The last couple of years I’ve really enjoyed trying to fit in a small tattoo when I’m traveling if at all possible. It can definitely be tricky with timing out the sun exposure, the pool/ocean/hot tub avoidance and tattoo placement depending on how much longer and what kind of travel still lies ahead.
I came across 3 of Spades in my online search while we were already in Hanoi, our final stop on our 3 week trip. Although I had done some preliminary research for parlours when I was still in Portland, I had only landed on one shop that I had any interest in in terms of what their instagram showed as well as their location compared to where we were staying. For whatever reason I never made it there, and when my husband and I were both on our phones googling for tattoo shop recommendations we were suprised that the internet didn’t seem to have many personal recommendations. The main takeaway we gleaned was ‘don’t get a tattoo in the Old Quarter’, which was sound advice akin to ‘don’t get tattooed on New Orleans Bourbon Street or the Las Vegas’ Strip. However, we were staying in the Old Quarter, and we were trying to squeeze something in the same day we flew out, so we knew we had to be a bit flexible on this one. My husband was combing through Reddit without much luck and I was visiting the websites of all the shops that were getting thrown at me by Google or showed up in any kind ‘Best of’ list that popped up, though often these lists were years old.
Truth be told, we found 3 of Spades because I did an Apple Maps search of tattoo shops and it was a 15 minute walk from our hotel. I checked out their instagram (enter here) and was blown away at their fine line work and their photo studio lighting. We put on our shoes and headed out to see what the shop was all about.
From our hotel it was a pretty straight shot as the shop is on the famed Train Street. As the sidewalks in Vietnam are more for parking your scooter than for walking, the trek was, as usual, kinda awkward and filled with traffic dodging and feeling like you were way too close to people eating, fixing a scooter, or washing dishes. Had I not been tracking the location of this shop on my phone, I am quite sure I would have walked right past it as it was hidden away like the coolest speakeasy you never saw. Once we were across the street, we saw the sign on the outside of the building but could not figure out where on earth the door was to enter. After stalking around a bit, I noticed a small sign sticking out of the side of buildingthat said ‘TATTOO’. Had we not been in Vietnam for weeks already, I would absolutely not have walked confidently through the walkway that we entered. And thank god the shop added a neon sign overhead in the walkway to keep timid would-be clients from turning around, certain that they must have made some mistake. It was a long, very narrow walkway that was doubling as a prep area for a restaurant. We trudged on, fascinated by this strange turn of events, and after climbing some steep cement stairs we happened upon a plant filled patio with the coolest, most wonderful tattoo shop that I can’t wait to get back to.
Like many establishments in Vietnam, we swapped our shoes for some slippers and made our way into the shop. In stark contrast to the uninviting walkway downstairs, the shop was a beautiful space with high ceiling and filled with natural light from oversized windows. Ornate colonial beams complimented the otherwise modern shop with black track lighting. A large, elegant art piece made of paper and fabric that mimicked koi fish swimming upstream created a half arch in the middle of the room, a focal point of the chic space. There were four tattooing stations in the space, each one personally decorated, exhuding a different kind of artistry and focus.
We were greeted warmly by the woman behind the desk and we let her know we were interested in tattoos but just wanted to come check out the space and get a feel for things. There were a few binders of flash on the coffee table, but my impression was that most of their work was custom pieces designed specifically for their clients. Nothing in the binders jumped out to me so I pulled up a quick image from pinterest and they said it would be no problem. It was a small and simple line drawing and they gave a quote and let me know they had availability to do it soon. I ended up booking a slot two days later as I didn’t want to care for a fresh tattoo for the last two days of our trip. Initially I had thought we were not going to be able to make the schedules line up, but they were really kind and I snagged a 9 am slot as it turned out another client had cancelled.
My artist Alex took photos of my arm where I would be getting the tattoo and we did some preliminary discussions about placement and proximity to the other pieces already taking up real estate on my arm.
To secure the appointment we paid a 500,000 Vietnamese Dong (just under $20 USD a the moment) payment that went towards the total cost. They take Vietnamese Dong and credit card, but the credit card does incur a 10% fee to cover fee costs (Many businesses do add a 3-5% for transactions so this did not feel out of the ordinary). A Whatsapp thread was started between myself and shop, and they sent a message confirming the deposit I had paid.
I arrived just after 9 am and it was must myself, my husband and Alex. I cannot help but wonder if he came in early so I could get the tattoo as our schedules would not have allowed me to get the tattoo before we flew out later that day otherwise. Not saying that I’m special, but we found that over and over people in Vietnam were so incredibly kind and I’ve never heard of a tattoo shop opening before 10 am, so I would not have been surprised if they opened shop early to accommodate me.
After taking a few measurements he got to work on creating the stencil as I wandered around the studio, marveling at the large koi art piece and taking photos and video around the beautiful studio. I will be the first to admit that I’ve asked to place and replace a stencil so many times I was afraid we might have to create a new one, so suffice it to say I was really impressed with him as he only had to do the stencil once and I felt that the size and placement was absolutely perfect.
I laid on the table and readied myself for my newest piece. He asked me if I was ready and then he began. I was blown away at the gentleness of the needle. Granted, it was on the outside of my forearm so I wasn’t expecting it to be especially painful, but I even commented out loud my surprise at how easy it was. ‘I have a gentle touch’ he said. I noticed that he had an ipad on a stand and he was referencing my initial image to make sure he got every hair stroke right. I was beyond impressed at his attention to detail, his gentle touch. He was a quiet man with beautiful eyes (he was wearing a surgical mask. We noticed many masseuses and people working directly with clients often wore masks while we were there) but his handiwork was unbelievable. I have gotten a lot of tattoos in my lifetime, and this was the finest line work I had seen in a long time.
After about 10 minutes of letting my skin settle, he took photographs of me and my new tattoo in the photo studio they had created at the front of their shop. I appreciated this professional tough as when I had scrolled their instagram I liked this extra touch of pride and professionalism about their work. He then took me back to his station, sanitized everything, then wrapped me up with a Saniderm-esq tattoo wrap. I was thrilled at this as I had seen others with fresh tattoos in our travels and they had saran wrap on their tattoos and as we would be flying across the globe later that day, I was so relieved at this extra layer of literal protection between my freshie and the world of germs. I made sure to get his instagram handle from him because my husband and I had already decided in days prior that we would absolutely be returning to Vietnam, and definitely Janoi, and we were so taken with his work that we would be looking forward to commissioning more complicated pieces with him in the future when we had more time and capacity to dream up something bigger and more involved where his artistry could be appreciated at a grander capacity.
My tattoo ended up costing 1.5 million dong, roughly $60 USD. It measure about 2 inches by two inches and very simple black line work, no shading, and required nothing more than copying the image that I shared with him. The shop minimum was 1 million dong (roughly $40 USD). I cannot wait to commision something larger from Alex as I quickly became a huge fan of not just him, but the whole shop. Everyone we spoke with were incredibly kind and they answered all of our questions and had excellent communication in person and through Whatsapp. They were supremely professional, extremely kind, and completely supportive of me coming in and getting a tattoo of an image i pulled off of Pinterest, which in complete honestly they could have thrown shade at me for and I would have understood! Their website was easy to navigate, and their Instagram is an explosive gallery of the artistry available at the shop.
If I’m making traveling to Hanoi to get all my future work done at 3 of Spades, I’m going to have to really ramp up my points and miles collecting, but I am beyond certain that it will be 100% worth it. If you are in the market for a tattoo and are anywhere near Hanoi, I hands down recommend that you pop into 3 of Spades and chat with them about your ideas. And while you’re at it, stop for steamy bowl of noodle soup at the place on the corner, right by the entrance to the walkway of the shop. It was a simple operation but the soup we got was flavor country and they offered a fantastic array of chilis and sauces tableside to dress up our soups, all for under $2 USD. And don’t forget to pile your soup high with the chopped lettuce and squeeze the juice of a few of those young kumquats with their little hats expertly nicked for your squeezing pleasure.
