Off on holiday - Mamil in Malaysia?

Went back this morning and took some photos, so I will fix them up and upload them later.

I see it as an education for them, they were the first to admit that they struggle with getting good product and want to do better. To me, it's a philanthropic thing to give them a leg up and do better. Anyone wanting to keep the traditions alive and also spread the word about wet shaving, well they are friends of mine.
 
Monsta_AU said:
Went back this morning and took some photos, so I will fix them up and upload them later.

I see it as an education for them, they were the first to admit that they struggle with getting good product and want to do better. To me, it's a philanthropic thing to give them a leg up and do better. Anyone wanting to keep the traditions alive and also spread the word about wet shaving, well they are friends of mine.
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Well done you. Maybe we need to send them a care package of P&C leftovers - that would probably keep them in soap, cream, blades etc for the rest of their lives!
 
I'm back there in October for a few days so could drop by.

And I think they said something about wanting vintage personna 74 blades.
 
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eggbert said:
And I think they said something about wanting vintage personna 74 blades.
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Let them graduate before thrusting a masters upon them mate :)
 
I probably would not send them P74's but definitely would send a nice sampler pack of blades for them to check out and try. Mainly the 7OC range plus Dark Platinums & Silver Blues, Permasharp Supers, maybe some of the Voskhod & others from the Mostochlegmash stable.

The big issue here is cost, so obviously we want to find decent blades at reasonable cost for them at affordable prices. I think the Astra's are the way to go as they can be sourced very cheap from various places.

Also, will ask @Barrister & Mann to see if he would throw some prototypes in if I bought a couple of soaps for them and covered the extra postage.
 
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Why not start them off with the basics soap wise, ie Latha ?
It will be more cost effective for them as well.
 
Ah, but they have sniffed the Ferox.....

I agree in principle. If they were to buy from Will at the same end price as we got ours for, it would be in the 25 Ringgit range, and then they need to add some profit margin. It is starting to get out of reach for most of the locals at that point. That said, they do have a fairly 'Ah Beng' clientele so they may have a bit more cash to spend at times.

I am more looking at trying to get them a nice buffer of soap to use during their in-house shaves, and then maybe resell the Latha locally. They do stock a heap of locally-produced hair pomades which smell really good. The price on them is very reasonable.
 
No, no. They definitely said Personna 74’s. And they wouldn't get swapped out for Personna reds at all.

Oh no!
 
B&M is considered pretty pricey stuff by most P&C members, so I'd expect the same or worse for locals (even relatively well off ones there) but I ain't over there so who knows. :)

However, as far as a stock/house soap for them to use on clients (or potentially break down and resell) I'd think there's often logical to not trying to reinvent the wheel - as such do what scores of continental barbers have done for decades and go with a good Italian 1kg block. Whilst I know our spoilt noses might be a bit jaded against the usual almond/cherry scents I'd guess it might be quite well liked by the Asian punters - as well as being quite exotic/different.

I've not used it but have been told that 3P's product is excellent value (GBP14 for 1kg!!!) & very good performer. Cella is marginally more (and from what I've heard ~on par with 3P) at GBP18. There's also atleast one of the Vito's varients thats well regarded, they're very aggressively priced - not not at Connaught.

Otherwise and again you're looking at a different scent palate to our spoilt/western ones - but you could do a lot worse than a carton of Arko direct from the many suppliers.

I think your recommendation of the Astra SP's is bang on - hard to beat in bang for buck and solid performers. I know most of the Australian barbers use them as their safety blade of choice.

Just perhaps need to ensure they have one of the REALLY BIG boofy Omega Pro boar brushes to get the best from those soaps - and also make their jobs a lot easier as they'll hold a LOT of lather.
 
So, landed in Kuching...... and then this happened.

bourdain.jpg


I was photobombing so left a gap so I could be cropped out by other people. He is apparently doing a similar trip to the one he did on No Reservations Series 2.

Still cannot believe it.
 
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Monsta_AU said:
So, landed in Kuching...... and then this happened.

bourdain.jpg


I was photobombing so left a gap so I could be cropped out by other people. He is apparently doing a similar trip to the one linked above.

Still cannot believe it.
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You're a real person! Who would have thought...?! [emoji13]
 
@Monsta_AU mate, you're closer to the equator, yet whiter than the last time I saw you, what gives ?
 
Just the white guy in the sun, and when everyone else is tanned and in the shade then the mobile phone doesn't meter correctly.
 
After the Bourdain encounter, headed off to get some new lenses in my glasses because very cheap in Malaysia. Free eye exam, new lenses with anti-glare coating. No problems sir, can be ready for you in 30 minnit lah!

Also ask if can put lenses in my Sunglasses insert for riding the bike. Can lah! Ended up getting a new 'spare' frame & the same single vision + anti-glare coating lenses.

Price? 200 Ringgit total. Rule of thumb - divide by three for AUD.
 
Monsta_AU said:
So, landed in Kuching...... and then this happened.

bourdain.jpg


I was photobombing so left a gap so I could be cropped out by other people. He is apparently doing a similar trip to the one he did on No Reservations Series 2.

Still cannot believe it.
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Never realised your hair was so grey @Monsta_AU - pity about the weedy looking white boy got into your photo :)
 
Yeah, horrible eh?

Yesterday was the long drive from Kuching to Bintulu - about 11 hours in . I am about 3 hours drive from Brunei here. Made the trip for Gawai Dayak - the harvest festival and also part of the reason that Bourdain is here at the moment. Roads pretty bumpy and got plenty of stares from the locals, ang moh not plentiful here.

Checked out the new longhouse complex being built on the way in, and later today we are heading to a family relative's longhouse for drinking etc. I have bought a carton of Heineken as my entry fee so to speak. Should be interesting.
 
Any food highlights while you have been there?
 
We had a few but after a while they generally blend into one another.

I had black pepper chicken down the road from the hotel in KL - literally cost me $2 and was great.

Penang - a long list of things
  • I had a really good Lime Juice at Ling Mian Fang on Lebuh Canarvon. Best one I had all trip.
  • Best coffee of the trip was the Mugshot Cafe - on Chulia almost directly opposite Lebuh Canarvon.
  • Best Indian was on Lebuh Penang, had a banana leaf vegetarian set with a roti & tandoori chicken. Awesome and pretty cheap compared to the others we had.
Just eating on the streets was generally good and tasty, and extremely cheap.
 
Mugshot cafe is new - will have to try it out in October if we manage to get into the city.

There are a few good indian joints along Lebuh Penang, but I've not been down there to eat for a couple of years..
 
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