It is Sunday, but I don't feel like going to church. Didn't do much this morning.
In the afternoon I decide to check out the Central Plaza Mall which is not far from Eli's place. It is just down the street the other way from the South Point Mall and the grocery store...There is a Subway Restaurant, an Indian Restaurant, a bakery with sweet pastries, cakes, and bread...not the kind I like. I notice a sign that there is a beauty salon on the third floor...Hair Art Salon. I decide to go there and ask about getting my gray hair colored. The elevator door opens and I don't see the salon. I go down a narrow hallway and don't know what to expect.
I open the door and there is a woman sitting in the waiting area and three men getting a hair cut. The place is pretty clean, bright and modern. The receptionist greets me and speaks good English. I ask about coloring my hair...3500 rupies. Do you take credit cards? Yes. I agree. Let's do it.
I sit in a chair that is fixed to the floor and it spins around... just like the ones in America. The salon stylists are all men. The man who will work on me is Shammi. He shows me a color pallette and asks me what shade of black or brown I want for me hair. I point to dark brown. He goes into the back room and mixes up the solution. I am a little nervous and I look around at other men getting their hair cut. They get a head massage after the haircut. A well dressed woman comes in and talks to a man and disappears in a back room.
Shammi comes back, wraps a towel around my shoulder, and begins to section off my hair and brushes on the solution. It takes about 15 minutes. He wraps a plastic thing around my head and I get a two year old Vogue magazine to read while I wait for the solution to cook my hair.
After about a half hour, I go to the sink area and get the solution washed out, shampoo/conditioner and a head massage. It feels rather good. I have never had my hair colored in a salon before. I usually do it myself with a mix from the store.
I then go back to my chair and Shammi blow dries my hair. It looks pretty nice...no more gray. Now it is time to pay. 3933 rupies with 18% tax...I show my American Express credit card. No. They won't take it. Oh oh. I look in my purse for cash. Only 3000 rupies. I need 933 rupies more. The receptionist suggests that I go to the ATM on the ground floor. They assign a man to follow me downstairs. I get the money and pay him 900 rupies. He is happy. The ATM machine only gives out 100 rupie bills. No small change.
I feel pretty good with my gray hair gone. It's 7 pm. I am hungry, so I decide to go for a steak at Medium Well Done Restaurant in the lower level of Southpoint Mall. Eli told me about it before he left. When I get there I learn that there will be a live band playing out in the courtyard tonight. Great!
The courtyard is nice. It is an open area below the street level. People at street level can look down into the courtyard. Tables have an umbrella over them. They are playing Beatle songs over the loud speaker. Mrs. Robinson. I Want to Hold Your Hand. I am the only customer there. Later on another customer came in for a drink and left.
I order a a glass of sweet lime soda and a medium rare tenderloin steak with potato wedges. I get a basket of an assortment of breads...french bread was yummy. I ate all the bread before the steak arrived. Food portions are small in India compared to America. I didn't get many potato wedges, but they were delicious. Steak was large, so I only ate a fourth of it. It didn't have much taste. I am told that steaks in India are really buffalo meat. No real beef sold in India.
Bill was 1120 rupies with another 27% tax...1440 rupies. No wonder we are not expected to tip for services in India. The tax is high enough. I hope some of the tax gets back to the waiter.
The band started late, but they weren't bad once they got going...three guitars and a drummer. They play until 10 pm. While the band is putting away their instruments, I go up to talk to them. They play here every Sunday night. The band is Squarez Attached. ..check them out on Facebook. I am invited to come back next week.
It's time to hurry home for the Packer Game. I put on my Packer jersey and set up in front of Eli's computer game to cheer on the Packers. The Packer game is available for free online at a price....
every 15 minutes, the broadcast is interrupted with advertising. I learned after trial and error that I have to click through 10 ads to get back to the game again. So it's 15 minutes of game, click through 10 ads, 15 minutes of game, etc. I have to tolerate this to see my favorite team... Go Packers!! They win!! Yahoo.
That's all to report. Fireworks tomorrow.
In the afternoon I decide to check out the Central Plaza Mall which is not far from Eli's place. It is just down the street the other way from the South Point Mall and the grocery store...There is a Subway Restaurant, an Indian Restaurant, a bakery with sweet pastries, cakes, and bread...not the kind I like. I notice a sign that there is a beauty salon on the third floor...Hair Art Salon. I decide to go there and ask about getting my gray hair colored. The elevator door opens and I don't see the salon. I go down a narrow hallway and don't know what to expect.
I open the door and there is a woman sitting in the waiting area and three men getting a hair cut. The place is pretty clean, bright and modern. The receptionist greets me and speaks good English. I ask about coloring my hair...3500 rupies. Do you take credit cards? Yes. I agree. Let's do it.
I sit in a chair that is fixed to the floor and it spins around... just like the ones in America. The salon stylists are all men. The man who will work on me is Shammi. He shows me a color pallette and asks me what shade of black or brown I want for me hair. I point to dark brown. He goes into the back room and mixes up the solution. I am a little nervous and I look around at other men getting their hair cut. They get a head massage after the haircut. A well dressed woman comes in and talks to a man and disappears in a back room.
Shammi comes back, wraps a towel around my shoulder, and begins to section off my hair and brushes on the solution. It takes about 15 minutes. He wraps a plastic thing around my head and I get a two year old Vogue magazine to read while I wait for the solution to cook my hair.
After about a half hour, I go to the sink area and get the solution washed out, shampoo/conditioner and a head massage. It feels rather good. I have never had my hair colored in a salon before. I usually do it myself with a mix from the store.
I then go back to my chair and Shammi blow dries my hair. It looks pretty nice...no more gray. Now it is time to pay. 3933 rupies with 18% tax...I show my American Express credit card. No. They won't take it. Oh oh. I look in my purse for cash. Only 3000 rupies. I need 933 rupies more. The receptionist suggests that I go to the ATM on the ground floor. They assign a man to follow me downstairs. I get the money and pay him 900 rupies. He is happy. The ATM machine only gives out 100 rupie bills. No small change.
I feel pretty good with my gray hair gone. It's 7 pm. I am hungry, so I decide to go for a steak at Medium Well Done Restaurant in the lower level of Southpoint Mall. Eli told me about it before he left. When I get there I learn that there will be a live band playing out in the courtyard tonight. Great!
The courtyard is nice. It is an open area below the street level. People at street level can look down into the courtyard. Tables have an umbrella over them. They are playing Beatle songs over the loud speaker. Mrs. Robinson. I Want to Hold Your Hand. I am the only customer there. Later on another customer came in for a drink and left.
I order a a glass of sweet lime soda and a medium rare tenderloin steak with potato wedges. I get a basket of an assortment of breads...french bread was yummy. I ate all the bread before the steak arrived. Food portions are small in India compared to America. I didn't get many potato wedges, but they were delicious. Steak was large, so I only ate a fourth of it. It didn't have much taste. I am told that steaks in India are really buffalo meat. No real beef sold in India.
Bill was 1120 rupies with another 27% tax...1440 rupies. No wonder we are not expected to tip for services in India. The tax is high enough. I hope some of the tax gets back to the waiter.
The band started late, but they weren't bad once they got going...three guitars and a drummer. They play until 10 pm. While the band is putting away their instruments, I go up to talk to them. They play here every Sunday night. The band is Squarez Attached. ..check them out on Facebook. I am invited to come back next week.
It's time to hurry home for the Packer Game. I put on my Packer jersey and set up in front of Eli's computer game to cheer on the Packers. The Packer game is available for free online at a price....
every 15 minutes, the broadcast is interrupted with advertising. I learned after trial and error that I have to click through 10 ads to get back to the game again. So it's 15 minutes of game, click through 10 ads, 15 minutes of game, etc. I have to tolerate this to see my favorite team... Go Packers!! They win!! Yahoo.
That's all to report. Fireworks tomorrow.
