My First Haircut and an Unexpected Sight in Cambodia

FIRST HAIRCUT

Having gone over a month without a haircut and due to the recent heat that's hit Phnom Penh, I felt it necessary to get a trim. A few blocks down our street, towards the market we frequent, is, in the very loose sense of the word, a barber shop. The shop has four barber seats and as many attentive barbers. I strolled in on a busy Saturday morning and got the only open chair. I quickly realized, however, that this would be a somewhat taxing affair. I certainly do not yet speak enough Khmer to properly instruct a barber on how to cut my hair, and none of the barbers spoke any English. Luckily, the man sitting next to me spoke a few words of English and was able to loosely translate what I wanted to my barber. The haircut started innocently enough, with a trim around the edges (my ears, sideburns, and neck). Next, at my sign, he shortened my sideburns further, though to an extent that I certainly did not intend. The most sideburn-less I'd been in perhaps eight years, I was quite concerned as to what would happen with the rest of my hair. I instructed the barber to take only a little bit, then a little bit more, and still a little bit more until I was satisfied with the length. I was not out of the woods yet, though, as the barber took out a razor (with a new blade I saw him take out of the packaging) and "neatened up" the areas around my sideburns, ears, and the back of my neck in a manner befitting of a 1950s style American barber shop (or a current one in a very small, rural town). I thanked the gentleman for a fine haircut and paid the 2500 riel ($0.63) price posted on the mirror and went on my way. The sideburns will be back in no time and then it will be a good haircut.


AN UNEXPECTED SIGHT

Saturday afternoon, after my haircut, I went to the grocery store to do our shopping for the week. At a major intersection on the short walk, I saw a vehicle I certainly did not expect to see in Cambodia: a brand new Lamborghini Gallardo. Though corruption is rampant here and Lexus SUVs are all too common, a Lamborghini is an entirely different animal. I had two problems with seeing such an exotic car on Phnom Penh's streets. First, what the hell were they thinking driving that car on the streets here? The roads are terrible, jam-packed, accident-prone and not at all conducive to a sports car that can hit 80mph in third gear. There's nowhere in Cambodia that anyone can enjoy a Lamborghini as it's supposed to be enjoyed. Second, the cost of the vehicle, about $175,000 in the US (I would imagine even higher here) is equal to the average annual per capita income of nearly 600 Cambodians. How could anyone in their right mind flaunt such wealth in a country in which the average person makes just over $300 a year? Though a beautiful car, it does not belong on the streets here.