Beijing to Kaiping and Shanghaied for a Haircut

Watched Jim Carey's Yes Man (love, that Zooey!) and it was a feel good, funny movie for the 5 hour flight.  Mom tried to sleep.  We arrived with the announcement that it was 37 degrees outside!  Yikes!

Cousin Ian and Aunt 5 arrived shortly after to pick us up - the surprise: Ying Ying came too!  My first meeting of Cousin Ian's fiance was a little awkward and shocking.  Here I was expecting natural and conservative (the predominant look from what I remember 20 years ago) and in front of me was a model pretty young woman in a sky blue mini sundress, two inch heels, and makeup.  (Perhaps she thought we would be somewhat glamorous and/or she really wanted to make a good first impression?)  Regardless, she stepped right in to take our luggage from us - not taking no for an answer. 

On the 2 hour ride from the Guangzhou airport to Kaiping, Mom and Aunt 5 caught up all that's been going on.  I held up something against the window to block the sun, but soon abandonned it to write and photograph what I was seeing. 

We pass:
- Through Guangzhou
- Workers on the road
- Plants and flowers that make think of the tropics
- An old ceramics factory
- A suspension bridge (that apparently collapsed at one point...)


Aunt 5 offered us hard fruit candies that was an incredibly fragrant guava flavour.  She had one too - and then threw the wapper out of the window!  Yikes!  Cousin Ian scolded her, but her excuse was  "it's just a wrapper." 

I was glad Cousin Ian and Aunt 5 were recognisable.  I was also glad to see Ying Ying and Cousin Ian so sweet: She placed the straw and held the juice box so that Cousin Ian could have a drink. 

The sounds of road and air conditioner almost drowned out the radio, but I still recognised Sara Bareilles's Love Song.  Things have definitely changed...

We do a quick stop at Aunt 5's factory, then zip off to Law Village.  Candles and incense are lit as offerings to my ancestors, and we were rushed off to dinner. 

Turns out Uncle 2 was having his birthday dinner that night.  One large meal later (the dishes much more to Mom's and my liking) Ying Ying and Cousin Ian decided to take me out - to a salon for a hair wash and cut. 

It seemed a little excessive to me that we were going to a salon just for a wash (granted I needed a cut too, but that could be done later), but aside from being Uncle 2's birthday, we'd apparently arrived when it was not fortitious to wash one's hair at home. 

Strange as it seemed to me to be getting a haircut at  9:30 p.m., Ying Ying's favourite place was still open, so we went. 

The salon certainly looked posh - especially compared to the restaurant we'd been in earlier.  Pretty wallpaper, chandeliers... But when I visited the washroom, there was a squat toilet. 

A young woman chatted with me as she washed my hair and gave my head a fabulous massage.  She commented on how my hair was too dry and suggested a moisture milk treatment.  Ying Ying was getting her hairwashed a couple of sinks over and on the other side of a partion so I couldn't ask for her advice.  At $ 2 CAD it seemed like a steal - so I said yes. 

My accent certainly was different from the people around me, but I didn't expect the hairstylist to pinpoint I was "foreign".  The telltale clue?  He said he could tell my hair had been cut with a razor.  As he snipped away, he said things are much more relaxed here and people take the time to cut layers instead of using razors that can damage the hair.  I somehow figured he must be the exception rather than the rule (he's been out of province for workshops) or maybe I'm really out of touch with the living standard here. 

(Left: Ying Ying self portrait).

It was 11 p.m. when Cousin Ian picked us up from the salon (his treat, a "welcome" gift).  I barely had the energy to register what Aunt 5's apartment looked like before going to bed - but I was definitely not in Beijing any more.