BANGLADESHI construction worker Mashud paid $4 yesterday for a haircut and shave.
The makeshift barber he goes to offered an idyllic view under a big tree, by a canal along Boon Lay Way.
At 6pm, his barber, a Chinese retiree in his 60s, appeared from a block of flats and started walking down a footpath along the canal.
Slung over his shoulder was an old barber's chair. In his hand was a small toolbox.
Mashud was given a broken mirror to hold.
After he gestured to the barber how he preferred his hair to be cut, the barber produced a shaver from his box and started to work on his head, leaving clumps of hair on the grass.
"I will clear the hair afterwards," said the barber, who refused to give his name.
But he revealed this much: He was from China, and had migrated to Singapore with his son and family a few months ago.
And yes, he was formerly a barber.
He said he was bored, and had decided on his impromptu business a few weeks ago after noticing foreign workers cutting each other's hair at the canal.
So he goes there in the evenings, or during the weekends - whenever he feels up to it.
"A few others also provide this service on the opposite bank. I am not the only one in this business," he said in Mandarin.
For the full report, read today's edition of The New Paper
