Women

Polly was keen to go to the hairdresser but not confident to go by herself. I made a date with her and off we went.

The hairdresser told me my hair was in bad condition from the chemical straightening. this is true. However, I believe it is more noticeable because they don't use conditioner in the salon. He tried to sell me a Loreal Conditioning treatment for Y600 ie $100. You have got to be joking. I buy Matrix Conditioning treatments for $20. This is much better quality.

He wanted to cut my hair. I haven't had it cut since June because they like to clip! I won't get it cut again here. I'm still trying to grow it back to it's length when I arrived.

Polly was very excited with her new 'do!' She insisted on having photos taken with the hairdresser and tea and tidy!

AARRGGHH!!! Shopping in China is difficult. The sizing is all wrong and nothing is made for the western women. Occasionally you are lucky. I found this top in Shanghai. I liked it. It was a good fit. I bought it. The problem was I need a strapless bra and didn't bring one with me.

Who knows what I was thinking. I have problems in Australia buying bras, why did I think I could buy one in China. I have been to every lingerie shop in Tai'an, Shanghai, Harbin, Hohhot and Xian. No can't buy one. The things they show me as a strapless bra I skipped them in my teens. One of my boobs wouldn't fit in.

Anyway I've come up with a solution. I wear a singlet underneath. Layering is in, so I can get away with it and I just have straps upon straps, upon straps. Little like filo pastry really.

With the heat and humidity in China my unruly hair was just a frizz ball. All I could do was to keep it tied back. So I decided I wanted to get it chemically straightened again. The last time I did this was in April 2004 before I left to met up with Dan in Thailand. I swore then I would never do it again because it took so long and I had to stand up to have my hair painted to the boards to get it straight.

This was all forgotten. I'm guessing it's the same as those mothers who swear after the first child birth they will never do it again only to pop out more!

So I spoke with my Chinese hairdresser and they said it should be OK. I then contacted Aretha to get her opinion. I think Aretha's reaction was something like this - "maybe you should get half of it done first, the underneath half, so if it is a total stuff up you can hide it..... and if it is GREAT then you can do the top half." Then I had to find out the name of the chemical straightener they will use. I had to make sure I had a moisturizing treatment and a protein treatment in the bathroom. And finally I had to let Aretha know what products they use before they did it.

I found out from the Chinese hairdresser that they use Wella. Surely they couldn't do too much damage with Wella given when Aretha did it last time she used a straightener for black African women!

Armed with this information I pleaded with Aretha for her approval. I think her reaction this time was - "OK OK OK....
you can get it chemically straightened - but if I was you, I would get the underneath done first, as it is healthier under there, and if it gets ruined, the top will still be OK and it will hide the damage underneath! Then if all goes perfectly, you can get the top done!!!! See, that makes so much sense!"

Well I didn't take all of her advice because I thought that they couldn't do too much damage with Wella and I went to the hairdresser to have my whole head done. When I got there I learnt that it wasn't Wella but Loreal. Same difference couldn't do my hair too much damage!

I arrived at the hairdresser at 4 pm. I thought that they had told me it would take 2 hours. Although I do recall it was about 6 hours when Aretha did it. Anyway I was at the hairdressers until 10 pm! At one stage I had 3 Chinese men blow drying my hair. I got kicked out of the shopping centre by the security guards!

It was funny. In China the power goes off at a certain time in the shopping centre which is why they were frantically trying to dry my hair before the power went off. They didn't quite make it. But here I am in the Salon inside the shopping centre with no light. I paid and then I was escorted out by the security guards.

When I got out there were no taxis. So I started to walk up the hill to the main road. The young guy from the salon saw me and escorted me to the main road. He waited until a taxi was flagged down and then negotiated a fare. Very kind of him!

The one thing I forgot about getting your hair straightened is no washing you hair for 1 week, can't put it behind your ears, no ponytails etc. Now this would be OK, except it is so hot I need to put it up. Anyway I survived the week of rules and now I can wash my hair and let it dry naturally and it is straight! YIPPEE!!

Before I come home I will get it done again, because it's dirt cheap here!

Since I've been in China I have never found anywhere to have a pedicure. Today I found a place in the cobble street near Dai Temple.

I was in desperate need of a pedicure. What an experience. I sat in a very comfortable pink swede chair. My feet soaked in some minerals with rose buds. It was Y80 which is expensive by Chinese standards but cheap by our standards and worth every single cent

It was Barbara's Birthday on the 13 July.

Now I'm a great believer in celebrating the opening of an envelope so there was no way Barbara was getting away with no Birthday. Her Birthday turned into a weekend event.

Saturday night we went to the potato restaurant for dinner. A restaurant that we love. Then we wanted to go to a club. Barbara and I tried to tell a taxi driver where we wanted to go to. We saw parts of Tai'an we have never seen. We eventually found the address. But we never did find the club.

We walked the streets and found a bar called the 'Blue Fox'. They had a live band and not many patrons. We had a rendition of 'Hotel California', a drink and came home.

Sunday (Barbara's actual birthday) it was off for the facial and massage. It is a woman's right to have pampering on her birthday. We went to the spa that we always go to for a facial and asked for a facial and massage. They put us into two separate rooms.

I was told to take my clothes of and wash. I couldn't work out where I was to wash as there was no water. Eventually through body language we worked out I was to get undressed, put the bath robe on and follow the therapist to another room where I would shower.

I showered and was then led to what looked like a cupboard. I thought they were going to lock me in a cupboard for the remainder of my life, but no, this was actually a two person sauna. Sauna's are not necessary in China. Every day is a sauna.

So here I am in this Sauna sweating like a pig. The door has a little door inside it to which they keep handing me water. Eventually the big door opens and her is Barbara. She has the same thoughts as me. We sit in the sauna for another ten minutes.

Then we are taken to our rooms where they start the massage and facial. It was a great experience. Barbara thinks it might have been the best she has had here. I'm not so sure.

That night we go to the Ramada for Barbara's Birthday dinner.

Happy Birthday Barbara.