Francisca Barus

SHOPPING IN SUKAWATI ART MARKET Hi all! I’ve been to bali only twice in my life. The first time was when I was 17 years old, I joined the study tour from my school. And the second time was in 2012 with my ex boyfriend. Everytime I visit new places, I always want to blend with the people and learn their cultures. In Bali, I really like to go to the Pura, watching their traditional dances, trying their local foods (yesss... I love bebek betutu, sate pusut and babi guling... along with traditional cakes), and most of all, hunting souvenirs. As you already know, most Indonesian people will ask souvenirs to their family and friends who are having holidays outside of their hometown. So, this time, I had to buy souvenirs for my friends and family, and because I was on a budget, I needed to find cheap (but still good) souvenirs. Back in 2012, I was staying in Kerobokan area. The area nearby, Seminyak, also offers plenty of Balinese souvenirs, but the souvenirs here are a bit expensive since most of the souvenirs are sold in small shops along the street, and the Seminyak area is already expensive because it’s known as touristic place. Many westerners stay in Seminyak. It’s full of restaurants serving western foods and boutiques. Another option was to go to Kuta Square, where there are souvenir shops too with cheaper price. I did buy a couple of sarongs here. And then I remembered back in 2004, when I went to Bali for the first time, the school group brought me to Sukawati Art Market to buy cheap souvenirs. Sukawati Art Market is located in Gianyar, Bali. I spent about 90 minutes from Kerobokan by car. The Art Market opens from 10 am to 7 pm. Since it opens at 10 am, I decided to start my journey after breakfast. On the way to Sukawati, I stopped in Ubud to find some cheap pearls, take a look at the beautiful landscape of paddy fields, visit Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave), Monkey Forest (beware of the naughty monkeys), and I had lunch there. I reached the Art Market around 3:30 pm. At front of the Art Market, there’s traditional market where you can buy vegetables, traditional cakes, house equipments and gold jewelleries. Back in the Art Market, you can find many beach sarong, beach dresses, tanktops, t-shirts and pajamas, with Balinese style batik. You also can find some balinese carvings and paintings, along with small stuffs such as key chains, hairclips, aromatherapy sticks and candles, pens and pencils. The most important thing is to bargain here. The standard fixed price is about one-third or a half of the initial price. So, if somebody sells a sarong for Rp.100.000, the fixed price should be around Rp. 35.000 – 50.000. And don’t forget to compare the prices in atleast 2 or 3 shops before deciding to buy a souvenir. Prices for carvings and paintings are usually based on the size. You will find naturalistic and abstract paintings here. I got some tips from my mother’s friends, that better if we arrive at the market in the morning. People here still believe in superstition, that it’s a good thing if their stuffs are sold early in the morning, because it means there will be more stufs sold until the end of the day. So, they don’t mind to put cheaper price in the morning, just to get a stuff out of its shell. I don’t mean to make fun of these people and you don’t need to follow this advice if you find it too offensive. But from my point of view, If I can buy stuffs cheaper in the morning, why not following the advice? If you happen to arrive in the morning, you will still have plenty of time to spend the day. There are many other places around this Art Market, such as Hidden Canyon Beji Guwang Sukawati (only 10 minutes from the market by car), Tegenungan Waterfall (15 minutes by car), Bali Zoo Park (15 minutes by car), Bali Bird Park (15 minutes by car), and Celuk Village (15 minutes by car) where you can buy silver jewelleries. These places are worth to see, so you will not get bored in spending the whole day in this area. My experience, I didn’t have time to visit those places. I only had 2 hours to do shopping in the Art Market, and after I finished shopping, it started to get dark and I had to go back to Kerobokan.