I paid 50 times as much as I normally do for the haircut. But, I also had my hair washed four times and had an attractive - if somewhat stressed - Brazilian woman fuss over it for an hour, holding it between her fingers and snipping it off strand by strand.
Ah, the pleasures of a haircut in an alien land.
Between the woman who washed my hair, the hairdresser herself and the fashionable owner who emerged to chat and help interpret what I wanted - nothing more than a standard army buzz cut - I had three women involved in my long overdue haircut. This was a far cry from the Bandra taporis (rough translation: local heroes) who put an electric razor to my head and for Rs 50 send me on my way within 15 minutes.
We weren't really looking forward to our two-night transit halt in Sao Paulo, our only way out of South America to South Africa. What, after all, do you do in a mega, mega city that dwarfs even Mumbai, 18 million to 14 million. What do you do when you hear of the bulletproof cars, endless traffic jams and the general air of menace that hangs over Sao, where even the language, Portugese, is completely alien?
We called Melissa Sabella.
We couldn't help but call her. When we landed at our hotel on a grey, cold after the longest (one hour) immigration line we've faced thus far, and a $50 cab ride, we had a fax waiting for us in the hotel that we had booked from India. "Dear Priya and Samar," it said, "Welcome to Sao Paulo. This is Melissa Sabella. I'm Pritam Roy's friend. Please call me when you check in. I'd love to take out out somewhere nice..."
We don't know Pritam Roy, really. We only know he reads this blog from Mumbai, that he was once a resident of Sao Paulo, that he was brave enough to put us in touch with his friends here. We never really thought this would really happen. But Pritam - if you're reading this, a million thanks - delivered on his promise to help and within two hours of landing in Sao, we watched a pretty Brazilian with a big, beaming smile walk towards us.
Now, we're used to exploring new cities on our own. Our wander through Lima yesterday was memorable. But nothing, obviously, can beat the local perspective. Especially since that perspective began with a sprawling Brazilian buffet that we could never have found or negotiated on our own. In a large hall full of a salad banquet, robust Brazilians - many breaking into song - roving drinks trolleys (see photo below) and roaming waiters armed with swords skewered with a variety of meats, we began our whirlwind 48 hours in Sao Paulo.
Every table had a little device, a little wheel that you could rotate, depending on your hungry you were. You could rotate it to display either "Sim, por favor (yes please)," or "Nao obrigado (no thank you)". But even if you said no thanks, the roving waiters tended not to see it. So, I ended up eating three varieties of beef, chicken hearts and sausages. I had two caipirinhas (the wife immediately had the local beer, the salad and the dessert) and after a boozy, happy night of getting to know Melissa, we ended our first few hours in Brazil.
The next day, we realised why it is never a good idea to believe all that you hear about a city. Draw your own conclusions based on your own ramblings. No Lonely Planet or Fodor's or whatever can help you reach a conclusion.
As you can tell, we loved Sao.
Like all big cities, it has big problems: Slums (though not as untidy or bedraggled as the ones back home), traffic jams (bad, but totally exaggerated, bring a Brazilian to Mumbai and then let's talk) and crime (well, it has more robberies than any other city in the world).
But take some basic precautions and you will be just fine. Here's what Sao also has going for it:
- A great transport system. It has first-rate Toyota and Chevrolet taxis, an extensive bus-based mass transit system, with some articulated Volvos so long that they have 18 wheels and our four times as long as an average Mumbai BEST bus. It has a 20-year-old metro with five lines, spotless and wonderfully maintained.
- It has some of the most diverse people I have ever seen - Japanese, Lebanese, Greek, Italian, black, white and every shade and mixture of these.
- Consequently, it has wonderful food: both Costa Rica and Peru, our previous stops, seemed like so limited in their varieties of cuisine.
- It also has a sprawling park with lakes bang in the city's heart.
(Photo, above: Ibirapuera Park in the heart of Sao)
It was in Ibirapuera Park, then, that we began our only full day in Sao. Melissa called to say she was taking the day off, a wonderful gesture and something that is hard to come by in the western world, or, increasingly, even back home. It was particularly touching considering she works 7 am to 10 pm five days a week (she works for British Petroluem, looking after health and safety issues with jurisdiction over Asia and South America).
We rambled, we roamed, we learned. At the museum of Afro-Brazilian history, we learned of a delightful icon of African Brazil: Saci (pronounced Sachi), a mythical black boy with one leg, a pipe in his mouth and an eternal smile. For nearly a century, he has been rumoured to look after the plantations of the country's vast interior, his caricature and image now a part of Brazil's iconography. Look him up on the net if you can.
By afternoon, we had reached Paulista Avenue, Sao's business heart. Immaculately dressed men and women hurried busily along the broad pavements, and by lunch time, the restaurants were packed. Melissa, who is of Italian ancestry, took us to the best Italian buffet lunch we've ever had: endless varieties of cheese, salads and cold meats; piping hot pastas made to order, desserts, juices and coffees. Over lunch, we realised how Melissa's ancestry was directly related to her generosity. Like many of us, she was ultra-close to her family - her father was one of 17 children - and was used to taking them for granted.
After changing two subway trains, we found ourselves at a cosy neighbourhood mall, where I was relieved to finally have a haircut after two months. I've never had so much attention directed at me during a hair-chop operation, and I have to admit I enjoyed every bit of it. "Your friends are from Brazil?" the owner asked as my grand operation came to a close, gesturing to Melissa and the wife. After I assured her than the curly haired one was my wife, she ended up giving me her email and said her website was under construction. When I told the pretty, young hairdresser this was the best haircut I ever had - and the first time I'd ever let a woman cut my hair - she lit up and asked if I could tell her boss that. I did, and so a pleasant afternoon for all ended, though I ended up spending Rs 2,500 for my pleasure. Ah, but it was all worth the warmth and the lightness I felt.
We wound our way to the mall cinemas, saw "Sex and the City" and after more rambling through Sao, wound up after 9 pm at a speciality soup and sandwich café - packed of course - near our hotel. We weren't in any great hurry. Our flight to our next stop, Johannesburg, South Africa, was tomorrow at 6 pm. But didn't Melissa have enough of us, and didn't she have to get to office early tomorrow?
Melissa, as she had been doing through the day, only beamed in response, and disclosed she was now going to visit her mother. Tomorrow, she had a 7 am flight to Brazil's capital, Brasilia. Whew!
She's coming to Mumbai in January, so if anyone wants to meet her, let us know.
All we can say to Melissa is a big, big thank you and a Sao-sized kiss. Within 48 hours, our apprehension had turned to a warm glow, a complete stranger had become a friend.
Blame it on Sao.
P.S. Sorry, bandwidth was too narrow today for photos. I'll try again tomorrow.