What One Will Do In The Name Of Vanity

My hair color was long overdue and with a flight to India less than a week away, I knew I had better get it done in Thailand. The only hair salon I had seen in rural Tamil Nadu, India, was a chair by the roadside and a Barber with razor in hand.

I asked a local Thai woman for a Salon recommendation and she sent me to Hair Décor, inside a huge mall where lots of ex-pats frequented. After much deliberation with 4 Thai (one English speaker) they began work. A little nervous to start, I prayed, then sat back and relaxed until all the highlights were in.

Having had 3 pots of tea with breakfast and now sitting for an hour, I had to go … you know where! I asked to use the toilet (the common term used for restroom in Asia). With big eyes, they stripped me of my gown and towels and pointed to opposite end of the mall. What, I thought … every Salon in North America has a restroom.

Now desperate, off I went out into the masses, laughing hysterically at myself. Boxing Day and Black Friday mall mobs, pale in comparison to normal day crowds in Thailand. Here Iwas, looking like a Martian with tin foil protruding from every other hair on my head, brushing shoulders with thousands. The funny thing was, no one gave me a look. This caused me to laugh even harder. By the time I reached the toilet, there was no need, I had already peed my pants from laughing so hard.

All in the name of vanity!