Shopping in Sulawesi Island - authentic goods, best outlets, malls and boutiques

If from your trip to Sulawesi you want to bring back home some familiar clothes and shoes, then go to the Makassar Mall. Shops, cafes, and restaurants for any taste – this place is as good as European malls, it is spacious and has a wide range of goods. In Makassar, close to the city center, there is also the Somba Opu shopping mall. It is probably better to call this place a “shopping district”. There are dozens of small local shops, where you can buy gold and silver jewelry at a low price. It also has a lot of souvenir shops. Though, the district lives not only by the tourists. They also sell rare, extraordinary fabrics, and pieces, made by the local artists, and antique, and a lot of other things for all tastes. The prices at Somba Opu are so low, that even the majority of the local people stock up on goods here.

If you buy anything in Sulawesi at a shop, where there is no cash register, don’t hesitate to wrangle. Even if there is a cash register, you may also try to wrangle. A shop assistant can easily meet you halfway. Smile, while talking to a shop assistant. Don’t show, how interested you are in this particular item, ask casually about it, demonstrating, that you are completely indifferent to it. When offering your price, don’t ever name the real amount, you are ready to pay. The price you name should be twice or 50 percent less. If you were able to make the deal, you should necessarily buy this thing. The refuse of a purchase may be taken as an assault.

When you buy several things, always manage the total price. If you see someone local with a thing you like, you can always ask its price. Remember, that bargaining in Sulawesi is something between gambling and sports competition, that’s why you should try to enjoy it as much as you can. It is forbidden to export rare animals and birds, antique and carvings from Indonesia without a proper certificate. Though, no documents are required for a wood souvenir. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

In Sulawesi you may buy ginger tea, a unique sort of coffee and a special sugarcane drink called air tebu. Though spirits aren’t big here, you can bring home as a souvenir for the family, friends or for yourself rice wine called brem, palm vodka arak, which taste reminds liquor, or tunak beer, that local people make of juice from the palm tree flowers. Carvings of cats would also become unusual souvenirs. The Indonesians believe those animals bring coziness and warmth to a house. A cat here is a symbol of love, nepotism, attachment. The statuettes cost varies, depending on the complexity of carving. Generally, carvings from wood or bone are popular here.

Wicker furniture may become a more peculiar choice. You can buy pieces, handmade by the local craftsmen from the small villages, at a very reasonable price. Needlewomen will be thrilled by batik. Many people bring gems and jewelry from Indonesia, because its price here is amazingly low. You can also find natural cosmetics in almost every shop here. If you want to bring home some exotic fruit, buy the hardest and unripe ones. Otherwise, they won’t survive the flight. Those, who like sweet things, will appreciate Indonesian honey.