$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.