My $700 hair cut and other Singapore stories

A few fun stories and coincidences:

While searching unsuccessfully for the Salvation Army store, I spied a Korean hair salon. I was almost nostalgic, but not quite.

Out of curiosity, I tried to visit the synagogue, only to find I needed my passport because it was a high security area. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. And disappointed. On my way there, I tried to give the cab driver the address, which he didn't know. When I said synagoguge I think he asked "Sengeal?" But when I said "Jewish church" he understood. Later I saw Orthodox Jews in the airport and marveled that they hadn't melted under all those clothes.

My $700 hair cut: Yes, hair was a theme this trip. I'd been dissatisfied with all of the cuts I'd gotten for the past couple of years and was determined to do better in a country with more Westerners. I figure the plane fare was part of the cost, though when I deducted the price of the shoes I bought from the plane fare the hair cut comes down to only $600 or so.

I was sitting in Starbucks (yes, they're everywhere) having an iced coffee and a British woman with wavy hair sat down by me. I seized the opportunity and asked her if she lived nearby and knew anyplace to get a cut. Sure enough, she referred me to her hairdresser, who was in the same shopping center we were sitting in. It made my day, even my week.