Panjim, Goa, 28 Dec

ok, so my small amount of hair was beginning to sprout randomly and I was starting to look a bit like a mad professor - time to get a haircut...
But where, how?, etc etc.

After much walking about, I found a back street barber shop called "Modern Barbers". It was a very small fluorescent lit shop with 3 old style barbers chairs and two guys. As I approached I saw a young lad was sitting outside the shop on a concrete block. He must have been about 13. I noted that his shirt closely resembled that of the two guys who were cutting and shaving two chaps inside. I concluded, rather like Mr Holmes, that he must be an apprentice.

As I walked past him I smiled and in an instant realised that if I sat in the free chair, it would be he who would be shaving my head. Oh well, in for a penny... It wasn't as if he could really ruin my complex and sophisticated hairdo, now was it?

When I walked in, the shop felt thankfully cool due to the relatively massive air-con unit that was whirring away in the corner. As I went to close the door I noted that said young lad had indeed followed me inside and was motioning me toward the vacant chair. As I sat down I saw the older guys exchange a knowing smile and a chuckle. My guess was that the exchange went something like:-

1st guy: look at this bloke, he's so pale he must be English
2nd guy: yes. What's he think he's doing in here?
1st guy: well, he's brave I'll say that for him!
2nd guy: well let's see how brave he is. We'll get the apprentice to shave his head!
1st guy: ok, good plan - this guy's got hardly any hair so it will be difficult (even for him) to muck it up!!
2nd guy: ha ha ha! You got that right!
1st guy: ha ha ha!

The administering of the sheet that gets put round your neck went really well. Swiftly but professionally applied with the minimum of fuss. Good start, I thought.
Then, apprentice opened a small drawer and pulled out the shaver. I made a 'thumb and forefinger' gesture that let him know that I wanted a very close shave and that he wouldn't need a spacer attachment on the shaver.

When he plugged the shaver in I realised that the cord wasn't really long enough to reach right round the back of my head and that the young lad wasn't actually tall enough to reach the top of my head. Un-deterred by this minor detail the lad put the shaver close to his lips and blew the excess hair off the blades. OK, so none of those ultra-violet sterile cases here then. Nope, just finish up the last chap and put the shaver in the drawer. I hoped the previous customer had had a clean head.

More worryingly, when the lad switched on the device, a fizzing sound came out of the two-pin electrical socket. As he put the shaver to my head the wire became increasingly taught and, when this caused the plug to move in the socket, the power failed. Again, un-deterred, laddo 'wiggled' the plug and the power was restored (together with more 'fizzing').

In the mirror I caught the older chaps' eye and gave a mock 'grimace' as if to suggest (jokingly) that I was petrified of being electrocuted through the head by an apprentice brandishing a shaver. He smiled and then laughed and then got on with his customer's hair. I got the impression that this was not an uncommon occurrence. This didn't reassure me.

The lad cracked on at a pace and was soon finished, or, so I thought. He blew some of my hair off the blade and put the shaver back in the drawer. Then in the mirror, I saw him reach into his pocket and pull out a cut-throat razor.

I cleared my throat (possibly for the last time) and began to run through all the exotic blood disorders I could contract from a dirty blade, should he nick me. Thankfully, before I got too far down the list, I saw him fit a fresh blade to the razor. Then it was on with the lotion, a pull on the ears and the feel of cold steel down the back of my neck.

To take my mind off what was happening with the cut-throat, I watched as the customer next to me began to receive an 'Indian Head Massage' from the chap who'd just trimmed his hair. I concluded that these are given as a matter of course following a haircut. The technique was interesting. It started off as gentle rubbing using the palms all over the head and neck and became increasingly vigorous, culminating in the barber basically 'smacking' the customer about the head. The sound of palm on scalp sounded like a tennis shoe being struck on a concrete surface. Apart from anything else, I thought it odd that this customer had just had his new hairdo completely trashed by having the head massage. Oh well.

When laddo had finished with the razor, he asked me if I wanted a head massage too. I considered it, but having witnessed the guy next to me being basically assaulted, coupled with fact that laddo couldn't really reach the top of my head anyway, I respectfully declined. I think he breathed a sigh of relief too.

Payment for all of this? 50 rupees (about 75 pence). I gave him 100 rupees, felt like a 'bigshot', thanked everyone very much and took my leave.
Back at the hotel room, I examined my head more closely looking for any rogue hairs. But no. There were none at all. In fact, he'd done a top job. I'll definitely recommend him to anyone that asks.

One thing I've realised about the people here is that they work really hard. There are people working wherever you look. There are huge gangs of people working on the streets, on building sites, in restaurants and hotels, in furniture repair shops, etc etc. There's also a great emphasis on craftsmanship - doing things by hand. You can see it everywhere from the shoeshiners' stands to the carpenters' shops.

There's a spirit here too. People work hard but they don't look miserable. In fact there are lots of smiles. The streets in Panjim City are full of people, scooters, auto-rickshaws, cars, vans, trucks and yesterday I even saw an elephant (!) on the main street. It's vibrant but in a completely different way to anything I've seen anywhere else.

OK, it's chaotic and shambolic, but people have accepted it and seem to enjoy it. If the 'nanny state' is a reality in the UK (and I say 'if'), it certainly doesn't apply here in any way, shape or form. And that's a refreshing change.

I must say, I'm beginning to really like it here...