Taiping Trips 101: Getting An Almost Good Haircut

Getting a haircut is not a priority for someone who wants to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life and indulge in some self-care. It can wait until the holiday is over and the normal routine resumes. There is no need to worry about appearances or schedules, just the simple pleasures of spending time with loved ones and appreciating the natural beauty of the surroundings. Image source: Youtube

Read these first:

• Childhood Memories: Part 27 – Revisiting The Old Neighbourhood With Google Street
• Lockdown in Malaysia 2020: Day 44 – Should Wait for Hair Cut or Just Cut Hair?
• Childhood Memories: Part 00 – Demise of the Indian Barber Shop
• Taiping Trips 101: Black Panther! Courting Danger with One in Taiping!
• History 101: Remembering Childhood Grand KTMB Diesel Locomotives

I have always considered Taiping to be a rest area for me, so I spent most of my time at home for the whole 3 days during the holidays. We had returned to our hometown after a long time and wanted to relax and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere. I did not feel like going out and exploring the town, even though there might have been some interesting places to visit. I preferred to stay indoors and catch up with my family and friends.

It was perfect staying in my in-law’s house and I enjoyed every moment of it. They had Astro with many channels to watch, a cosy bedroom where I could rest anytime I wanted (without anyone bothering me unlike at my own home), a laptop for playing games and watching movies, and of course, mouth-watering food cooked mainly the mutton curry & the char keow teow with plenty of prawns by my mother-in-law. The weather was also great for staying indoors, as it poured heavily in the afternoon. My son had a lot of fun activities to do at home, so he didn’t mind being “locked up” in the house either.

My wife had been living in the same house for many years and yet she felt restless and dissatisfied with staying indoors. She wanted to explore the outside world and enjoy various activities that she had missed out on. She had planned a long itinerary of things to do, such as shopping for new clothes and accessories, visiting our relatives and friends whom we had not seen for a long time, and dining out at different restaurants and cafes.

Getting a haircut at her Chinese friend’s hair salon was one of the items on her to-do list when we visited Taiping. However, she seemed to have a hard time making up her mind about when to go. We arrived on Saturday, but by Sunday evening, she still had not booked an appointment or walked in. She kept saying “later” without considering the possibility that the shop might close early or be too busy. We drove past the shop several times, but she always postponed her visit to the hair salon until the last minute.

She had been postponing her haircut for a long time, hoping for a sunny day to visit the salon. But the weather was not on her side, and the rain kept pouring down. She finally decided to brave the rain and go for the haircut, hoping to catch the salon before it closed early. She grabbed her umbrella and ran to the shop, only to find a long queue of customers waiting for their turn for haircut.

She glanced at the clock and realized that there was no way she could get her haircut before the shop closed. She felt disappointed and frustrated and turned back to go home. She thought about how she would have to wait until they returned to KL to get her haircut and wondered if the rain would ever stop.

Lesson learned: Don’t put off pressing engagements for too long, especially on the eve of Chinese New Year