Haircut 100

I'm in desperate need of a hat. Yesterday I was treated to my first Indian haircut in a tiny barber shop tucked inside a small indoor market. In less than 15 minutes, I've gone from Shaggy to short back and sides. I have to say I was surprised at the quality of the cut. It's just as good as anywhere I've been in the UK, plus you get an Indian head massage. Well, I think it was a head massage. The guy did have his fingers in my ear at one point whilst his index fingers were pressing down on the middle of my forehead. He might have been trying to pull my brain out, sort of like Raiders of the Lost Ark. However, even that did not falter my confidence in him and by the time he got the cut-throat out to finish off my edges, I trusted my man implicitly. Well, almost. Still, he didn't use the blade in his hand to his advantage: he still got the equivalent of 1.25…with a small bakshish (tip) for his trouble.

Finally got something meaty to sink my teeth into at work The Comms Manager wants me to design a concept for a sustainable development magazine that can be distributed to the general public. Something informative, yet entertaining. I'm looking forward to it! The situation in India is promising but downheartening at the same time. The country is in a position where it is developing, but not at the stage where it can't learn from the mistakes of currently developed nations. For example, the lack of air con can be a killer, but it means they can develop something which is more energy efficient. Can you imagine if they tried to replace all the air con units in Hong Kong with a better system? They wouldn't have it because the cost of replacing them would be astronomical. The downheartening part is that people with the money or in govt just don't do anything. They talk a lot, but it's all hot air. I've bought a book by an Indian writer who confronts these issues. Did you know that India has massive grain reserves, but instead of working a way to distribute it to the poor, the govt would rather sell it to the West as cattlefeed. I know it is easy to overlook poverty, especially when you are surrounded by it, but that's criminal.

This is why I don't want the magazine to just be an informative read. It has to engage the public to want to meet the poor people at the frontline of these issues so they become more involved and don't just see the poor as something else, somebody else's problem.

On a lighter note, I've just been told that I can take Saturday afternoons off as well as Sundays. At least that way I get most of my weekend. :) Heading to see a few tombs tomorrow and maybe do a bit of shopping with this Romanian girl I met off an expat forum. Must try and get a hat tomorrow. You have no idea how difficult it is to get a wide brimmed hat in Delhi. I've looked everywhere. I'm even prepared to pay full whack, no bartering or anything! Speaking of which, this barter business is difficult for me to grasp. I think my technique is ok, but I always start off too high (mainly with the Auto-wallahs). It'll be easier when I get more of an idea of how much they charge per distance. It would also help if they all knew where they were going.

I shall not be stiffed!

Tony is feeling very guilty about persistently frequenting Western-style restaurants, which are in the most part pretty piss poor. He also wishes he hadn't wasted 2 hours of his life watching Ghost Rider on TATA Sky TV the other night. Huge continuity errors, Nicholas Cage (who acts with the blank expression of a skull - God knows why they bothered with the special effects: they could have just set his head on fire) and a line-up of increasingly stupid enemies. Mind you, it does co-star Eva Mendes.

Eva, Eva, I'm a believer!