July 26
As you know I got back to Beijing today and besides those trivial things like paying my school tuition and starting my visa extension process at the top of my list was getting my hair done. What may seem like a simple process is definitely an experience here in Beijing. The Chinese version of blonde is this brassy metallic color which looks cool on them, but would definitely turn my hair orange! Always remember Google is your friend. So I found a salon before I went to Chengde that had several reviews indication that 1) had fluent English speaking management and 2) had colorists that could turn that brassy, orange, nastiness back into blonde. I went to scope the place out, and speak with a manager just to see how things worked and what not. The manager on the floor, David, was very polite, and friendly. He gave me his business card so that I could set up an appointment when I knew for sure when I would be back in Beijing.
In America, my mother and I have the same stylist, Carol – who has been treating my mother’s hair since she was in college, and let’s just say that on August 6 someone is turning 63. We frequently schedule dual appointments and block Carol out for two maybe three hours since we both get cuts and colors. Now Carol does us simultaneously with my mother getting color first since she just has a base, and I have a base with highlights. She also manages to do this with her own two hands. The same process here in Beijing utilized a colorist, a stylist, and two assistants with the managers checking in from time to time. Even stranger to me is that the colorist did my base, set it, shampooed the color out; and then repeated the whole process with my highlights. Then I had to get my hair trimmed! By this point most people will start to wonder how much this wound up costing me: 1940 kuai, which for simple math at a 6:1 conversion is around $320 USD. My mother would know for certain, but that is more than what Carol charges for both of us. I guarantee my Papa is frowning, and thinking, “just dye it yourself.” Well Papa dearest, if you recall, I both cut and dyed my own hair when I lived in Germany, and got good enough to where I was mixing my own dye. The problem is that I have yet to find anywhere that sells it, and beggars cannot be choosers. I will have to wait till I get to Shanghai before trying again. Shanghai has a larger ex-pat population, and may have more student budget friendly options. If not, then Grandmother will get her wish, and I am dying back to natural brunette.
Now who can guess what I did next. I mean I just spent more money on my hair in three hours than I did the whole month that I lived in Chengde.
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If you guessed, spend more money pampering myself since I was off to such a rolling good start, then: Congratulations, you know me too well!|
I found this low key nail shop residing on the 4th floor of an indoor shopping bazaar. I know it doesn’t sound like the most hygienic or relaxing place for treating yourself, but the girls do a banging job; very devoted to scraping all my hard-earned callouses off. They have a good selection of service options in terms of price, for instance, I usually get the spa pedicure at 100 kuai and the basic manicure at 20 kuai, and today I threw in the 30 minute foot/calf massage for 40 or 50 kuai. Summed and simply conversion gives us something like $30 USD. This really illustrates a concept you run into a lot in China where there are huge price discrepancies between very similar services, and the reverse as well. An example of such is taking the train vs. the plane. Sometimes there is only a $50 USD difference in terms of cost, but huge differences in time to destination – imagine a 2-3 hour flight and a 30+hour train ride! There is really nothing for it but live and learn.
If anyone currently in or coming to Beijing wants to find either of the places mentioned above:
Butterfly Nails, 4th floor and to the right from the escalator of the YaShao (sorry if that is misspelled) indoor shopping bazaar in San Li Tun which is next to the huge shopping village.
Tata, Workers Stadium North Gate which is about a 10 minute walk west from San Li Tun’s huge shopping village. This is the link to their listing in the Beijinger:
http://www.thebeijinger.com/directory/tata
Off to the Great Wall tomorrow, and I still have more to share about Chengde.
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