Pasar Baroe

The government declared 21st and 24th December as cuti bersama, equivalent to compulsory leave. I only had two days of annual leave remaining and had planned to utilize those two days during the move to the new house. Terpaksa le pakei untuk cuti bersama ni.

Now you know why the Indonesians are less productive. Suka sangat cuti panjang.

Anyway, on Friday, feeling bored at home, I went on a tour to Pasar Baroe (baru).

Pintu gerbang Pasar Baroe

Apa ada kat situ?

Well, apart from the textiles shops, there were shops selling shoes, cameras (used and new), cosmetics and clothing. There’s even a Levi’s factory outlet but only certain items were cheaper than those sold at the Levi’s Store.

In addition to the shops lining the main street, there were peddlers selling t-shirts, head-scarves and even fireworks! Those on holiday in Jakarta looking for cheap t-shirts to be given away as souvenirs to friends back home (especially yang dok kirim pakei ayor liur je tu), then Pasar Baroe is the place to get them.

Pasar Baroe's main street

T-shirt Malaysia Truly Asia pun ada...

I wandered off into one of the buildings along the main street. It’s quite gloomy inside. Macam kat Campbell (korang tau ke Campbell kat maner?). There were three floors. On the ground floor, most of the shops were selling cosmetics. One has to be careful before purchasing cosmetics here as imitation are rampant. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell between the fake and original goods.

The packaging might look similar but the ingredients are worlds apart. Kalo tak takut rope jadi macam nenek kebayan sendayu tinggi boleh le try beli cosmetic murahan kat sini.

Model hazab memang takleh masuk kedai ni...

Naomi Campbell Dang Wangi & Tyra Banks Rakyats... elok benor le dress tu!!!

Merocun untuk New Year le ni...

Then, on the second floor, the theme was cameras. Shops providing camera repairs, shops selling new and used cameras, camera lenses, batteries, pokoknya semuanya berkaitan camera ada kat sini. I know nuts about the prices of cameras hence tak taule whether they were cheaper compared to other places.

Oh… upon reaching the second floor, I was stopped by a man. He was speaking in the softest tone bordering whisper.

“Tsskk.. sssss….sssoseh..sssssoseh ….ssssosssseh”.

Aku : “Haaah?!!!”

“Mas mau beli kamera? Ayo saya tunjukin mas ke toko kamera”.

Sialan! Mati-mati aku ingat dia ni father chicken macam kat Bukit Bintang tu. Pehal jual kamera nak kena cakap pelan-pelan.

“Nggak mau”.

“Ayo mas ke toko kamera di situ. Kamera murah-murah lho”.

Dia ikut aku.

“Nggak mau”. Terus aku jalan selaju V. Anggamah tinggalkan dia. Menakutkan le pulak mamat ni.

On the top floor, you could find shops selling second hand clothes, kalo kat KL tu baju bundle le. Sesape yang rajin boleh le go through racks after racks of clothes. Aku tengok-tengok le jugak tapi tak ade yang berkenan. Furthermore, the condition of the clothes here are not as good as those found in KL’s kedai bundle.

Ayam yang penyet dihempap buntut Marieya gamaknya

Ni yang asli.... Yang tiruan Sadiah kewwww??

A tip before visiting Pasar Baroe. Dress down people!! Jangan nak mengada pakei hensem2 and cantik2 ngan sunglasses Prada le, kasut tumit tinggi, camera kat tangan le, dari 10 batu orang dah tau ko tourist. Susah nak haggle nanti.

Then, bila dah pakei baju ala kadar je tu, when the haggling takes place, limit your verbal communication. Kalo cakap banyak bebenor, your accent might give away your identity. Once they know you’re a Malaysian, the starting price might be higher and there is a big possibility of them asking about Siti Nurhaliza. Seriously, I get this question a lot. Bosan tul nak jawab.

After almost an hour at Pasar Baroe, I left for Grand Indonesia for lunch. Grand Indonesia is the latest addition to the many malls in Jakarta. It is the mother of all malls. Besar giler tempat nih.

Setakat window shopping je la. Tak mampu aku nak beli barang kat situ. Here, you’d find high street brand boutiques and shops.

Ni le Grand Indonesia...

But it is a nice place to wind down as there are a number of cozy cafes. Even the food courts are tastefully designed. Sedap and tenang je mata memandang.

After my meal, I went to the ATM located on the basement floor. Immediately after stepping into the ATM area I was greeted by the security guards.

"Selamat siang pak... silahkan"

Then, after I withdrew my cash, as I was leaving the ever so friendly security guard said thank you!!! Can you believe that???

Now, what are the chances of that happening in Malaysia? I don't know about other banks, but as far as I could remember, jangankan Pak Guard, officer kat teller Maybank pun tak pernah sekalipun cakap terima kasih kat aku!!!

Seriously, Maybank especially, please treat your customers better instead of finding more ways to charge us for every little services.