Only in the Philippines

come to the Philippines gentlemen. They have the real deal here. Here is my latest ( My routine has changed a little bit since my last post about it) monthly routine at my local barbershop located in the mall.

Haircut
Straight shave (using my products that I bring in, hot towels)
Massage (one hour, arms, shoulders, neck, face, scalp, back, legs, all in the chair, fully reclined)
Mud pack on face

total time in the chair, about 2 hours...

cost: $7, plus a giant $2 tip.

I bring in my own products because they do not have products that we use, in the Philippines. So I brought in a sample size tub of T&H 1805, T&H Sandalwood and AOS Lavender, a cheapo brush, and a small decant of Nivea ASB, that he keeps in his locked drawer for my routine visits. I am going to have to slip a puck of MB in there.

He is top notch. The routine goes something like this.

I sit down, haircut starts. About 30 minutes later, He tips me back to full horizontal, adds a few extra pads for the neck, etc. Then we proceed to the shave. 2-3 hot towels and about 5 minutes later, he is applying the shave cream. He lets it sit in there on my face for a few minutes. I really feel the work of the cream in this way, tingling, moisturizing, whatever it does, it just feels good. Then the shave commences. He uses an injector type straight with a new blade, working in extremely close strokes, stretching my face around. Then he feels around, and lathers me up for the second pass, a touch up, only hitting the spots that were not glass smooth after the first pass. Then I get the hot towel again, followed by a facial scalp massage. Then, he applies a mud pack. It looks like some kind of green clay type. Then the neck, shoulder, arms, hand and leg massage. He uses his bare hands for half of it, then the electric hand barber type massager for the other half. After a good long time, he is done. Then the mud pack comes off. I am back in the sitting up position at this point, and then he fixes my hair, applies the after shave balm, and I get another few minutes of a shoulder and back massage, in a "percussive" kind of way. Once I walk out there, my cheeks start to hurt after a few minutes. But it's not from an allergic reaction, it is from smiling too much.

 

Sounds great! Must make you a very :happy069 man!

 

Wow, are you taking bookings at your house?

I have never been shaved by someone else and really quite fancy it. I was in Trumper's and TOBS the other day eying it all up, one day as a treat I am going to take the plunge. Mind you, I don't think I shall get the kind of service you got there, and defiantly not at that price.

Cheers

Now, where's that Atlas?

 

My God! A sybarite's delight!

 

And the food there is pretty good, too.

 

That sounds really good.

 

I know where my next vacation will be!!!

 

drool:drool I'd be hitting that up at least 2x per week ::

 

sounds great ::

 

Thanks for all the congrats, fellas. I feel like I won something!

The food is awesome. I might still tip the hat towards Thai for winner of the region, but since I have been here longer (4 years as opposed to only 2 in Thailand) I have eaten nearly everything imaginable, and have come to appreciate it more. Filipinos know more ways to cook a pig than any country on earth I would guess!! Amazing.

To the gents interested in a trip, I say come over right away. Here is the deal on SEA. First of all, Thailand is completely overrun with tourists. Even 7 years ago when I was there, it was pretty much "sold out". That is not to say there is nothing for you, it's just lost something. The Philippines is still relatively unencumbered by tourists. Also, the local population basically all speak English. (official 2nd language). The prices here are great, though accommodation is a bit more scarce than in Thailand, so you will pay a slight premium for it. Of course, that is completely relative to anyone from a developed nation's economic perception. The running costs here are about 1/5 of what you spend at home. Look at it like this... If you were willing to spend say $2,000 USD on a two week vacation here, your value in dollars would be like spending about $10,000 in Europe or North America. You could stay at the better hotels here for $75-$100 per night, reasonable ones are half that. You cannot eat more than $20 per meal. You cannot drink more than $20 worth of beer. Cab rides are $1-$2...Compared to a mid level hotel room in Los Angeles of $100+ per night, meal and drink tabs of $100 a pop, and activities/shopping/car rental/taxis/shuttles of $100 plus per day, it adds up really fast. I have spent a few hundred bucks a day with little to show for at the end of the night. If you go absolutely top of the tops here, you will spend exactly the same, if not more than home though. This is because only the rich can afford to do that kind of thing here, so that is their customer. There are golf courses and country clubs that are par with anything we have back at home, but that is not my bag at all. I came here to go to school, not blow money after all. Now when I retire, that is another story entirely... PM me if ya want some more details. I am bringing my family here next summer for two weeks. I have an itinerary that includes a week on the beach (at the prices I have mentioned, if not cheaper) and a week in the mountains. Both are a lot different and way more interesting than you might be used to if you are from NA or EUR...

 

Interesting! Sounds like it would be a natural choice, what with the dollar being so worthless compared to our European counterparts these days.

Got any pics?

I also hear of the prevalence of "extremists" there, should that be a concern?

 

Yes...thank you for all the helpful information.

 

Joe, the problems in the south of the Philippines, or Mindanao are about as far removed from here as they are to you guys, in terms of concern. The number of miles and ferry rides, and airplanes any of them would have to take to get here would be staggering. Besides being isolated, the main reason you hear little about it is because the violence is not directed at westerners or western business expansion, etc. It is more a local issue between local Muslims and non Muslims and the military, etc. It is messy, but completely removed from the daily life of 95% of the Philippines. I feel safer in the Philippines than any major metropolitan city in the US or Canada.

pics? hundreds. I'll post some of the beach here from my blog

our view from the bar of our $50 a night resort


our snorkeling trip, cost for 4 hours, just the two of us, $20....
http://bp0.blogger.com/_-VAZFcsItWY/RhRpj3ELkII/AAAAAAAAADo/YqoQHZ_eNMM/s1600-h/DSCN3365.JPG

an every day sunset around here
http://bp1.blogger.com/_-VAZFcsItWY/RhRtdHELkTI/AAAAAAAAAFA/weRgMtUUUFI/s1600-h/DSCN3395.JPG

we were having margaritas at the bar of our resort, and some guys were walking by selling fresh lobster from a big rubbermaid bucket. We picked out two (about a kilo each, $10 a pop), and our resort cooked em' up for us that night with rice on the side and about 4 ounces of garlic butter free of charge. 2 bottles of white wine and a sunset, our own nipa hut on the beach, warm breeze, yeah, that was a great night.
http://bp3.blogger.com/_-VAZFcsItWY/RhRuknELkXI/AAAAAAAAAFg/e8JZ8G9q8qg/s1600-h/DSCN3414.JPG

 

Hi Wok,

Yes I can certainly agree with you in regards to costs and lifestyle in the Philippines. My wife is a Fili and I have travelled there many times to enjoy the lifestyle and low cost of living that there is there to offer.

Strangely enough I have never been to Baguio, but I do understand that being up in the mountains that things are much cooler up there, which would be very pleasant compared to the oppressive humidity of the lower plains.

Beautiful people who will do anything for you...............

Cheers
John

 

I must save up for a trip to this place.

Is Spanish still widely spoken there? Or am I thinking of another Pacific Rim country? I only ask because I am taking Spanish lessons and it would be fun to hone my skills while lazing around like a slob in a tropical paradise.

 

Ok.....we need to organize a TSD vacation

 

Haha...if thats what its gonna take for you to go...im sure we can arrange something

 

I would hope not