July 2027. Here is how a tour session works, from choosing your design to the gold leaf.
The idea
Bringing the masters to you
Not everyone can fly to Bangkok for a tattoo. So Bangkok Ink does it the other way round: it flies the master over, sets him up in a friendly local studio, and brings the shrine's ceremony with him, offerings, chants, blessing and all.
For eleven years the UK visits were made by Grand Master Ajarn Ohr himself, who has trained many disciples to become masters. He no longer tours, but his door is still open: "if you come to Thailand and want a Thai Tattoo design by him, we do a V.I.P service to his temple."
Today the tours are led by Senior Master Ajarn Sak, who has worked with the studio for over a decade. "He has been working with us in Bangkok for over a decade, so we are well aware of his skills and authority, as are all of his customers!"
July 2027
Wigan, then London
The next dates on the studio's UK and Sak Yant sites. Tour dates do move, so check with the studio before you book your train:
Wigan, Greater Manchester
3 and 4 July 2027, at Skin Graffiti Tattoo Studio.
Shoreditch, London
6 to 14 July 2027, at Happy Sailor Tattoo Studio, where Grand Master Ajarn Ohr once gave a filmed interview.
Birmingham
Erdington, Birmingham was a stop on past tours. Ask the studio whether it is on the next one.
Booking
Choose the Yant first, then the day
"To start the booking process, you will first need to select the Sak Yant Thai tattoo design you are interested in." The studio's design pages are the place to start, and our Sak Yant page explains the most popular ones.
Then: "To book, please let us know your preferred day, morning or afternoon and studio." That is it. No forms in triplicate, no waiting list theatre.
On the day
Four steps, in a tattoo studio in England
The tour does not cut corners on the ceremony. The studio's guide walks every client through it, and it is worth reading before you kneel:
1. Yok kroo, the offering
Kneel face to face with the master, about a metre apart, and present the offering with your arms outstretched, looking down.
2. Rab Karn Sak Yant
"Control your breathing, breath in and out, steady, while meditating. Try not to move." And: "Ask for a break if you want one."
3. Seak Kha Tha, activation
Hands together, eyes closed. Coconut oil on the tattoo, then the chant. "Think about what you want out of life."
4. Krob kroo, the blessing
Turn to face the master: the Ruesi mask on your head, a blessed gift, and gold leaf beside the tattoo. Then it is covered for the journey home.
Parn kroo and kar kroo
The offering, and where the money goes
The studio brings offerings for you, but you can bring your own "to make it more personal": flowers, incense, candles, even a small bottle of spirits or cigarettes. That is the parn kroo. The kar kroo is the traditional donation to the master, "the money from which the Master and his family live on".
And part of it travels a long way. Ajarn Ohr's 4x4 club helps villages and schools in the mountains, places with "no roads, no phone signals" where you only get by four-wheel drive. Or as the studio puts it: "Sak Yant and Buddhism is all about helping people."
108
Why the master chants while he works
The chanting is not decoration. The katas, the studio explains, "are chanted 108 times (the number '108' means a lot in Thai language and is even a saying in Thai) before entering into a high level of meditation", and on a Hah Taew, each line is done on its own, with its own spell placed into it as you receive it.
Which is why a Sak Yant takes the time it takes. You are not waiting for a machine to warm up; you are sitting through a prayer.
Around the world
Ten countries and counting
Before the UK became the yearly stop, the masters tattooed and blessed in "the USA, Australia, China, Sweden, Netherlands, England, Taiwan, Belgium, Singapore, Malaysia". There are photos of Ajarn Sak giving a gold-leaf blessing on his China tour, and a local reporter filmed her first Sak Yant on the UK tour.
The studio keeps the tour films online: watch the UK tour videos on Martin's Sak Yant site.
Good to know
Your questions, their answers
Can I still get a Yant from Grand Master Ajarn Ohr?
Not on tour any more. In Thailand, yes: the studio's VIP service picks you up from your hotel with a translator and takes you to his temple.
Can I bring my own offering?
Yes. The studio has offerings ready, but you may bring flowers, incense, candles or something small of your own to make it personal.
Can I take a break during the tattoo?
"Ask for a break if you want one. Not a problem to take a break."
I cannot make the UK dates. Now what?
Come to Bangkok: the studio offers Sak Yant at its Sam Nak, the shrine on Sukhumvit 33, "at Thailand prices".
Inside Bangkok Ink: On tour
In depth
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Photos: Bangkok Ink. Words in quotes are the studio’s own. Prices and opening hours change: check with the studio before you go.