Ok, before I left Sweden I decided to leave all my shaving equipment at home, since my very lonely guide book said that in Pokhara there would be some nice barber shops where you could get a nice shave after a couple of weeks out trekking to a very low price. So I thought that it would be waste of both space and weight to bring my own shaving equipment and instead my plan became to invest in good service. While doing that also contribute to something good for me and money to someone who needs money more than me. And today was the day to check if the guide book had right or not.

  I shaved last time on the 8th of April in the morning. Later that day I jumped on the first flight who would bring me here to Nepal, so you can imagine how gruesome and just plain ugly I’ve been looking the last days unshaved and everything. I can tell all you who don’t know, but since my facial hair growth isn’t the best and most even one, I just look horribly nerdy when I don’t shave after a couple of days. I tried it out while I was away from Sweden a longer time in 2007, so trust me, I know what I’m talking about.

  So today after eating breakfast at 11 (I’ll explain the eating traditions here in Nepal in another post, do remind me if I forget about it), I worked a bit on the document for the thesis after I finally thought it was time to head down to the official tourist office and see if they had any information that I can use for the thesis. I packed my bag with my thin rain-proof jacket (which would later show it self as a good idea) and started walking.

  I prefer to walk where ever I go, even if there are taxis everywhere. Once I reached “Down Town” of central Pokhara it started to rain. And now we’re not talking about that nice Swedish summer rain I mentioned the other day. No, these last days it’s been more like “monsoon rain qualification”-competition, so I pulled on my jacket and continued walking. Soon I was one of few people walking along the streets while the all the rest stood and looked at me as if I was some sort of stupid alien, which I of course am. Hey, I’m from Sweden, walking around in pre-monsoon-rain in Pokhara, Nepal, of course I must have at least two or three screws loose in my head then.

  While walking around the other days and today I always kept one eye open for a barber shop, because of the shaving idea, but I hadn’t found one… until today. There it was! Right in front of me, in the rain. I was now about half way to the tourist office, so I dropped the idea of walking there, and just thought I better take that shave I’ve been thinking of. And, while taking that shave, why not also get rid of the horrible ugly (but once all intended) mullet (“hockeyfrilla” in Swedish) as well. So when a seat got free I jumped in and with my non-existing Nepali-skills explained I wanted a shave.

  I never feel uncomfortable while being at a hair dresser in Sweden, but at a barber shop in Nepal I felt a bit uneasy the first two minutes. When I shave my self I have control. When I sat there in the chair and this man takes out the BIG shaving-knife, my heads goes spinning around like “big sharp knife.. my throat..” because of all bad Sweeny Todd-parallels. Anyway, everything went fine. I’m writing this afterwards. Just silly of me, but anyway.

  The shave was just amazing. First he shaved me once, while stretching my skin in ways I didn’t knew was possible. Then a lot of lotions and other cremes where applied. After that I explained I also wanted a hair cut and showed with an improvised sign-language that I wanted it short. So he just cut in with the scissor.

  After a while he was finished with that and asked if I wanted a massage. My guide book had informed me about this “magic” massage so I just said answered yes of course, because I had to try it. So then he started. Hammering and stretching my back and arms in ways that felt both strange, weird, and non-Swedish, he continued with my face and head. It was just so amazing that I didn’t really wanted to get out from the chair once he was finished.

  Then up with the money. I’ve read in the guide book that it would be quite cheap to get a shave, but I guessed that with the massage and the haircut it could be expensive, after all, it took about 45 minutes in total. I was asked to pay 200 NRPs, which is comparable to about 18 Skr or about 1,8 Euros. In Sweden you can get a decent hair cut for about 200 Skr / 20 Euros. So yes, it was cheap. Very cheap for what I got. After returning to UDCT I had a short chat with the staff and according to them 200 NRPs where expensive. Probably I got to pay the tourist-fee, but still I don’t care, because it was cheap for me. Compare that “investment” with what I got for 269 NRPs at the supermarket: Two small bags of potato chips, two chocolate bars and some tops.

  And now my face feels smooth as I don’t know, a baby face perhaps?. So just call me ‘baby-face’ from now on, or at least for a day or two, before anything visible starts to grow back out again, as hair always do.