Pink must be a color that attracts and targets little girls world wide.
Shopping in the upper level of a stuffy department / swap meet type store today in Trang I had a trail of little girls following me around.
Everyone seems very excited by my pink tattoos. They move their hand up and down making the poking motion with wide eyes, asking me "is it a tattoo?"
I nod yes and rub my skin real hard showing that it does not rub off and make a face in pain answering "yes, it is a tattoo, it hurt".
I bought a pink splatter paint shirt at that store for a friend, but as soon as I returned to the cozy B and B type hotel we are staying at I instantly put it on, it felt so good having my over exposed shoulders covered.
In Seattle my body never sees the sun. It sees lots of stage lights and photographers flashes but sun, no way. My Irish, Scottish, Dutch, French, Spanish, German & Canadian skin is pastie-olive, with a thin film of freckles and only one colorless mole, right above my lip like a cartoon character beauty mark.
My skin collects more freckles with the sun and I collect tattoos, pink, purple, maroon and red ones, usually when I travel, places I have lived.
I have seen beautiful all black tattoos on the dark naked backs of Thai men here. Their skin is like melted chocolate toffee swirl. The women are thin and powerful, the children are so beautiful I want to take them home in woven baskets and feed them peeps and attach pastel bows to them. So cute like baby animals on Easter, waaaaaay cuter than Jesus, so much cuter than chicks.
I smile at everyone and they all smile back. I love the people here, the town we are in is small and we are the only Americans. Today on top of a mountain we walked slowly around the Chinese Temple. Inside the air was thick with incense, waxy amber walls seemed to drip in the heat, and statues loaded up with garlands and beads filled the Temple that architecturally looked like a warehouse meets a commissary. Quin Yin and other Goddesses I did not know posed grandly next to large silver industrial sized sinks and huge floor drains. The children inside the sweaty Temple fallowed me around.
Outside a few men "asked" to take pictures of me. I "said" yes and posed with them. When the tuk-tuk putted off they kissed their hands and blew kisses at me.
Later at a little basket shop we bought drinking water. A big monsoon type downpour began as we left the Buddhist Temple. By the time the three of us pulled up soaking wet we were dying of thirst still, covered in rain and sweat now. The women who worked at the shop where very interested in me, despite my soggy appearance. Two girls introduced themselves to me, they were both 18 years old and dressed like professional airline attendants.
I seemed so much younger than them in my drippy pink hair, see-though pink baby-doll dress and pink flip flops.
I feel very young here. I feel so old here.
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