It can be said with confidence that, unlike Bali, on Lombok, you can find a richer assortment of craft products and souvenirs. No, Bali is also littered with all sorts of baubles, but salt is that in the markets of Lomboka selling pieces, brought from craft villages, which, as a rule, specialize in one skill: Braided baskets, textiles, clay products . If you are not at all too lazy, go to one of these villages (Masbajik, Banyumlak or Puzygack) and see with your own eyes, how all these miracles are manually manufactured by old technologies.
If you are interested in fabrics, go to Prigraseel - Local residents of this village accurately concluded in this craft, producing beautiful sarongs and shirts, all manually, including patterns. It will be the most interesting and best gift for friends.
If your suitcase is not yet clogged with new clothes or sands with local beaches (and there are such comrades), then bring with you products from a stone with cut paintings (mainly on natural motives). The interior of your home will decorate wooden masks, caskets and wood carving. And yes, for a long time, residents of Lombok are engaged in pearls - fashionista was breathed and exhaled, and went to shops to buy new decorations.
Now more about places where you can look for purchases:
"Mataram Mall"
It is located along the lively Jalan Pejanggik street, where Matama is bordered by Kakhangera (Cakranegara, or "Cara", as the local residents call it gentlely). This, it seems like, the only shopping center of Lombok and a great place to pass the day, especially during the season of tropical rains.
A four-storey store with a unique local flavor is something different from what we are accustomed to at home. Oddly enough, the shopping center is rarely crowded with people, with the exception, perhaps local holidays (Uraza Bayram, as we know more, or al-Fitr). These days are local residents who have observed the post, rusted for shopping and gifts for relatives and loved ones in order to note the end of Ramadan. In this mole you will find a worthy choice of local brand clothing, as well as a supermarket with import delicacies and numerous retailers. The shopping center consists of Mataram Mall 1 and Mataram Mall 2, the second one and twice the old one. Matam Mall 1 There are small fashion departments, toy shops, shoe stores and small departments selling cheap jewelry, baubles and cosmetics.
Matam Mall 2 has a whole floor of electronics and computer departments offering well-known branded gadgets, as well as technology of local production along with sports goods and fashionable boutiques for Muslims. On the ground floor - the omnipresent McDonalds and KFC, a pair of bars with juices and smoothies and a few excellent pastry shops. On the other floors you will be offered local dishes. Be prepared for the fact that on holidays here are full of children, but they all hang out in the halls with slot machines. There you can leave your own :) And even better, if you take a towel and replacement clothes with you, to send children to Water Bom, a small water park on the first floor.
Although nearby stores offer in general cheaper prices and more opportunities to bargain in their pleasure, Matam Mall offers higher quality products, and even this is an interesting place for the whole family, plus there are different shows, such as mini-show modes and talent talent show.
Traditional markets
These are typical Asian markets, with fresh vegetables, spices, fish and many others. I recommend visiting the traditional market in Ampnane. But be prepared for the fact that the locals will look with surprise on the "Boule" ("man from the West", you, then you mean), as they infirm come here;). And yes, you will not find cheaper or fresh products than in this market. Although the "bullet" sometimes will pay more than the local. So, if you are at least talking a little indonesian, you will have a huge advantage. Although even so may not understand, especially if merchants are elderly people. If that, the main local language is Bahaza Sasak, the language of indigenous Sasakov. Here on it they will definitely understand!
Sukarara Village (Sukarara Village)
This is a whealing village. And this is not a couple of machine tools on the whole village plus a store. This is a whole tissue community! Women in the village of Tkut using traditional weaving machines, and then they give their work in the store, which shares revenue with families in the village. This is a very pleasant place for shopping - merchants are not pressed for buyers, are not imposed. And you can simply look at the weaving process - the spectacle is incredible! And also, while women are tank, most men take part in the pigeons race. Well done what! In general, arriving in this village, you will feel like a child in the store of sweets - it's hard to choose there!
Peduzhak
Lombok is famous for its black clay dishes. There are some villages on the island that specialize in this craft is one of them - Puzzhak, which is close to pra, and relatively close to Matami and even Sengigi (comes down as a day trip). So, there you can at reasonable prices to buy, for example, a pot with a lid (somewhere for 50,000 rupees) - it can be in the oven, and the soup is beautifully pouring and put on the table - ah! If you arrived in the village with the excursion group, you will see at the same way and the process of producing all this good.
Banumuel (Banyumulek)
Another "ceramic" village. Before this is very easy to get there, because it is halfway between the Harbor Lembar and the capital of Matama. Tableware, decorations, figurines, vases, plates, candlesticks and so on.If you ask the taxi driver to show you the neighborhood, you will probably be brought to the 'Rismunika Astuti' - an art workshop that is located near the main road. There you will be offered a variety of collections, which, by the way, can be asked to send by mail. You can visit the demonstration of clay products. But it seems to me, it is necessary to go through a couple of kilometers deep into the village, here each house produces and sells clay dishes, and you can also see the work process. In addition, perhaps there you will buy cheaper goods. For example, six plates and two candlestick will cost you only in RP 70000-80000.
