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LS and Danang were warned that I was going shopping

Before I got there, there were many things about Jogjakarta that I did not know. But, the one thing I did know about Jogjakarta was that it was the place to buy batik.

On our first day in Jogjakarta, I told Danang that I wanted to buy batik and he took us to some out of the way store that had very inexpensive batik but not the type I was looking for.  I wanted to buy hand-made batik.  That night, after Danang dropped us off at our hotel, LS and I took a becak (a pedi-cab that looks like a rickshaw) to the famous Malioboro Street that is lined with batik shops.  For two hours, I literally dragged LS from one shop to another looking for the batik things to bring home as gifts.  LS was cranky after our batik shop jaunt specially when she noticed that I was only able to purchase a few items.

On our second day in Jogjakarta, we chanced upon a batik store called Batik Rumah that sold beautiful batik but I did not buy anything then as I was not sure of whether the prices were reasonable.   After comparing prices of batik sold at other shops, I realized that the prices of the goods at Rumah Batik were reasonable.  On the next day, I decided to go back to Batik Rumah to get the items I needed to bring back home.  Knowing that LS was not into shopping and that Danang, being a guy, would probably not want to be stuck with me while I was shopping, I announced to them that I wanted to be brought to Batik Rumah and that they could just come back for me.  Despite my warning, LS and Danang decided to go shopping with me.  That was a fatal mistake on their part.

I spent more that three hours in Batik Rumah examining hundreds of batik fabric before I made my choices of what to buy.  I must say that when I am focused on shopping, no amount of yawning, slouching, stamping of feet, looks of pity and boredom or pleas to stop the madness can derail my concentration.  So, poor LS and Danang had to wait it out.

Twenty minutes into the batik shopping, LS was telling me she was dizzy from looking at all the batik fabric and asking how much longer I would take. When I asked her to choose a dress for our niece, she valiantly tried to pick a decent one but failed. Out of boredom, LS started trying on some dresses herself just to pass the time.  As for Danang, well, that is a different story. For about half and hour, Danang stood by me checking to see if the price of the batik was reasonable and helping me bargain with the saleslady. When he realized that I had just begun to shop, Danang, like most men, raised his white flag in surrender and had no choice but to sit in a corner looking like he was punished and wait.

My Batik Rumah shopping spree was a success in the sense that everyone at home was happy with what I got them from that shop.  Although, I very much doubt that LS and Danang would ever go shopping with me again.  The look on their faces when I said I was done shopping was priceless.  The looked like they had just been released from prison.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 13th, 2009 at 12:08 am and is filed under My Indonesian Experience. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.