The tape shops of Bali are quite good, with very wide-ranging selections,
even better than can be found in London! For the price (Rp10,000 for Western
music, Rp8000 for Indonesian), the recording quality is high. On Kuta,
Mahogony opposite Goa in Legian, is the best shop.
For home furnishings, try the Linda Garland
Showroom, Jl. Hyatt, Sanur. For backpacks, day packs, wait packs, sleeping
bags, surfing bags, visit Dody Production Inc., Jl. Hasanudin 69,
Denpasar.
For as little as Rp5000, imitations of top-brand
name perfumes—Anais Anais, Opium, Chanel, Paris—have been the rage on Bali
for about five years now, perhaps reflecting the steady increase in European
arrivals. A few drops of essence are put in alcohol and the fragrance lasts
only for a few minutes. Eyeglasses are another bargain. At least six optical
outlets in southern Bali sell such exclusive international collections
as Cartier, Fred, Etienne Aigner, Kenzo, Missoni, Giorgio Armani, Lacel,
Sillhoute, Essilor, and Ray-Ban. One of the best known is Optik Melawai,
Block 13, No. 2-3, Galleria Nusa Dua. Most shops can fit from your optometrist's
prescription or can offer computerized fitting service. A few sell contact
lenses.
Watches are cheaper in Kuta than anywhere
else in Indonesia. Use your bargaining skills and know the prices. They
are good for trading in Lombok and probably also on any other island. They
sell for big money in India.
The craft of jukung-building is still
alive in the villages of Jimbaran, Suwung, and the remote east coast. A
jukung, a type of Indonesian prahu (outrigger canoe), is
cut from a single tree trunk. A small jukung (known as a petunggalan),
which measures five meters in length, 40 cm in width and 60 cm in height,
takes about 40 days to construct. A jukung made from the best wood
(ganggangan) can last 30 years.
Leather
You can get reasonable prices and average quality on leather products
at the shops outside of Goa Gajah, or you must go into Denpasar and pay
a bit more for marginally better quality, but nothing like the standards
in Yogyakarta. Leather jackets, with fake wool collars, cost Rp200,000.
Wayang kulit (shadow puppets) are
cut from buffalo hide with a chisel-like stylus and then painted. The two-dimensional
figures, with intricate lace patterns on the body and arms, have the appearance
of dolls. On Bali this form of wayang has been developed into a
spellbinding medium for conveying the great classics, the Mahabharata and
Ramayana. Puppets are made in Puaya (near Sukawati) and in Peliatan (near
Ubud). You have about 150 characters to choose from.
Rama Collection (Jl. Legian Kelod
400, tel. 0361-751570) sells well-made leather purses Rp30,000, men's leather
briefcases Rp65,000, traveling bags Rp85,000-115,000. Prima, in
Legian just before Warung Kopi on the left if coming from Kuta, sells and
makes shoes. Give them your favorite pair and they'll copy them for only
around Rp25,000.