Before you decide to get a tattoo from one of the many long haired, rasta-looking Thai men in the foreigner-inking business during a holiday in Thailand, think twice. There are enormous differences between the design you are going to get, and the rigid ink lines we can sometime spot etching a Thai person’s skin, spurting timidly from under their clothing.

Sak yant, as these traditional Thai tattoos are called, represents a form of magical protection for the bearers: may it be against accidents, evil, crime, or to give women better chances to attract the perfect soul mate, sak yant are not an indelible way to remember a backpacking trip.

They are applied by a master who gives his tattooed disciples a series of rules to follow in order to keep the protective spell alive, usually starting with Buddhism’s five principles. As much as sak yant is despised by upper class Thai society, it is still alive and well, and represents one of the few aspects of Thai culture which have not received massive coverage in the mainstream media.

The gap has been graciously filled last year, when travel writer Tom Vater and his photographer wife Aroon Thaewchatturat have published the first English written book on the subject, Sacred Skin:  a definitive collection documenting their travels across Thailand in search of the mysteries behind one of the last forms of religious tattooing existing in Southeast Asia.

I have reached Tom in Bangkok to get deeper behind the scenes of his trip into the underbelly of contemporary Thai society…

Why did you decide to document this aspect of Thai culture? How long did it take to finish the book?

It’s difficult to document an aspect of Thai culture that has not been covered many times before or is not part of the country’s official narrative – temples, monks, elephants and beaches. For many years I have been looking for a subject that lies right at the heart of Thai culture….until I came across Sak Yant. Popular amongst working class people and despised by the middle class, Sak Yant are right on the fault lines that divide Thai society. They are the sacred and secret codes of the have-nots which is why the Thai establishment and the ministry of culture take such a dim view of the tattoos, even though they are part of Thailand’s everyday life. I am guessing that perhaps 10% of Thai people, maybe more, wear Sak Yant.

picture by Aroon Thaewchatturat

I had been following the Wai Kru (respect your teacher) festivals at Wat Bang Phra for almost a decade. This temple, an hour west of Bangkok, is the most famous tattoo temple in Thailand. Aroon Thaewchatturat and I decided to create a book to collect our observations of the subject… It took about one year to complete.

How was the reaction of the people asked to pose for the shots? I mean, is something that they get as “sacred” suitable to be offered as visuals to a predominantly English reading public?

Once we received an endorsement from the temple and several tattoo masters, the devotees were more than happy to pose. They are keenly aware that they are being discriminated against and that in the eyes of educated Thais, Sak Yant imply criminality and shadiness. Many of our models wanted to set the record straight and the book gives them a perfect platform.

Can you tell me one or two remarkable episodes happened during the book’s research?

For me, the most remarkable was the relationship which got to form between the devotees and Aroon. They do not usually take their clothes off, especially as Thailand is a fairly macho-oriented society. The fact that Aroon, a woman, gained their trust and got them to show their tattooed bodies in front of the camera, relaxed and proud, is a real achievement I think.

How do you think sak yant fits into the fast developing contemporary Thai society?

Contemporary Thai society is in total flux, forging an uncertain path between tradition and development. While many educated Thais would like Sak Yant to go away, the sacred tattoos are an essential form of religious and cultural expression for the country’s poor – the farmers, fishermen, construction workers, sex workers, boxers, taxi drivers and many more. It is unlikely that Sak Yant will disappear, even if the government were to ban the tattoos and tattoo masters as happened in Laos following the communist revolution. I think that this phenomenon is likely to grow. Many tattoo masters now have websites. Some even go abroad to tattoo Sak Yant, especially to Singapore and Europe. While the official Thai narrative is tightly controlled by politicians and the Thai elite, the Sak Yant, while certainly not a signifier of rebellion, nevertheless offer an alternative story of the country, far away from luxury spas, flash cars and whatever is shown in the media. For the country’s poor, the tattoos are a way of writing their own story – on their skin.

Curious? You may purchase a copy of SACRED SKIN here

(all pictures in this article by Aroon Thaewchatturat, reproduced with permission)

Original article can be found here: Sacred Skin: the art of spirit tattoos in Thailand

A shelf of books. Photo: Ian Wilson / Flickr

Without exception, every traveler I’ve met has been an avid reader.  Makes sense, as a keener interest in information and stories complement a curiosity to see the world. The natural next step is to pick up our keyboards and write stories of our own, in travel blogs.

The website Travelllll.com had a post titled, Good Travel Blogging: Seven Ways to Read Better.  There is a good mix of advice.  The writer recommends where to find good articles for inspiration, how to read with a critical eye, and more.

My favorite is tip No. 1: Read #longform. Following @longreads on Twitter has been a revelation.  The articles there are found through a crowdsourcing process. Fellow reading addicts submit their favorite stories by marking them with the hashtag #longreads.  Then the main editor tweets out his selections from @longreads.  I’d recommend following both the Twitter account and the hashtag so you don’t miss a story.

Taking that step further, an awesome website for long-form journalism is Byliner.  It’s a social network where people can find and share the best reads on the Internet.  The site is so addictive for inveterate readers that it should come with a warning.

What do you read to inspire your blogging?  Please share your advice in the comments.

Original article can be found here: Reading habits for better travel blogging

About 110 years ago an Englishman named Ewart Grogan made the journey across Africa from south to north. He was the first person to do so, and it took him two years.

In Crossing the Heart of Africa: An Odyssey of Love and Adventure, author Julian Smith recounts some of Grogan’s story, following much the same route. The title refers to the fact that Grogan journeyed with the knowledge that when he finished – assuming, of course, that he survived the dangerous trek – there was a particular woman he planned to marry. Smith also departs for Africa with a woman he loves, and to whom he is engaged, waiting back home.

The book deserves a place in a well-rounded travel library because it introduces us to one of the last great explorers, and such a young one at that (Grogan was in his mid-twenties when he set out). The reader is given a glimpse of Africa circa 1900 and a glimpse of Africa today. I particularly appreciate how Smith weaves in excerpts from Grogan’s journal, passages such as:

How many people have ever caught the exquisite flavour of bread-and-butter? the restful luxury of clean linen? the hiss of Schweppe’s? One must munch hippo-meat alone, save one’s sole shirt from contact with water as from a pestilence lest it fall to pieces, and drink brackish mud for days, to realize all this.

One disappointment with Crossing the Heart of Africa is that unlike Grogan, Smith didn’t make it all the way to Egypt; he made it as far as Juba, Sudan. He had good reason to go no further. The back cover blurb, however, gives the impression that both men covered the whole distance, and I felt slightly deceived once I reached the end of the story. Also, at times the narrative feels rushed and even forced, which may be in part because Smith had only two months to cover a vast amount of territory — too short a time, I think, but it was what he had to work with if he was to be back in time for his wedding.

Crossing the Heart of Africa: An Odyssey of Love and Adventure is available in many bookstores and on Amazon.

Original article can be found here: Review of Crossing the Heart of Africa: An Odyssey of Love and Adventure

A man and woman using laptops on a train. Photo: Marco Raaphorst / Flickr

Working as a writer abroad is like tackling two dreams at once: writing and travel. Tough to pull off, though especially if you want to earn a living.  Graham Holliday, an experienced journalist, laid out his strategies for success in this Slideshare presentation: Frontline Club – solo foreign correspondent.

My favorite advice was in slide #26:

Go somewhere cheap – especially if money is an issue – and go somewhere odd. If you’ve done your research and you’ve made contacts and you have fairly good inkling of what you’re going to be letting yourself in for – Just go.

Our very own Rolf Potts got his big break with Storming the Beach, when he was in Thailand. Matt Gross, the former Frugal Traveler columnist for The New York Times, got his start as a newspaper copy editor in Vietnam. Speaking from experience, my first opportunity in publishing was also serving as a copy editor, but in Taiwan.

It’s difficult to get that first assignment, though. When I applied for that job in Taiwan, there was a lot of competition from ESL English teachers who wanted to get out of teaching and into writing.  If you’re a relatively recent university graduate like I was at the time, don’t expect to snag a journalism job abroad straight away. Especially in Asia, it seems like almost everyone does a bit of English teaching in the beginning before moving on to other work.

Some tips:

-Start a blog. Write a lot: the more, the better.

-Write guest posts on other blogs. The more prominent the website, the better.

-Monitor the media jobs websites regularly to see new openings.

Lastly, but most important: network, network, network. You can never know too many people. I find that my best networking is in casual settings, rather than formal events.  I was once at someone’s house party in Shanghai, and nearly every person there was a foreign correspondent.  Collect business cards habitually, and always follow up with an e-mail the next day.

Another thing about networking: most of my best opportunities have come from acquaintances I didn’t know that well, compared to close friends. I think it’s because these people were more outside my circle and in industries I didn’t get exposed to as often.  Usually, my friends have similar backgrounds and careers as I did. Malcolm Gladwell talks about “the strength of weak ties” in his book The Tipping Point.

Do you work as a writer or journalist overseas? How did you get your job? Please share your stories and advice in the comments.

Original article can be found here: Getting started as an expat writer

When I’m choosing what book to take along on a trip, the destination always dictates what I’m inspired to read. The Moviegoer went with me on my first trip to New Orleans. Eduardo Galeano’s Memory of Fire trilogy has accompanied me throughout a handful of trips in Latin America. The Popul Vuh was in my bag as I visited Mayan ruins in Honduras. Somehow, reading something set in the place I’m visiting (whether fiction or non-fiction) makes the journey complete.

Joel Carillet addressed this a bit recently, with his “Reading books on the road” post. But it’s made me wonder: How much does your destination inspire what people choose as reading material? If you’re on an extended trip and picking over paperbacks in a hostel library, do you just grab what sounds interesting, or do you hone in on something that has to do with where your body is at the moment?

I’m headed back to Colombia soon, and sitting next to my suitcase is The Vintage Book of Latin American Stories. I may not have much time to read, but just having it along gets my brain in the right place.

Original article can be found here: Travel and book choice

Girl on beach reading Lonely Planet guidebook for Greece. Photo: Jay Bergesen / Flickr Creative Commons

If you like to travel and have your own blog, you may have entertained the idea of being a travel writer. Imagine getting paid to go and do the same fun stuff you’re already doing, going all over the world.  The reality can be quite different, however.  Lonely Planet guidebook writer Leif Pettersen wrote this brutally honest post on his Killing Batteries blog: So you want to be a Lonely Planet author – Redux.

Travel can seem so glamorous that it’s hard to imagine what a writer would complain about.  Pettersen makes a strong case that in the end, travel-writing work is still work.  Ever thought about the gazillion listings for all those hostels, hotels, and restaurants?  Often one writer had to visit all those places on their own, in the least amount of time possible.

There is also the creative challenge about writing about the same famous landmarks in an original way.  What more can be written about Angkor Wat or Machu Picchu?

What Pettersen finds maddening is that many travelers think they can do that job better than a pro can. Here’s a quote:

Nearly every research trip I take involves an encounter with a smug backpacker, sometimes holding a beer at noon, who’s under the impression that they’re doing exactly what I’m doing, except I’m getting paid.

Guidebook work is done as freelance contract work, which means no benefits and no steady salary. They usually get paid one lump sum, and all their expenses come out of that.  If you think that some guidebooks can feel hastily-written and rushed, it’s probably because the writer was racing to finish the job and preserve as much of his budget as possible.

For a broader overview, here’s a New York Times article that appeared in 2006: A job with travel but no vacation.  There was a sobering quote near the end: “Nobody is going to feel sorry for you getting six weeks of free travel in Europe.”

Despite the complaints, travel writing is a job with one huge benefit: getting to see the world.  Have you ever done paid travel writing?  What was your experience like?  Please share your thoughts in the comment.

Original article can be found here: What it’s really like to be a travel writer

Canadians in Vancouver celebrating 2010 Winter Olympics. Photo: Kenny Louie / Flickr

Travel and writing can both be lonely endeavors, with friends and family not understanding why some of us are obsessed with both.  The best fix for the blues is to surround yourself with people who have the same dream, and even better, have achieved success.

For anyone into travel writing, Travel Blog Exchange (TBEX) is the highlight of the year. It brings together travel writers to swap stories, make new friends, and give each other tips on how to make a living from blogging. The Vancouver Observer covered the event: Travel bloggers dream big at TBEX.

A recurring theme spoken both online and offline was, “Can you really make it as a travel blogger?” While there are certainly success stories like The Lost Girls, many bloggers have second–and even third–jobs to pay the rent.  The consensus seemed to be, “Do it because you love it.  But don’t quit your day job anytime soon.”

This year’s TBEX seemed to emphasize professionalism, with speakers talking about monetization, branding, and search engine optimization. A lot of exciting developments with web apps and social media could boost travel blogging into more prominence. Some writers have said social networks have allowed them to tap into more contacts than ever before.  If you befriend the top bloggers and Twitterati in a location, they can give you a better understanding of their country than you could on your own.

Conversely, it makes travel writing more competitive, since everyone with Internet can get the same information.   I remember reading a quote by a guidebook publisher who said something like, “Our competition isn’t other guidebooks. It’s Google.”  Writers have to step up their game by going for the unique perspective, the honest voice, and deeper probe into the culture.

For me, it was interesting that now bloggers are being more pursued.  Although many TBEX discussions were aimed at bloggers, it seemed like there were an equal amount of events for media professionals and corporate sponsors who wanted to connect with bloggers.  Has travel blogging matured as a legitimate media outlet?  What happens to authenticity when bloggers get more freebies and sponsored ads?

Did you go to TBEX this year?  What do you think about people wanting to be full-time travel bloggers?  Please share your thoughts.

Original article can be found here: Travel bloggers united at TBEX 2011 in Vancouver

It’s that time of year again when STA travel picks this summers World Traveler Interns and the two lucky candidates have been announced. The 2011 interns are Brigette Muller and Dutch Simpson. You can read more about who they are and what inspired them to apply for the position here, on the STA website.

This years itinerary takes us across 17 countries. The journey starts with a long winding path across Europe, through a bit of Asia, and finally touches down in Australia, New Zealand, and parts of South America. STA’s World Travel Interns are always fresh and fun to watch. Be sure to check out their progress this summer on what is sure to be an exhilarating journey.

Original article can be found here: STA announces 2011 World Traveler Interns

I have to confess: I don’t recall the last time I read a fiction story. While there are fiction books that I’ve enjoyed over the years, I yearn for the true story of a person or place. Every once in a while, I get my hands on a non-fiction book with such strong characters that my mind is wrapped up in their lives and I dream about them at night.

In Sideways on a Scooter: Life and Love in India, author Miranda Kennedy spent five years based in Delhi covering India and the surrounding region for National Public Radio. Her experience with daily life—from getting an apartment as a single woman to the proper way of riding scooters—gave her an insight into modern and traditional India, and how many aspects of women’s lives remain unchanged by the economic transformation of the country.

It’s through her friendship with six women that Kennedy learned the most about the complex culture for contemporary Indian women, from poor to privileged. Her intimate portraits of these women, along with her vivid descriptions of everyday life in Delhi, is what caused me to dream about the book more than once during the time I was reading it.

While Sideways on a Scooter contained illuminating facts about jobs, population and marriage practices, the stories of these women mixed with that of the author, makes it a rich read well beyond the standard memoir.

Sideways on a Scooter is now available on Amazon in both hardcover and Kindle versions.

Original article can be found here: Book review: Sideways on a Scooter

Do you remember the first trip you took on your own? Mine was to France. I lugged a huge wheeled suitcase, far more cumbersome than today’s streamlined wheelies. Every night before I fell asleep, I worried about the next day: whether I could speak French well enough, would miss my train, or knew how to operate the laundry machine in my flat. But it was the experience that started my addiction to traveling and taught me more about myself.

In The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost, author Rachel Friedman struggles with her orderly and structured life as a parent-pleasing college student and discovers there’s more to her future as she takes off for a summer in Ireland—right before her senior year in college. Initially expecting to return at the end of her adventure as old Rachel, to finish school and then get a job (or go to graduate school), she’s surprised to find that new Rachel is into vagabonding.

While she does return home to finish college, Rachel then takes off for Australia to visit a friend from her time in Ireland, and then travels with her through South America. Along the way, she finds that her expectations about herself change with each adventure.

The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost is a coming-of-age story that serves as a reminder that each trip we take changes us—whether it’s someone venturing out for the first time or an experienced traveler. And for those of us who can get overwhelmed with the expectations we have for ourselves, it’s a delight to follow another person’s path in setting her old expectations aside to make room for new experiences.

The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost is now available on Amazon.

Original article can be found here: Book review: The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost