Tattoo Mishaps #1

A few years ago i decided to get a tattoo of a cross as a symbol of my faith. I didn't want to get a 'normal' cross since most people had it so i decided to get a Celtic cross.

Can you notice that it is crooked? The left side is slightly higher than the right

Another reason is of course its Egyptian symbolism (which i am totally obsessed with!) where the Ankh means 'eternal life'. Strange, i know, given that i'd like to 'check-out' as soon as i hit 40 but it was Egyptian so....whatever......

Ernesto had to draw it free-hand

Anyway i was short of cash (the sad life of a student) so i decided to get it done by these young punks in some house in USJ.

More of a tribal look to balance it out and make it look centered

They only charged me RM70 so i thought i got it for a steal. But once it had healed, i realised that it was actually crooked! That totally bummed me out of course cos i didn't have the money to go and get it re-done.

Nearly 3 years later, i headed over to Ernesto Kalum's shop to 'correct' it.

I had initially decided to cover it up with a huge celtic-styled tattoo, but Ernesto advised me against it and suggested instead that i keep the same design and just work around it. So he added some tribal curves so that it look more balanced.

The end result was better than i could have hoped for. Ernesto is just amazing in a sense that he knows what design would 'compliment' a certain body type, and he seems to have this 'pseudo psychic' ability to know exactly what's in your mind in terms of styling and design choice.

The revised Ankh

Lesson to be learnt from this : never compromise on price and don't get a tattoo from any punk operating out of a house in USJ!

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Chang's Traditional Hornbill Tattoo

For my first tattoo, I wanted something that can remind me to stay positive and never give up easily in whatever I do…

Robin drawing out the tattoo and preparing Chang's leg

Since I had decided to get an iban traditional tattoo, I felt the hornbill was the perfect choice for what I wanted.




The Ibans believe the hornbill or kenyalang is a messenger of the war god and is believed to provide protection against the intrusion of evil spirits living in the jungle.

Ernesto assessing his 'prey' :p

I decided to get it done traditionally cos i heard that the ink lasts longer and it supposedly has a better, more authentic look to it. Plus....less painful la :)

The tattoo artist was Ernesto Kalum. In my opinion, Ernesto is the man la.. i consider him a legend la coz he got to jam with Noel Redding (Jimi Hendrix's bassist)!!! [Chang is obsessed with guitars].

As for the tattooing, he did an excellent job and he made the experience absolutely fun! Really cool dude!

The tattooing itself was a lot less painful than i initially thought it would be. Already planning for my next tattoo which would be on my rib cage...

The finished design

A big thank you to Prem. He bet with me that i wouldn't dare to get it done....guess who ended-up sponsoring my tattoo? Heh heh heh

Chang with his Hornbill tatt