In the 70s, Malaysia had its very own "guwazhai", a notorious gangster named Botak Chin. Some considered him the Robin Hood of Malaysia, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, but most describe him as a cold-blooded killer who took the law into his own hands.
My old Sejarah Malaysia textbooks told his story using words like penjenayah ganas dan kejam (vicious and evil criminal) and kongsi gelap (secret society).
When he was 15, he joined the kongsi gelap Gang 360 (or 306?), and later formed a gang of his own. After years of the usual "guwazhai" robberies, inter-gang rivalries and killings, arms-dealing and other kegiatan haram (illegal activities), Botak Chin was caught in 1976, and sentenced to death by hanging in 1981.
He's like Malaysia's original gangstah, and quite a household name lah. Since my surname is Chin, my two brothers have been called Botak Chin whenever they sported a crew cut when they were boys. My older brother takes on the Botak Chin tag quite seriously now with his bald pate.
So it's not surprising that the other Chin of the three siblings has also decided to go botak.
I've always liked my hair ultra short. It's either that or really straight and super long (rocker style!) which is not achievable for someone as impatient as me. Although I made up my mind to get my hair cut really, really short, I felt Ben might not be able to handle the sudden change, so I opted for a short but not too short style first.
I went to a hair salon at the nearby mall one afternoon. While sitting at the waiting area, I noticed that the salon also offered other 'beauty' services like waxing, and made a note to set an appointment for a bikini wax later. (A "Brazilian" here is just called a "full bikini").
A "shampoo girl" led me into the salon and washed my hair with REALLY hot water. She then placed a tiny hand towel on my head as water dripped down all over my face and neck while I stood in a corner waiting for a rather angry Lebanese stylist to receive me.
She was really clumsy and unprofessional, and kept dropping stuff - the hairbrush, the comb, the hairdryer, the hairbrush again, the hairclip, the hairclip, the bloody hairclip...
After she cut my hair, she asked, "Blow dry, or just blow?" Here, "blow dry" costs you an extra 20-30 Dirhams, and "just blow" is free of charge. During the "just blow" she held the hairbrush in one hand, the hairdryer in the other. Sometimes she had to free one hand to use the hairclip, so she'd clasp the hairdryer between her legs at her crotch! Seriously! Seriously... Like this:
Here's how my hair looked after she performed a "just blow":
Imagine how BIG my hair could be if I actually asked for a "blow dry"!
I'm definitely not going back to this salon for a haircut again, and of course, a bikini wax here would be absolute coochie suicide!
I had to bear with my 0biang-retro hairdo for four days till I went to a better hair salon to get it sheared. The stylist here is a Middle Eastern guy, probably Lebanese, and he asked about Ben, "That guy is your husband?" He knows you're getting your hair cut THIS SHORT?" I guess he was quite taken aback cos the Arab ladies here really love their tresses and big flying saucer fringes, and of course the men really love their ladies with flowing tresses (not so much the flying saucers).
Khalas! Although Ben now calls me "rambutan", I'm really happy and pleased with my new haircut. It's spunky-gangsta-chic!
My old Sejarah Malaysia textbooks told his story using words like penjenayah ganas dan kejam (vicious and evil criminal) and kongsi gelap (secret society).
When he was 15, he joined the kongsi gelap Gang 360 (or 306?), and later formed a gang of his own. After years of the usual "guwazhai" robberies, inter-gang rivalries and killings, arms-dealing and other kegiatan haram (illegal activities), Botak Chin was caught in 1976, and sentenced to death by hanging in 1981.
He's like Malaysia's original gangstah, and quite a household name lah. Since my surname is Chin, my two brothers have been called Botak Chin whenever they sported a crew cut when they were boys. My older brother takes on the Botak Chin tag quite seriously now with his bald pate.
So it's not surprising that the other Chin of the three siblings has also decided to go botak.
I've always liked my hair ultra short. It's either that or really straight and super long (rocker style!) which is not achievable for someone as impatient as me. Although I made up my mind to get my hair cut really, really short, I felt Ben might not be able to handle the sudden change, so I opted for a short but not too short style first.
I went to a hair salon at the nearby mall one afternoon. While sitting at the waiting area, I noticed that the salon also offered other 'beauty' services like waxing, and made a note to set an appointment for a bikini wax later. (A "Brazilian" here is just called a "full bikini").
A "shampoo girl" led me into the salon and washed my hair with REALLY hot water. She then placed a tiny hand towel on my head as water dripped down all over my face and neck while I stood in a corner waiting for a rather angry Lebanese stylist to receive me.
She was really clumsy and unprofessional, and kept dropping stuff - the hairbrush, the comb, the hairdryer, the hairbrush again, the hairclip, the hairclip, the bloody hairclip...
After she cut my hair, she asked, "Blow dry, or just blow?" Here, "blow dry" costs you an extra 20-30 Dirhams, and "just blow" is free of charge. During the "just blow" she held the hairbrush in one hand, the hairdryer in the other. Sometimes she had to free one hand to use the hairclip, so she'd clasp the hairdryer between her legs at her crotch! Seriously! Seriously... Like this:
Here's how my hair looked after she performed a "just blow":
Imagine how BIG my hair could be if I actually asked for a "blow dry"!I'm definitely not going back to this salon for a haircut again, and of course, a bikini wax here would be absolute coochie suicide!
I had to bear with my 0biang-retro hairdo for four days till I went to a better hair salon to get it sheared. The stylist here is a Middle Eastern guy, probably Lebanese, and he asked about Ben, "That guy is your husband?" He knows you're getting your hair cut THIS SHORT?" I guess he was quite taken aback cos the Arab ladies here really love their tresses and big flying saucer fringes, and of course the men really love their ladies with flowing tresses (not so much the flying saucers).
Khalas! Although Ben now calls me "rambutan", I'm really happy and pleased with my new haircut. It's spunky-gangsta-chic!
