Shopping in Jakarta
Ah, the delightful exercise of Jakarta. Where do we start? Shall we try the
malls first? Lately, Jakarta has been booming with super size, mega malls
where you can find everything, from a pair of sunglasses to subdue the glare of
tropical sunlight to a silk, batik tie for your important dinner meeting to a
Makarena CD or a printer cartridge. Everything under one roof. In fact, you
might even stay there, since, like Plaza Indonesia, it also connects to the
luxurious Grand Hyatt hotel.
Beyond the malls, there are many streets that used to be the "downtown" areas
of the old neighborhoods. The blok M area, for example, easily reachable from
anywhere because it is the location of one of Jakarta's public transportation
hub, has many stores to satisfy your shopping desire.
And there there are the "pasar" or markets. In various other parts in
Indonesia, like in Gianyar, Bali, or in Kabanjahe, North Sumatera, you will
still find markets that are only open on certain days of the week, where buyers
meet sellers who are usually also producers. You can find remnant of this
style of market in Jakarta, at least in names. Pasar Ikan is an example. The
name implies that sometime in the past, it was a place for fishermen to meet
with their customers. Pasar Baru is another. Literally means the New Market,
it is has now transformed into a market where locals shop for various things
like fabrics. The traditional markets where you have to walk on muddy, unpaved
isles, with aroma of fresh flowers mixed with live chicken, may be harder to
find in Jakarta.
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