Another blog by Boh Tong the ex- SIA cabin crew: A haircut at Chong Pang

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

A haircut at Chong Pang

This afternoon I was at Chong Pang to buy some fruits and came across a Malay barber shop. My hair was fairly long and thought it was time for a haircut.
I personally prefer Malay barbers to others. They are versatile and have a sense of fashion that suit people of all ages.
The barber shop had 2 customers and I waited for my turn. I saw a notice on the wall regarding the prices of the haircut. A flat-top would cost $12, a normal haircut for an adult $10, a senior citizen or a child was $8.
The guy who cut my hair was about 30 years old. I spoke to him in his language which was Malay.
At the end of the haircut, he asked me how old was I. I told him I was 70 and he was shocked. He told with a smile that I looked like a 50 something. The reason he asked me for my age was to see whether I was a "senior citizen" which would entitle me to a discount of $2.
He also asked me whether I was a Malay or Chinese. After finding out that I was a Chinese, he congratulated me on my fluency in the Malay language. He said my pronunciation was perfect. I thanked him for the compliment and told him I was raised in a Malay kampong and my childhood friends were all Malay, hence my ability to speak the language like a Malay.

BT: The language I spoke to the barber was actually Bazaar Malay or pidgin which I picked up as a child.

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