Shopping for wedding gear: Pasar Badung market, Denpasar Bali
This afternoon at Pasar Badung market in Denpasar, I went up to the 3rd floor, to look for a Balinese jacket, to wear at Wayan’s wedding. A lady in Global Xtreme, told me I could pick up one for 50,000-100,000rp.
Pasar Badung is tightly packed with narrow alleyways of merchandise, piled up high. Store owners eagerly pointed me to one of their friends, who sold the jackets and I tried one on. Here in Indonesia, when something doesn’t fit, they will insist it does, and looks terrific. I liked the color of the jacket and the udeng (headgear), but wanted a bigger size. A couple of stores down the alley, another lady had a jacket that fitted me better. The udengs were not so nice though and she wanted 150,000rp for the jacket alone. Tossing in a bit of Bahasa Indonesia, really helps in these situations. I know I’m going to pay over the odds, but am prepared to walk away, and don’t invest too much energy in the process.
We worked an agreement where I got the bigger jacket and the udeng for 120,000rp, both satified. The color of the jackets does not have any real significance and they come in a multitude of colors, including white, cream, black and navy blue. I got blue as it goes well with the brown sarong I have. Hope Wayan appreciates all the trouble this bule went to, for her wedding.