Hunting for unique but cute mementos

Hunting for unique but cute mementos

JAKARTA (JP): You have a flight back home in the next couple
of days, or tonight maybe, but still have not got something to
give to your family and friends. Don't worry. You can still do
some last-minute shopping at Jakarta's malls and catch some nice
Indonesian traditional mementos for everyone.

Jakarta is a heaven for domestic and foreign shoppers with its
huge and attractively decorated malls. For foreigners, Jakarta's
malls are the perfect place to buy genuine branded items at madly
cheap prices thanks to the downfall of rupiah against U.S. dollar
as the result of the 1997 economic crisis.

Shopping for traditional mementos at Jakarta's malls is
convenient because you can find sophisticated Yogyakarta
silverware, colorful Balinese carvings or antique Papuan
artifacts without having to travel hundreds of kilometers to Kota
Gede, Sukawati Art Market or Hamadi Market, where the handicrafts
are originally made.

Below, are some of the malls and department stores in Jakarta,
which generally open for business from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., where
you could find traditional souvenirs.

Sarinah

Being the oldest shopping center in the country, Sarinah is
not as huge and shiny as most if the newer malls. But it has a
reasonably good range of products and easy-to-rummage-through
displays. And it's also located right in the heart of Jakarta on
Jl. Thamrin, under the same roof as Hard Rock Cafe.

So, without having to waste time and torture your feet, you
will find in Sarinah, which is actually named after Indonesia's
first president Soekarno's nanny, the sorts of goods you want --
small or big, cheap or expensive, stone or silver -- and have it
wrapped or put in nice gift boxes.

Sarinah dedicates its third floor for various handicrafts and
the fourth floor for traditional fabrics, mostly batik. Check out
the detailed and colorful floor guides right next to the
escalator to find out the exact location of the goods you are
looking for.

The first things to see on the third floor are collectibles
and jewelry made of gold or silver, with or without local
gemstones, and pearl ornaments. There are also ceramic and clay
products, wayang (Indonesian puppets), made either of leather or
wood, and wood-based products.

On the fourth floor you will find heaps choices of apparel or
fabric from many batik producers, including famous batik czar
Iwan Tirta and established batik makers Danar Hadi and Batik
Keris. Silk hand-painted neckerchiefs from Iwan Tirta are
available from Rp 100,000, while batik-printed tablecloths and
napkins from other brands start from Rp 60,000 per set.

Pasaraya

If you are not in a hurry, it would be better to go hunting
for gifts at the Pasaraya department store at the long-
established Blok M shopping district in South Jakarta. With its
handicraft floors twice the size of Sarinah's, Pasaraya has the
most complete collection of handicrafts and traditional souvenirs
in town.

All the batik-related goods and traditional fabrics are
displayed on the fourth floor. There are bedspreads, tablecloths
and bags made of batik cloth. Also some collectibles, boxes,
bowls and statues made of wood painted with colorful batik. And,
of course, batik clothing ranges from neckerchiefs, shawls,
skirts, shirts to pants.

Bored of batik? Check out the traditional hand-knit woven
fabrics called songket and ulos from North Sumatra and tais and
tenun Sumba from Nusa Tenggara regions at the Rineart outlet near
the escalator in the west wing. The fabrics are used as stoles,
bedspreads, tablecloths or for wall hangings.

Up on the fifth floor you can get a nice small rounded box of
Thai ebony with a silver wayang figure embedded in the top for Rp
75.000 from the Kirana outlet. From the leather and wayang
section you can get bookmarks made of cow leather painted with
wayang figures, typical souvenirs from Yogyakarta, for Rp 10,000
each.

If you fancy gemstones, you can buy your lucky stones, ruby,
sapphire, topaz or emerald mined in Kalimantan, in their natural
form or already made into pendants or rings. A ruby pendant with
an 18-carat gold chain will cost you about Rp 2 million.

Sogo and others

There are two Sogo department stores in Jakarta -- at Plaza
Indonesia, Jl. Thamrin, and Plaza Senayan, Jl. Asia Afrika. Go
for Sogo at Plaza Senayan for more and better choices of
handicraft and art goods.

The handicraft section is on the fifth floor. There are
stunning plate and glass mats made of looking glass with
implanted silver wayang figure each sold at Rp 88,000 and Rp
17,500 respectively.

Unique napkin rings made of coconut shell are available at Rp
165.000 for a box of six, while bowls and vases made of soft wood
painted with colorful delicate batik patterns are available from
Rp 100.000 each. Wrapping is available next to the cashier.

If you're in Plaza Indonesia, Sogo has all its handicrafts and
batik items hidden away in a corner of the third floor, next to
the Kinokuniya bookshop. At both Sogos there is a small but very
exclusive batik outlet, Obin House. There you can get batik and
linen ladies sleeveless tops from Rp 300,000 and shawls from Rp
125,000.

These three places, Sarinah, Pasaraya and Sogo, are the best
malls to visit in town for handicraft hunting. Other malls like
Pondok Indah and Taman Anggrek do not have specific handicraft
sections.

Occasionally, however, some malls invite independent stalls to
open along the walkways to sell art works and handicrafts at more
attractive prices and are sometimes open to bargaining. There are
some stalls offering handicrafts at Taman Anggrek's UG, L2 and L4
floors until the end of the month.

At the stalls, you can bargain for some of the goods such as
Acehnese embroidered bags, hats and wallets, which are offered
from Rp 25.000, limited batik silk collections from Rp 50.000 and
cotton t-shirts printed with traditional patterns at about Rp
60.000.

On a permanent basis, there is a small corner of Galeria
Matahari, also at Taman Anggrek, which has, among other things,
Yogyakarta and Balinese wooden statues, pens and key rings, and
photo frames, ashtrays, spoons and bowls made of sea shell. But
the quality of the goods is only second or third class.(Chris
Tumelap)