Magic tattoo business is slow in Cambodia

"Magic tattoos make me feel more confident," says heavyweight kickboxing champ Eh Phuthong, training at his club just outside Phnom Penh. (Lianne Milton / For The Times)

Au Phuthong, 29, left, Eh's younger brother, also has magic tattoos. (Lianne Milton / For The Times)

May 19, 2010
By Mark Magnier
Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Phnom Sruoch, Cambodia

Peace has not been kind to practitioners of the 2,000-year-old tradition, which holds that magic tattoos can make you invisible, divert bullets and boost your net worth.

In a haze of incense, clients approach Kol Sambo and humbly request his help, sometimes seeking rush jobs for an imminent crisis. He listens and asks why they require added force. If he thinks they'll abuse the power, he turns them down "in a nice way."

Kol is a practitioner of magic tattoos, a 2,000-year-old tradition some call the "soul of the nation." They can make you invisible, divert bullets and boost your net worth, he says, but only if you believe.

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