My 60 cent haircut

Yesterday I got a haircut here in Cebu. I was a little nervous about it because I normally get my haircut by the same guy at home. I don't ever have to tell him how to cut my hair...he just cuts it.

The guy ended up doing a great job...I even got a great shoulder massage at the end of my haircut. What I ended up being surprised about is how cheap the haircut was. I paid only 30 pesos for the haircut. Thirty pesos is roughly the equivalent of 60 cents! At home, I pay $12 for a haircut. This means that I paid one twentieth of what I normally pay!

Afterwards, Glyn and I went and got manicures. Again, they ended up doing a great job. And, again, I was surprised about how much they cost...30 pesos each! (For those who think it is weird for a guy to get a manicure...don't worry, I have no polish on my nails.)

I still have not gotten a massage here, but they are relatively cheap too. A full body massage costs around $4. That's right....4 bucks!

That is how things are around here. Labor is so cheap compared to the United States. I first saw this when I arrived to Cebu for the first time. Taxi drivers were waving at me to give me a ride to the hotel. They were saying it would cost 1500 pesos ($30) for a ride to the hotel. From the airport, it is about a 40 minute taxi ride. From US standards, $30 for a 40 minute taxi ride is very reasonable. However, it was lucky that I did a little reading before I came here. I read that I should go to the metered taxis instead. So, that is what I did. I ended up paying 170 pesos for the taxi ride....which was a little over 3 bucks!

I have learned that many Filipinos will try to get foreigners to pay more since they are used to paying more. One hotel even told me that they have a different rate for foreigners than for locals. So, I get Glyn to do a lot of price negotiation for me.

Excuse me, I have a $4 massage to get to...