Tuesday, March 24, 2009

$3.20 for a haircut







this morning, we took bus service 950 from woodlands interchange to johor bahru. the bus drops you off at the new customs, immigration and quarantine (ciq) complex in johor bahru where you can walk across the linkway to city square. you can also opt to catch the bus - the same one, if you can - to get to the bus terminal at kota raya. we chose to do the latter.

we alighted from the bus in front of city square and walked to jalan dhoby where the barber shop is located. while i was having my hair cut, my travelling companion victor samuel went to a nearby coffee shop for his smoke and a cup of tea.

i was the only customer and the barber took about twenty minutes to complete the job. in the barber shop, i saw a piece of plank. it reminded me of my younger days when i visited the chinese barber along thomson road. he had to place a plank across the arms of his barber chair so that he did not have to bend so much while cutting children's hair.

the cost of the haircut was rm$8.00, which is equivalent to $3.20. we had a bowl of noodles and a glass of tea each at a nearby coffee shop. we paid rm$6.00 for the noodles and drinks for two persons.

this afternoon, i was on the skype with my younger daughter, who is in melbourne, and when she noticed my new haircut. she asked if the barber had placed a bowl on my head to cut the hair. she commented that i looked so 'toot'. told her old people don't care so much about their look.

13 comments:

Victor said...

I have my regular haircuts for several months now at only S$2.80. Can you believe it,not in Malaysia but Singapore? And their haircuts are "toot-free". Will blog about it in due course.

Anonymous said...

Did the Indian barber use the clippers (seldom in use nowadays) instead of the electric one? Any neck twisting followd by a few hard slaps to massage the neck area?

Anonymous said...

1. Victor where, not that I am cheapo.

2. YG - how's the traffic situation on the causeway these days should I choose to take bus? I hate getting caught in jams.

yg said...

ordinary guy, this is a modern indian barber. he used the electric one. no neck twisting and no slapping.

yg said...

peter, there is usually no jams on a weekday. avoid weekends, especially from 9.00 a.m. onwards.

Anonymous said...

Your ‘cheap’ publicity will drive many of our barbers out of business. I have also had my hair cut in JB. For RM$8, I get my hair trimmed, blown and combed; freshened up with cologne and head massage, and followed by karate chops on my back. For S$8, our barbers do not provide these extra services.
You are not the only one who ended up looking ‘toot’ after a visit to a barber. Just the other day, my friend and I had a good laugh when we met up with an ex-colleague who had just gone to a barber. To console himself, he told us he could save up on haircuts until his retirement in December.
Old people like us, must all the more look good, or we will be teased by young people. A retired lady teacher went back to school to teach. When the students saw her, they greeted her as ‘Liang Po Po’ and made the sound ‘hoo, hoo, hoo’.

Lam Chun See said...

For old people, toot or no toot not important. Got hair on head should be happy liao.

Anonymous said...

got photo to show how "bad" the hair-cut was? For me I prefer #2 hair-cut

Icemoon said...

Mystery time!

Who took that photo of yg?

yg said...

icemoon, i mentioned that i went to jb with my walking companion. he was the one who took the photo.

Unknown said...

Hi - May i know how do you get to the barber from city square? exact locations please as googling for jalan dhoby is with no success.

i will be going there for a movie with my son and helper tomorrow and am thinking of getting a haircut for my son before the school reopens. If i can get it done in JB, its a nice wrap for our short trip.

and do you think they do square/flat top? if not sure its ok just trying my luck?

thanks loads!

yg said...

hi juliana,
the barber that i visit is not exactly next to city square, although it is within walking distance. my friend goes to one along jalan wang ah fook, which is nearer. it costs rm$10. there are a number of barber shops in that area. i am sure most barbers can give the flat top cut.

enjoy your trip to jb!

Nitheesh said...

Great post with lots of really good information!

Commercial Coffee Machines for Sale Melbourne Australia