One of my goals for traveling through Southeast Asia with Dreamstarter Adventure Travels was to get a full sleeve tattoo. A piece of art that will decorate my body forever. I wanted it to represent my passion for adventure travel, where I’ve been on this journey and what I’ve done.
The mandala near my shoulder represents my personal development, it shows that my personal values translate to my actions outside, so that I should always focus on my inside. Just below that, a sextant on my bicep reminds me that no matter how far I go, the polar star, Cassiopeia and Ursa Major constellations will lead me home. The sextant is a device that captains used to navigate using the sun and the stars and it also expresses my admiration for science: the unbound curiosity and ingenuity of mankind. The world map, detailed with a polar rose shows my love for travel and with the map centred at South-East Asia, a daily reminder of this amazing journey.
Further down on my outer forearm, a ship sails through waves, with a kitesurfer in its waves and a paraglider in its sky. These are the adventure travel sports I learned, where you use the wind and your body to tap into the forces of nature and gain immense speed and thrill at no cost to the environment. And then there’s my diver’s tattoo on my inner forearm—a tribute to finally realizing a long-standing dream. Diving opened up a new world for me, and now a piece of that world lives with me forever.
On two days my arm and leg got inked by at the same time. I wanted to represent two more passions on my body: a Muay Thai design to show my love for fighting sports and a barista tattoo for the intricate science and satisfying ritual that is preparing coffee is. And my love coffee drinks from around the world of course!
Dreamstarter Adventure Travels is very thankful for Bigg Nguyen from Bigg Ink Tattoo Ho Chi Minh. He designed and tattooed a whole sleeve within two weeks. A request I feared no tattoo shop could grant me. But this hero put in so much passion, effort and dedication that in five sessions, each between 6 to 10 hours, he realized my dream. If you have a tattoo dream so big you fear it is not possible. Bigg Ink Tattoo will be your saviour!