Normal Life on the Road

27 October 2014

Somehow, doing those normal everyday things while on the road, in new locations, becomes something of an adventure.  

The day started normally, with breakfast at the hotel, which always has lovely flowers in the public areas.  Then some time figuring out where my hair salon was while Richard made a few phone calls about dentists.  A few more trip-maintenance kinds of things, and eventually lunch.  My lunch was at Starbucks, where a young Malaysian woman was reading "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire."  Part of me thought it was amusing, and part of me thought it was great that these modern-day classics are being read around the world.  (She was reading in English.)

Then I went and found a taxi, negotiated a price, and off we went.  He was absolutely amused by Richard and my life of just travel - he thought it was wonderful, he's heard of people doing this, but he never met anyone who sold everything and just travelled, without a home.  We had a lovely chat, and he dropped me at my new hair salon.

I found the shop, and went in.  Taurus Salon, in Mont' Kiara, if anyone is ever in KL and needs their hair done.  The owner, Klement Ang, talked to me about my hair, which is growing out of the wrong cut - too many layers for wavy hair in humid weather has resulted in wild, crazy cat lady hair.  Okay, so far things are fairly normal.  And then, he started shampooing my hair.  At the chair, not at a sink.  Has anyone else ever had their hair shampooed while sitting upright in a chair?  Very different!  He used a squeeze bottle to add water to the shampoo, and just shampooed away!

Of course, rinsing out the shampoo happened at the sink, but after the scalp massage I'd follow this man anywhere!

We chatted about places to visit in Malaysia, and how we both enjoyed the island of Penang.  He trimmed, he clipped, he agreed I need to avoid thinning shears with my wild hair, we chatted some more.

And before I knew it, I had a new, much more controlled and much cuter hair style.  It won't look like this again, not only do we rarely have hair dryers but I never quite mastered the art of styling and drying my hair at the same time.  I'm a wash and dry kind of person.

But it looks good and I'm sure will be more controlled as I grow out the layers and aim for a simple bob.  Easier for travelling.  (Sorry about the grainy quality of the photo, but taking a photo of myself in the mirror isn't the greatest way of getting a picture.)

Another cab negotiation, a ride home (because this was a part of town where the trains don't go, and the bus only goes by every 90 minutes), and I got back just in time for the afternoon rain storm.  Really, the skies turn this ominous deep grey with yellow edges, and then the thunder and lightening show begins.

So, just another day of life on the road.  Nothing exciting, but an adventure nevertheless.