Today, Nicky and Paul made the tough decision to separate from Paul’s beard. We found a brave barber who was willing to take on the case. Three razor blades, some ear wax, a few tears and 90 minutes later, a new, slender looking Paul emerged. Paul handled it all very well although Nicky is having slight separation issues. But more on that later.
We arrived in Bien Hoa today, our last stop before Ho Chi Minh City. The 70km ride was pretty unpleasant as we rode along the main highway which was crammed with motorbikes, cars and buses. Tet, Lunar New Year, is now only a couple of days away and many people are on the move, returning to families and finishing last minute business and chores before the celebrations begin.
We arrived in Bien Hoa around lunch time and despite it being a large town, we had trouble locating accommodation. A young girl in a cafe was able to point us in the right direction and we were soon checked into a clean and comfortable guesthouse. We headed out for lunch and spent the afternoon reading and doing a bit of research into our coming trip through Cambodia.
(A large statue along the highway marks the spot where a battle was held in 1975)
(This is baby seat is progress considering we have seen children standing on the back of motorbikes)
(Bien Hoa after work traffic)
After dinner, we approached a barber shop and they waved us in. We watched with interest as they finished up their other clients. The two barbers were meticulous in their work and the well worn leather chairs suggested they had been honing their craft for many years. When Paul's turn came, he and the barber agreed on what was to be done through some pointing and hand gestures.
(Paul and The Beard)
The barber made swift work of Paul's hair before starting on the beard. As mentioned, it took three razor blades to get a clean finish and he didn't nick the skin once. As with the customers before, he then applied a gel to Paul's face and while it dried, he donned a head torch and used five different instruments to clean out Paul's ears. Curiously, he would remove the wax with a long tweezers and then place the wax on Paul's forearms for inspection! Once the ears were clean, he removed the gel which had dried and then placed a cold towel on this face. He followed this with a quick head massage, eye drops in each eye and used a long metal tool that looked like a crochet hook to clean out the inner corners of Paul's eyes. Paul emerged like a watery eyed butterfly from a hairy cocoon.
(One of the barbers cleaning out a customer's ears)
(First the hair needed a tidy up)
(Fresh faced Paul)
Tomorrow we ride to Ho Chi Minh City. No doubt Paul will be much more aerodynamic now and Nicky will have to work extra hard to keep up! At least we will have a few rest days there to recover.
Great one. Looks handsome.
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