Reality Check

We have now almost completed 3 months of our Thailand adventure and our new routine has been firmly established. The surroundings may be somewhat more exotic and the weather much more favourable (for the most part), yet daily life can be just as mundane here as it is in the UK. There are nice parts of the routine, like walking the dogs on a Saturday morning and stopping for coffee, but there is also a lot of general life stuff to do.

Survival

As in the UK, the main inconvenience is having to go to work. It’s time-consuming and it’s demanding. Work manages to be exactly the same as in the UK and completely different all at once.

I’m sure some people think I’m on some sort of mid-thirties gap year working only enough to sustain a carefree traveller lifestyle. But no, my job is real alright, and the combination of the language barrier and cultural differences means I’ve had to adopt a new mantra - ‘double your efforts, halve your expectations’.

This mantra is about self-preservation and if I didn’t take this approach I would almost surely have some sort of nervous breakdown. It’s not that my job is technically challenging; I know exactly what needs to happen, it’s just so difficult to make it happen. It’s something that I can’t really explain but I think every farang in my position goes through the same cycle of ups and downs. Mentally repeating my mantra means that I can leave work feeling like I’ve achieved slightly more than just having had a nice lunch. I can celebrate mini breakthroughs when people understand what I’m saying instead of looking at me like I’m insane.


One other change to my work mindset is facing into the reality that my continued presence in the country is dependent on my current employment. In the UK when I had a bad day I could always comfort myself with the thought that I could just leave, even if I never actually followed this through. The reality here is that I would almost certainly have to leave the country immediately if I was no longer in my current employment. Sure, I could come back in after getting a different visa but it all sounds difficult and complicated. So, I think I’ll just carry on going to work.

A Game of Charades

In other news, I went to the hairdressers for the first time in Thailand the other day. Now, going to a new hairdresser anywhere is daunting, especially when you’ve previously had the same hairdresser for a long time. Doing it in an Asian country where it’s not so common for someone to have frizzy, curly hair (that may require airbrushing for an acceptable visa photo) is another matter. As much as I want to immerse myself in Thai culture and not necessarily always take the expat route for everything, I wasn’t confident that my normal ‘game of charades’ approach to communication would be that effective when describing my desired hairstyle. Although, on reflection, I do manage to run two Thai warehouses with this approach so maybe it would have worked? And for those that know me, you’ll remember that I hate charades because I am rubbish at it. How else are you supposed to act out ‘Pineapple Dance Studios’? Surely pretending to be a pineapple will work! You can see why I might be finding work a challenge!

Preparation

Anyway, I’d done my research and found a salon where they spoke English, but I wasn’t going to have to pay an exorbitant amount of money. Given Chris pays no more than 40 baht for his chicken and rice lunch every day I didn’t’ think I’d get away with a 6000-baht trip to the hairdressers.

My UK hairdresser Jess had kindly noted down the exact colours that she used so I had been able to furnish the lady at the salon with this information before my arrival. This was a definite advantage when compared to having to describe the exact shade of ginger I was going for.

I arrived a few minutes early, tried to access the place but the door was locked. Some woman who clearly thought I was an idiot told me I had to ring the bell. I followed her instructions; the door was opened, and I walked in without challenge – not quite the best system for keeping unwanted people out but I imagine it keeps someone in a job.

No Appointment Necessary?

I then had the now quite familiar experience where, despite having made a specific appointment, nobody appeared to acknowledge this, and I was handled as if I’d walked in off the street. There was no checking the appointment book and saying, ‘take a seat, someone will be right with you’. This seems to happen at the doctors, in restaurants and anywhere else where you make an appointment. The actual appointment seems to be a loose commitment that you’ll show up at some point on that day. But I was taken to a chair nonetheless and without me uttering more than a few words the woman seemed to know who I was. I refer you back to my earlier point about the curly, frizzy hair – I am a freak in Thailand.

Another Production Line

The actual experience was quite uneventful. I was slightly concerned when the hairdresser started arbitrarily hacking away at my hair under the guise of ‘putting some layers in’ but I don’t think much harm was done.

There did, however, appear to be about 100 people working in the salon and it did feel like being in some sort of hair, nails, and massage production line. I have to say I am more accustomed to a more relaxed and personal experience at the hairdressers but it looks like I will have to adapt. The woman next to me was being attended to by no less than four people; one drying her hair, one buffing her feet, one painting the nails on one hand and lastly someone massaging the other hand. I didn’t really feel like I was maximizing my time there by just simply having my hair done, although this still involved interacting with at least six different people. Maybe next time I’ll say yes to every service that’s offered and see if I emerge as a completely different person.