Good quality Indonesian weapons in JKT?

I%26#39;ll be in JKT next month and I%26#39;m currently studying pencak silat here in HK. I%26#39;d love to pick up a few Indonesian blades and kain pelikat while I%26#39;m out there: looking for a golok and maybe a good keris too. Anyone know where I can get real usable ones for a good price (not touristy crap)? :) Terima kasih!

Good quality Indonesian weapons in JKT?

It%26#39;s rather hard really to find a good keris; because as I know you only can obtain the good one from traditions that pass into generations.

For good-looking keris and golok with ornaments (for souvenirs, I don%26#39;t know if they%26#39;re really sharp or not), you can browse around at Sarinah Department Store. You can also find kain pelikat there (if you just want to buy one or two, the price here won%26#39;t hurt. But if you intent to buy in bulk, head to Pasar Tanah Abang. If you really want to buy keris and stuff, going to where it%26#39;s coming from is really recommended (go to Central Java, maybe to cities like Yogyakarta or Solo).

For golok, usually you can find the usable one (I use it to chop down palm branch or to clean the fish) in traditional market, but usually the seller only come seasonally. It%26#39;s nothing fancy of this type of golok (just wooden handle and thick blades, intended as household appliances).

Good quality Indonesian weapons in JKT?

Selamat pagi Cirque,

Thanks, that%26#39;s good info. I know most good keris are old, especially if they have any power to %26#39;em. I recently purchased a new keris 13 luk from a guy in JKT with pamor meteorit, but I was hoping to pick up something older. I also recently bought a Minang tumbuk lada from someone in Padang.

I do want a usable golok, but one with some carving would be nice. I%26#39;ll be in Mangga Dua, so it looks like I%26#39;ll have some traveling to do. :) How long would a train ride to Solo be? Sounds like the kain pelikat will be easier to find!

Jay

You know, I think I will go to Solo or Yogyakarta. :)

Oh yeah... I think going straight to Solo or Yogyakarta will make you easier to find those items.

For faster travel time, I suggest to take direct flight to either Yogya or Solo (both cities are only 1 hour drive apart).

Those ornate keris or golok can be purchased from Sarinah department store I told you (it approx 1 hour trip from Mangga Dua, not because it%26#39;s far but the traffic sometimes got crazy).

But all things being sold at Sarinah are sourced from its origins (therefore, the price are already marked up a bit at Sarinah).

Airlines that fly Jakarta-Solo: Garuda Indonesia, Sriwijaya Air, Lion Air

Airlines that fly Jakarta-Yogyakarta: Garuda Indonesia, Sriwijaya, Lion Air, and Air Asia

You can find their website on the net (tickets for Garuda cannot be purchased through the net for foreigners at the meantime).

Alternatively, you can fly to these cities directly from Singapore (Yogyakarta only) or Kuala Lumpur

OK, I will check out Sarinah. How much do you think a kain will run me? The markup is probably less than traveling to Yogyakarta or Surakarta, but it would be cool to see some of East Java. :) Thanks again!

While you%26#39;re in jakarta, you might also want to check out Jalan Surabaya antique market, not far from Sarinah.

I don%26#39;t know how big is your chance to find those items at the market, but there%26#39;s no harm to try, right?

Regarding the price of kain pelikat, again, it%26#39;s all depend on the fabrics, the motives, and the brand. Because when you go to shop for this thing, you can%26#39;t really estimate how much you%26#39;ll be spending because different people has different preference and taste.

The cotton checkered motif can cost starting from Rp35,000 (maybe you find this around Rp50,000 at Sarinah. Last time the item was sold at Malaysia Airlines%26#39; inflight shopping for USD10 per piece).

P.S. when searching for kain pelikat, you might also want to call them %26#39;sarung%26#39;.

Thanks Cirque, I was reading about Jalan Surabaya yesterday and I will probably go check it out. I hear Blok M might be worth checking out too. I also know someone who sells Javanese blades in JKT, but he charges a lot because he exports them worldwide. He just offered me a very nice buffalo horn handled golok, but the price is high, so I asked him if he can give me a discount if I buy it in person in JKT.

OK, I will call them sarung while looking around in JKT. I have a friend who lives in Ancol who said she%26#39;ll show me around while I%26#39;m there too. I paid more than 100.000 for the sarung I%26#39;m wearing now (made by Mangga in Java) because I bought it here in HK! Looking to buy some Gajah Duduk sarung, but I wouldn%26#39;t mind a Balinese batik one either.

I%26#39;m also interested in visiting this place:

Padepokan Pencak Silat Indonesia : Jl. Taman Mini I, Jakarta 13560. I hear that%26#39;s pretty far from Mangga Dua, but my teacher said it%26#39;s worth checking out. I am learning minangkabau harimau, and interestingly enough, there%26#39;s a movie called Merantau coming out in April which is about a Minang man who moves to Jakarta and has no choice but to use the harimau he%26#39;s learned. Should be interesting to watch it in JKT! :)

Ya, the one I mentioned about the price is Gajah Duduk sarung. If you search at Tanah Abang or traditional market, probably you%26#39;ll get around Rp35,000.

Taman Mini is quite far from where you%26#39;re going to stay (Mangga Dua area). You need to take the highway and journey will take around 1 hour (if the traffic is normal).

Blok M? Not sure you can find those items here (except for kain pelikat, but you can get those in mangga dua I%26#39;m quite sure). Right now the Blok M area is still undergone major change; the traditional seller are being moved out after a new modern trade center is built. But sure, you can check the place out if you have time (it%26#39;s also quite far from Mangga Dua).

Thanks, good info. There are a few museums in Taman Mini I want to check out, so I guess I%26#39;ll wake up early and make a day out of it. :) I guess it%26#39;s worth checking out the traditional markets too. I%26#39;m also a little curious about trying out Acehnese, Batak and Padang food, although I don%26#39;t know if I can handle bat meat at a Batak place. :) Do you have any recommendations for good Sumatran restaurants?