Tattoo studios are popular in Phuket, with 10 to 15 shops operating in Patong Beach alone. Practiced since Neolithic times, the art of tattooing has had a varied history of objectives and perceptions: from its original use as a medical treatment (dots tattooed on acupuncture points) to a sign of rebellion against the system (in prisons for instance). Nowadays, tattoos are regarded in a more mainstream light given that many celebrities – David Beckham, Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp to name a few – display obvious tattoos.

In Thailand, ‘Sak Yant’ religious tattoos are extremely popular, due to the powers they are purported to bestow. Originally only performed by practitioners of magic and Buddhist monks using long, sharpened bamboo sticks (mai sak), they are still believed to protect the wearer from bullets, knives or any serious threats. Nowadays, and despite a warning from Thai government in 2012 to forbid non-ecclesiastic people to create Sak Yant tattoos, they are still created in most (if not all) tattoo studios in Thailand.

Tattooing is a serious business which requires lots of skill, and above all, strict hygiene. In Phuket, most tattoo shops strictly adhere to the rules, using brand new needles for each client and sterilized tools as well as giving out handy tips on how to facilitate the post-tattoo healing process. If you wish to take back a permanent souvenir from your Phuket holiday, here are five recommended tattoo studios run by talented and professional artists. They do superb work using electric tattoo machines and/or genuine bamboo sticks.