Coining...

The red is really pronounced against the colour of my white skin ( I need a tan). Sorry that the pictures look a bit like a "victim shot" it's really not like that. I was just trying to teach my younger brother how to use my camera. It looks much worse than it is. Coining is a medical practice that both Christians and Buddhists use. It doesn't have any spiritual connotations (unlike other practices). Coining is said to release the "bad air" that's trapped inside you (pre-modern Europeans had similar practices). Most older people you meet in Cambodia swear by it and so I wanted to see what it was like. My language teacher says his mom gets it done once a week and almost uses it like a drug. I think everyone's got to do it at least once. And in case you're wondering, yes, it does hurt. Nay, a Cambodian-Newzealander here says "it's just like getting a hard massage", but then her husband Craig pipes in, "yeah, except it's a massage with a razor blade."