Making the cut

When Melvin asked me what I wanted to do in Shenzhen, the first thing I told him was:

"Melvin, I need to have a hair cut."

It's very hard to find people who speak English in this part of China, so we enlisted the help of Jeff in our quest for a good haircut. Jeff is very fluent in Mandarin, and he would be the key in explaining what kind of cut i'd like.

After going around a couple of neighborhood areas in search for a hole-in-the-wall barbershop, we ended up in this salon just a few blocks away from his flat. It was reminiscent of a sleepy-town salon. The girls were either watching TV or reading magazines. There was just one customer but more than 10 chairs. Everybody looked bored out of their wits. You get the picture.

Then when the 3 of us walked in, the place started to teem with life.

Being used to the usual Headway haircut, I must admit that the Shenzhen salon process was a bit off-kilter for my taste. Here's how it goes:

1. They shampoo your hair. BUT, unlike in Manila where they let you lie down with your head on a sink, here, they shampoo you while you're sitting down. They use a mineral water bottle with a small hole on the cap to control the water they splish-splash on to your hair. Starting at the top of your head, they work their way down using very small and calculated strokes. The attendants are very careful not to let any excess water or shampoo fall on your ears, eyes, or clothes. A massage was also part of the shampoo process, which felt a bit odd instead of relaxing. After 15 minutes or so, you're off to the rinsing area.
2. The massage. After the shampoo and rinse, they proceed to give you a body and arm massage. It made me want to ask: "Are we in a hair salon or a massage parlor? What's with all this massaging going on?" If I were a big massage fan, it would be cool, But I hate being touched, so this was torture.
3. The haircut. Unlike Melvin, who got this funky looking guy to chop off his locks, I got this burly looking girl -- and that made me nervous. But once she started snipping away, I felt very comfortable since she looked like she knew what she was doing. So I sat back, relaxed and watched my unkempt hair start to fall to the ground.

After 20 minutes, the haircut was done. It was perfect! It looked like Mang Domeng or Mang Pano (God rest his soul) did it himself! It was amazing. But the girl in her wanted to do more, so she did a bit of blowdrying, and a bit of styling magic, and I looked like a hip teener once again.

I told Melvin that I was so happy with my haircut, I'm planning to write UNESCO and make that salon a World Heritage Site. Or maybe I can write someone and transform it into a shrine.

In case I won't be able to go to Manila for my haircut, i'm happy to know that someone just as good is just 40 minutes away.

Spaced out!

I'm in Shenzhen! My first trip back to Mainland China in almost 5 years, and my first foray into what most people call "Hong Kong's poor brother."

First impression: There's so much space!

If you're used to staying in Hong Kong, you equally get used to living in cramped spaces. Here, the roads -- even the main highways -- are a bit narrower than usual. The sidewalks are quite sparse, and it you add the hundreds of thousands of people plying them the whole day, then they're almost non-existent.

But after stepping out of the railway station, I was immediately treated to a huge, concrete plaza which was practically empty, save for a few well-wishers waiting for people to return from Hong Kong.

While waiting for Melvin, I went around the area, and it was just SO refreshing to not have someone within 3 feet away from you while walking.

When he arrived, we took a mini-bus from the station to his flat. And again, the highways here are massive. It's like EDSA, sans the MRT in the middle. Despite the size, there was some congested areas here and there -- typical Friday night rush hour, as I'd learn.

We went down at Di Wang, which is the area where Melvin's flat and office are located. Again, the spacious sidewalks offered me a welcome change. In some areas, the sidewalks are so wide, you can even drive a car through it. Makes me want to look for a scooter or a skateboard and zig zag all the way around.

After dropping off my stuff at the flat, we proceeded to Shenzhen's version of Divisoria. This was my first exposure to how cheap stuff are in Shenzhen. They have office pants for RMB15! That's roughly P105! (This sounds sooooo Oh Tokyo! I can almost hear Ellen saying: Mura lang po ito, RMB15, sa pera po natin, P105 lang! Mura po, di ba?!)

Compare it to the usual HK$450 pants at G2000, that price is definitely a steal.

The supermarkets are also a sight to behold. Being a "supermarket junkie," it's one of the first places I visit whenever i'm in a foreign land. My fondest memories of my travels abroad are the supermarkets i've visited: Soriana's in Mexico, Albertheijn in the Netherlands, El Corte Ingles in Spain, Walmart in the US, Carrefour in France -- among others.

The Park and Shop in Shenzhen is humongous compared to its tiny brothers in HK. There's so much aisle space and so many things to buy. I could spend half a day just exploring the place, but it's almost 11. Melvin just grabbed a tub of ice cream and we were on our way back home to his flat. Of course, we walked along the wide, wide streets going there.

I think i'm going to like it here...

Grin and Beer it

Because of the absence of a decent nightlife in Shenzhen, Melvin looks forward to visiting Hong Kong for an adventure shot in the arm.

Tonight, he's got more reasons to be excited. One, it's his first visit to Lan Kwai Fong, and two, it's the first annual Lan Kwai Fong Beer Festival. We're going there tonight, armed with his really hi-tech camera, and my fascination for beer.

This is supposedly an outdoor beer fest, but given the rains that have been pounding on Hong Kong the past few days, we were a bit worried that it just might not push through. Just to check the scene out, I decided to pass by LKF at 2pm, a few hours before Melvin is set to arrive.

It wasn't surprising that the scene was quite dry. Aside from the weather not cooperating, it's still too early. The festival runs from 1pm to 12 midnight, and knowing the HK crowd, people will be coming in after 10pm.

Good thing Melvin is arriving at 6, hopefully by that time, things will pick up.

On another note, there is quite a big Filipino population in the bars around LKF. Most of the waiters, bartenders and bands are Pinoy. The area is an expat magnet, thus it's essential to have staff that speak English fluently.

See, our being too Americanized has its perks, too.