Barber-Hana

This being a military installation, there are two barber shops available. There is also a beauty shop, but I've never been in there, except once to pick up some mousse. I usually go to the barber shop staffed by several Nepalese barbers. Recently my hair was cut by Ram. The price for a military haircut is $3.00, and it seems that most soldiers tip $2.00. For $3.00 you don't spend a lot of time in the chair, but you do get a pretty good military haircut. After all, these guys cuts lots of hair. Which is a good thing, because they don't speak English, so you're pretty much limited to pointing and waving to show how you want your hair cut. I just pointed at a soldier whose hair looked OK to me, and that's how my hair was cut.

While you're waiting, you can watch the Bollywood videos that are always playing, or look at the recent but dog-eared copies of Maxim, Stuff or VHM.

What I find most interesting is how the Nepalese guys make such a production out of the haircut. Ram was clacking his sissors off the comb and my head and seemed to get a nice percussion beat going, like the Beni-Hana chefs who clang their knives together. At the end you get a brief neck rub, but you also have to endure them beating you about the head and shoulders. They're really into making noise, so they've found ways to make pops and snaps when they thump on your head. For example, they slightly interlace the fingers of both hands, fold down the little fingers, and whack you on the head with the ring fingers. This somehow makes a satisfying pop. I think they compete for the noisiest haircut. At the end they slap you on both sides of your head, slap slap, and you're done.