It took me few days to bring my Barong Tagalog for its much needed dry cleaning to the laundry shop located just in front of the building of our appartment. I wore it proudly when I and my family graced the 2012 Malaysia International Tourism Blog Awards in Saloma Theater, Kuala Lumpur last May 8th. You all know by now what happened in the awards night; now here’s what happened inside the laundry shop :
- Me : Hello! Good afternoon! Do you do dry clean here, Sir?
- Old Malaysian man about age of 60s, perhaps : “Yes! What do you call that? ….Philippine!”
- Me : “It’s called Barong. Our national costume in The Philippines.”
- Old Malaysian man : “Ahhhhh…. Barong!”
- Me : “How much do you charge for dry cleaning a Barong, Sir? And when can I collect it?”
- Old Malaysian man : “Today is Saturday, so tomorrow Sunday -store is closed. You can collect it on Tuesday. You pay 6 ringgit.”
- Me : “OK, Sir, I’ll pay now and I shall collect it around 6:30PM, Tuesday.”
- Old Malaysian man putting my Barong closer to his chest : “Can you wear Barong without a shirt inside?”
- Me : “Oh no, Sir. We wear it with plain white undershirt underneath. Barong is worn in formal occasions.”
- Old Malaysian man : “Ohhhhhh… Can you wear it with jogging pants, like this?” –pointing to what he was wearing.”
- Me : “No, Sir. We wear it with slacks or formal dark pants.”
- Old Malaysian man : “So if I want Barong, I go Philippine and buy. Where can I buy and how much?”
- Me : “You can buy Barong Tagalog from Department stores or even in huge public markets.”
- Old Malaysian man : “Ohhhhh… I see. How much?”
- Me : “The price usually varies with the material or the cloth that was used. This Barong, I only got cheap for around hundred ringgit (FYI, I bought that particular Barong in Tutuban Mall in Divisoria, where else?) But as I have said, prices go up depending on the material. It can go as high as one thousand ringgit (Php 14,000) or even more expensive specially if it’s a designer’s label and/or the cloth is made of pineapple fiber.”
- Old Malaysian man : “Ohhhh….the one worn by Marcos.“
OPINION COUNTS…