My Da Nang Barbershop Experience in Vietnam
On this trip, I realized just how freely the human mind can wander when you have limited time, nothing to do, and feel completely bored.
We had already eaten, but because Da Nang was right in the path of a typhoon, there was absolutely nothing to do until our flight. Still, I couldn't just blame the weather. I had to do something, and while wondering what would be fun, I remembered a YouTube video about Vietnamese barbershops. Normally, I would have thought it through a bit more and worried about the potential damage, but the devil of boredom wouldn't leave me alone. So, this is the story of my barbershop visit, which I giggled about on the way there, thinking it would be fun.
Well, no need for a long story. As soon as I walked in, they sat me down without asking what kind of style I wanted. Then they just threw a cape over me and started cutting. I don't know if they get a lot of foreigners or if they just thought "whatever," but they grabbed the clippers and shaved a line without a single question. Honestly, my eyesight is bad, so I can't see myself in the mirror when I get my hair cut. Because of that, I didn't realize how serious the situation was, but my friend who went with me kept repeating like a robot, "Hey... you're in big trouble. Man... what are you gonna do?" so I figured something had definitely gone wrong.
But maybe I'm just really insensitive, because I didn't notice a huge difference. However, when I got back to Korea and went to my usual hair salon, my hairstylist immediately scolded me, asking, "Where on earth did you get your hair cut?" That's when I realized the style was very different.
But honestly, it wasn't that bad or anything. I was a little dissatisfied that it gave off a bit of a Japanese vibe, but it was still okay.
What comes to mind when you hear "Vietnamese barbershop"?
If nothing comes to mind, you know absolutely nothing about Vietnam. Vietnamese barbershops aren't famous for haircuts, but for ear cleaning!
If you look at some articles or YouTube videos, female staff members clean your ears, but that's not our style, and it felt a bit sketchy, which put me off. But the place we went to today was different. The male owner who cut my hair put on a headlamp that looked like it belonged in a cave exploration, and started digging into my cave ear. Personally, it felt more painful than refreshing, and looking at the amount of earwax that came out, I thought I might soon be able to hear ultrasound. If you travel to Vietnam, you absolutely must get a haircut and your ears cleaned at a barbershop.
What's the ultimate Vietnam travel experience? A barbershop.