Haircut

It doesn't matter where you go in this world, it seems a haircut will cost you about a 10 spot of the local currency. That means 10 bucks in America (outside the north east), 10 pounds in London and 10 RMB in China. Yup, I get my haircuts for about a dollar-twenty five. As you can imagine they're not the finest haircuts I've ever had, but when you look at it like an experience it becomes well worth the money.

First they wash your hair, which may sound mundane, but instead of just throwing in some shampoo and rinsing it out and being done with it, they slowly, carefully massage your head, scraping away excess shampoo with their hands and throwing it in the trash! When the massage is finished (this takes about 10 minutes) they wash out your hair in the reclining sink. Upon returning to the chair, you're greeted by a neck, back and arm massage. Before they even touch a hair on your head you feel looser than a leaf in November. Finally they cut your hair, no small feat considering hand motions are the exclusive form of communication usually. To top it off they give another rinse to your hair before styling it for your big night out!

There are drawbacks - part of the massage is sticking a quetip up your ear to clean the wax out. I usually refuse this part, it's freaky and dangerous. They also don't really give great haircuts. They're alright, but they always thin my hair out too much. Chinese hair is very thick; my hair is thin and fine, so when they thin it out I look like I'm going suddenly bald. But, for less than a buck and a half, what can I expect?