Today was the day.

I really needed a haircut so I decided that the local hairdresser’s just down the road from my Da Lat hotel would suffice.

So I went. Not before having downloaded on my phone a few photos of what I wanted my new haircut to look like. Nothing fancy, just shorter.

As I walked into the beauty salon, I saw two girls asleep on a couch. Clearly not the busiest time of the day. I woke them up (well, I had to, no?) and asked if they spoke any English. Little to none, I figured out, but with the help of sign language and the photos on my phone I expressed my needs. The girls were soon joined by what seemed the lead hairdresser, who checked the photos too and started with the scissors.

The younger girls stood around me too and kept chatting and giggling, staring at my hair. They were soon joined by a boy who had arrived with his mum. I felt a bit like a circus freak…I bet no Westerners had ever had their hair cut there before.

But all is well that ends well: for a mere US$5 I had wash+cut+blow dry+ head and neck massage. And the new haircut is really nice!

One of my ear rings got lost in the process, but it’s ok.