SHOPPING IN
Gaia Grant © 2000
For
many years, now,
What
once started out as a few bamboo stalls clustered on the side of a dirt track
offering batik sarongs and silver jewellery has fast
developed into a vast modern shopping mecca. Glass
fronted air conditioned boutiques selling designer products, supermarkets, and
shopping malls have replaced those early sales outlets, although there are
still plenty of roadside stands, market stalls and individual hawkers with
trays for displaying their wares. Shopping opportunities are everywhere,
particularly in Kuta, and you could just about say
that the whole of Kuta has become, in itself, one
large shopping centre!
Locally
produced paintings, carvings and fabrics are in abundance in
different
art products available gives testimony to the development of Balinese as an
artistic culture. Historically, whenever a region has an abundance of natural
resources, the people have the time and materials to devote to artistic
development. Local artisans have mostly inherited talents and skills which have
been passed down from generation to generation, and they continue to use the
traditional methods
to
produce items of great detail and beauty.
Local
and imported materials have also been used to create a huge variety of new
specialist items. It's possible, for example, to find leather shoes, belts,
jackets and handbags… or recycled hand made paper products such as notepaper,
photo frames, boxes and albums. Household items made from teak wood, cast iron,
bamboo, and rattan are all popular, as are brightly printed and batik dyed
clothing items made from cotton. Add on silver, CDs, and sarongs,
and you've identified some of the most popular items, but by no means exhausted
the list of all the wonderful goods available.
As
well as the sheer choice of items,
The
shops are mostly open from
Shops selling similar items are generally grouped together, so you should find
our listing of outlets by locality a handy guide to shopping your way around.
Kuta, Legian and Seminyak
The main road through Kuta, Legian
and Seminyak, Jalan Legian, has a multitude of shops and restaurants on each
side selling a wide variety of goods. On this road alone it's possible to buy
sarongs, surfing goods, handicrafts, cassettes, CD's, jewellery,
clothing, furniture and leather
products. Try Brata CV for a wide range of handmade shoes
of excellent quality, or the Surfer Girl,
Body Glove and Quicksillver shops for good quality surf clothing. Uluwatu boutique also has some lovely lace creations. There's a good
selection of arts and crafts available at Joged and The Belu Artshop,
and for textiles visit Kharisma Tanjung Busana.
Kuta has
some department stores and shopping centres where
prices
are fixed at
other on
swimwear and matching accessories have a store here also, one of their four
locations.
The
Kuta Centre has
On
the beach at Kuta is another shop selling unique
gifts, Jarrol Jungle, and further back on Jalan Raya is the Alus Tailor and Boutique. Further down at
the Tuban end of Kuta is Cambium Quality Design and Pelengkung art galleries.
In this part of town you'll get hit for watches, transport and bracelets from
the ever present
street hawkers. If you're not interested in their wares, don't make eye
contact, because if you look at the goods the vendor will follow you for the
next
kilometre or so, even if you insist you're not
buying!
The upper end of Jalan Legian
from Seminyak to Kerobokan
has turned
into an enclave of boutiques specialising in gents'
and ladies' clothing,
interior and homewares stores, antiques, furniture
and some interesting
delis and warungs. For a good selection of primitive
antiques, visit Adel Primitive Antique, and Kayu Kayu also has
a wide variety of furniture and antiques. Suarti Collection, which also has an outlet in Celuk,
has beautifully crafted silver jewellery. There's not many hawkers up this end of the street, which
makes for a nice change.
Seminyak
is also the location for Daya Dewata boutique
and Flux, and Mimi's Gallery is at Kerobokan.
Denpasar
The capital of
main areas worth checking out. The Kumbasari market near the river gives an
interesting overview of an Indonesian market with homewares
and clothing on
the third level, spices and dried goods on the second level and fresh
produce in the basement. It can be a bit dark in the basement so watch your
step.
Nearby is Jalan Hasanudin,
a whole street of gold shops, selling 18-22
carat gold jewelry. Not far away from Jl. Hasanudin is Jalan Sulawesi where
all manner of fabrics are available. The whole street consists of fabric
stores on both sides with a few houseware stores in
between.
If you're looking for handicrafts, there are quite a few shops in Jl. Gajah
Mada selling similar items to those seen in Kuta, but without the hawkers.
It's a good idea to check out the government run handicraft centre in
Tohpati (Sanggraha Kriya Asti) which has a range of
handicrafts at fixed
prices and will give
you a measure as to what's available for a certain price.
Denpasar has a large selection of department stores
with reasonably priced
clothing. Try Matahari, Libi, MA Department store, Ramayana, New Dewata
Ayu, Tiara Dewata or Tragia.
Supermarkets are located within the areas of most of the department stores, and
Hero supermarket has a very extensive
range of fresh produce and canned
products.
For
other more specialist items, there are plenty of other shopping options In Denpasar. For swimming and exercise wear you can try La Christie Body Wear, or for general
goods Teratai Indah Jaya. If you need a florist, Puri Sekar Kana in Jalan
Teuku Umar is the place to
go. Also in this street is the fine furniture gallery, Oka Bawes Bali.
Denpasar also has some reasonably priced electronic
and furniture stores.
Try Fran's Electronic and Utama Jaya Furniture.
On Jl. Raya Sesetan visit
Mutiara Onix and Marmer for unique
items of marble, onyx and pearl.
Nusa Dua
Although Nusa Dua is now
mainly a five star toursit haven,
there is still a small market at the entrance gateway to the hotel complex
where you can continue to
find bargains. If you venture out of the gates there's also the Tragia
Supermarket and Department Store, which offers a wide range of items, and
some leathershops and tailors close by.
The
main shopping complex, the Galleria,
has recently been renovated and upgraded with a wide variety of restaurants and
stores. The stores mostly have fixed prices
for their high quality items, and the Kris
Gallery is especially worth checking for some
unique items. The Royal Sporting House offers
name brand shoes at very reasonable prices. Also worth stopping off at is Galleria furniture store, with their
beautiful teak wood and stone antiques and primitive pieces. All the hotels
also have shopping areas with fine
products and nice prices to match!
The Bypass
Proceeding on the main road (the Bypass) from Nusa Dua, through Jimbaran, and
further on to
Sanur, you will see on either side of the road many
shops selling household wares and furnishings. Pottery, wrought iron, and
furniture stores are the main items on offer here, and you can find some good
pieces if you look carefully and bargain hard. Try Jimbaran Gallery for antiques, handicrafts and
ceramics, Gong Yudha
for antiques and Darga Gallery and Raras Jogja for paintings. Laras Bali sells stone carvings and
furniture, and Matrai'I Handycraft Shop is
a good choice for arts and crafts. Duck off the road at Jimbaran,
and you'll find Rumah Konde Ratu Gallery on Jalan Uluwatu. At the Sanur end of the
Bypass, Adi Utama is a
good choice for popular furniture items while Sani Gallery sells artworks.
Sanur
Sanur has
an interesting variety of shops with lots of
nice restaurants dotted in between. There are still a few hawkers about but
they're not as aggressive, except at the beach market. Sanur's
main shopping street is Jalan Danau
Tamblingan, and this area has a similar feel but is
somewhat more peaceful than shopping in Kuta. You'll
find Indory
furniture in this
street and another location for Uluwatu boutique,
selling items made from handmade Balinese lace.
Gaya Interior have
a large range of attractive homewares, furnishings
and furniture. For batik, try the Kumala Exclusive
Modern Batik Centre. There's also an art market, Pasar Seni, with wood carvings and other
handicrafts. The Alas Arum
supermarket stocks a variety of imported and
local food products. Also on the outskirts of Sanur
is Macro, which offers a
huge variety of supermarket, homeware and electrical
items. You need a
membership card to enter, however, or failing that you need to be with a
cardholder to get in.
Batubulan
The area of Batubulan is renowned for its stone
carvings, and the name literally means stone (batu)
moon (bulan). Traditionally, stone sculptures carved
from soft volcanic rock (paras) were used to adorn
temples and palaces. Now they are sold for export too. The craftsmen can make
practically anything you request from a Garuda to a
garden gnome. Recently
many "Antique" shops have sprung up on the same road, selling items
from
all over Indonesia. Discerning buyers may well find a bargain.
Celuk
Continuing on the road to Ubud, you will pass through
Celuk, home of silver
and gold artisans. Huge stores house a wide variety of all types of
intricately designed pieces. The silver filigree work is quite amazing.
Bargaining is a must. If you can go off the main road into the village
where the craftsmen work and live you'll get better prices.
Sukawati
Sukawati has a new art market and a traditional
market on the main road
and side streets. A large assortment of woven baskets can be found here
along with Balinese ceremonial items made from colourful
"Prada" - gold
painted cloth. These include umbrellas, dance costumes, fans, and clothes
worn at tooth filings and weddings. A large assortment of woven baskets and
wooden handicrafts are also sold here. If you're after some jewellery,
Semara Darma Gold and
Silver is a good place to try here.
Mas
The village of Mas is renowned as the home of skilled
wood carvers. You can
buy mass produced soft wood carvings or more expensive and highly crafted
pieces from ebony, jackfruit, teak and sandalwood. Particularly fine
wood carving specimens can be seen at the Nyana Tilem Gallery, one of
the first galleries you come to in Mas.
Ubud
Ubud is undisputedly the centre of the artistic scene
in Bali. It has
changed remarkably from the small artist's village it was ten years ago to
a bustling centre of activity with a wide range of Balinese paintings on
offer. Respected galleries such as Neka, Agung Rai and Rudana are
worth
visiting. Also stop off at Sjadja art
gallery, Ruri Painter and Galeri Pengosekan,in the neighbouring
Penegosekan village. Western artist Antonio Blanco
has his collection displayed at his
gallery and home and Hans Snel exhibits his paintings
at his restaurant and
hotel off the main road. The Seniwati Art Gallery
features a fine collection of works by women
artists only.
A walk down the main road will take you past countless smaller galleries
with varied styles of paintings and an eclectic collection of stores
selling clothing, homewares, antiques, jewelry,
handicrafts and a few good
bookshops. The central market also sells a variety of goods, and the neighbouring villages of Peliatan,
Penestanan and Pengosekan
are also
home to many artists and galleries. Visit Nyoman Sumerta
Gallery or Ruri
Painter for artworks and Adhicita for handicrafts.
Tegalalang
Home to woodcarvers, this village and nearby villages specialise
in the
carving of soft wood figures. Brightly painted flowers, frogs, fruits,
animal figures and Garudas feature heavily.
Gianyar
Gianyar has many textile factories producing all
manner of cloth, ikat and
some batik. You are able to observe the weaving process and of course to
purchase!
Tenganan
This small Bali Aga village is unique in that it is
the only place in Bali
that produces "Geringsing" cloth - In the
making of Geringsing cloth the
weft and warp threads are dyed to a final pattern before being woven
together. It takes remarkable skill to weave the threads to match exactly.
As a result it is produced only in small quantities and can be quite
pricey. Don't forget to bargain! Other items for sale in Tenganan
are woven
grass baskets and "Lontars" - palm leaf
manuscripts - books telling a story
through script and pictures drawn on dried palm leaves.
Kamasan
Home to traditional Balinese "Kamasan"
painting where a line drawing is
made in black ink by
a master artist and coloured in with natural
pigments. Eggs, banners,
paintings, bags, hats and many other goods decorated with Kamasan
painting
are all available here. The Kerta Gosa
(Hall of Justice) at Klungklung
features some impressive displays of Kamasan style
paintings.
Klungkung
Klungklung has a busy traditional market and is also
home to some of the
oldest antique stores in Bali. You can find krises, songket sarongs and
some nice quality 22 carat gold pieces in Balinese designs here. The
village of Tihingan is a centre for smith producing
the gong's used in
traditional gamelan orchestras.
Bona
Bona is a village known for bamboo growing and goods produced from bamboo
such as furniture and mats. The villagers also produce goods made from
lontar leaves including hats, bags and even shoes.
Bedugul
In the cooler mountain region, Bedugul is renowned as
a farming area. The
local market sells fresh fruit and vegetables and specialises
in orchids
and other plants.
Duty Free Shopping
Plaza Bali and DFS have duty free shopping outlets in Kuta,
Sanur, Nusa Dua
and the airport in Bali. They have a wide range of designer label boutiques
and other luxury outlets. Plaza Bali makes a pleasant change to the
markets of Bali and offers a more
peaceful shopping experience. Bear in mind some products in Indonesia do
not have a high duty, such as cigarettes.
Bali Shopping Tours
If it's all too much for you, why not let someone else
do all the hard
work? Bali Shopping Tours will take you on half day tour of up to 8
outlets (factories, not shops). The goods featured are clothing,
handicrafts, pottery, silver and glass beads. The factories will give you
wholesale prices and you can pay by credit card. The tour also includes a
meal.
Whichever area you go to, you're sure to find some wonderful craftsmanship
and souvenirs of your visit to
items you're having trouble fitting them in your suitcase, you can consider
the option of shipping them home with one the many cargo companies
available, such as Bisama Nugraha Cargo.
Happy Shopping!
www.tirian.com © 2000 Gaia Grant