Reviews (continued)

Keng was asked to become a Grand Master Monk but his parents wanted him to finish his schooling. He continued his visits and was introduced to the art of bamboo tattooing - a technique using a needle on the end of a 40cm length of bamboo.

The ancient technique involves a needle strapped on to a length of bamboo and pushed in and out of the skin by hand. It is said to be slower but less painful and less likely to draw blood than the modern machine tattoo method.

Machine tattooing involves a machine pushing a needle in and out of the skin very quickly, like a sewing machine. Keng learned the art from a monk who apparently taught the tattooist responsible for Hollywood star Angelina Jolie's body art.

"He was 15 when he started learning it but they practice and practice on pig skin and fruit. But he told me every time he did a tattoo he would pray that he didn't hurt people!" says Lauren.

Keng started out tattooing soldiers to give them strength and protect them in combat. He wanted to be a tattooist but he knew pursuing it as a profession would be against his family's wishes.

"They wanted him to be a doctor so he went to medical school but in Thailand when the father passes away the children are free to do what they want. When his father died he quit medicine to return to the temple to do tattooing," explains Lauren.

Keen to pursue his art, Keng went to work on Koh Phi Phi, a Thai island popular with tourists. Lauren, a dive instructor, had gone to the island shortly after the 2004 South Asian tsunami as a volunteer to help in the aftermath. She had spotted Keng walking past where she was working and discovered he was keen to learn English to speak to her!

They lived together for a year on the island before marrying in a traditional Buddhist ceremony in Keng's home town of Nakhon Suwan.