After 40 years on this planet, I finally got my 1st tattoo done when I was in Bali for a dance festival. Of course, this only made possible thanks to the constant pestering by le wifey as she wanted to get hers fixed as well. Through recommendations of a few Balinese friends, we made an appointment with Berlin Tattoo and as we are friends of his friends, he made special arrangement to drop by our hotel so we don't have to waste time getting stuck in traffic to go to his parlour.


The design I had in mind for years is one that reflects on the Ying & Yang, it represents the balance of power. Both are the Buddhist Symbols which refers to two spirits so wildly different and yet at the same time similar mortal enemies intricately linked together by destiny. It represents both the 'Hard' and the 'Soft' style of power. Able to guess what the design I wanted to go with based on those clues?


It was this, the Dragon vs Tiger. The tiger represents the hard style as it attacks bulldozing the opponent, while the dragon represents the soft style with more patience and wisdom. Neither of them are able to conquer the other which makes them worthy opponents. So the tattoo/art represents the balance of both styles similar to how Yin-Yang represents the harmony attained through the balance of opposing forces.


It took Berlin quick work in getting the tattoo done, I've friends telling me that despite the intricacies and small size, it'll take at least 2 hours to get the ink in. But from the time he got to my hotel room, to getting things ready, showing me all the new needles he is using, tracing my design out and marking them on my body, to eventually putting the ink and telling me All Done!, Only 45 minutes! Yup, all those steps in such a short time. And I was expecting to sit there for hours with him jabbing me with needles.

From Art to Tattoo...

Funny part was, I didn't know he even started until le Wifey took a photo and showed me when it's almost done. Was told by Berlin that my skin was easy to work with and the best part is, because I didn't feel any pain, he could do quick work without any interruptions (except for the occasional gasp and curses, but that's due to me dying in PUBG Mobile that affected my ranking points).


The final result can only be seen 2 weeks after the tattoo was done, after all the dead skins got peeled off (I couldn't scratch them off and had to let the skin fall off by itself). Am definitely happy with the results, the little shading and added details gave the tattoo a beautiful feel.

Would I get another? Maybe.... if I can think of a new design that I want to translate into tattoo.

Do you have a tattoo? Comment below, tell me about your experience!