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having to travel hundreds of kilometers to Kota Gede, Sukawati Art Market or Hamadi Market, where the handicrafts are originally made.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)