Karangasem, On the Wallace Line

Christmas Souvenisr from Karangasem

A number of hotels at the area of Karangasem tourist resorts like Candidasa, Ujung and Tulamben, have been well prepared to welcome the holidays of Christmas and New Year. Dozens of hotels in Candidasa even organize a special Christmas programme for their guests.

This is told by the Chairman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (IHRA) Karangasem Chapter Wayan Tama to Bali Travel News. Aside from special programmes, as Tama utters, souvenirs related to the Christmas celebration can also be purchased at the art shops around the Candidasa area. They provide silver jewellery such as necklace, ear stud or ear rings, bracelet, brooch and so forth. Meanwhile, a large selection of fashion items can also be found at myriads of shops or mini markets.
An art shop owner selling various jewelleries made from silver and other precious metals at the Candidasa area, Nengah Sumarika, observes that his party proudly offers special prices for his customers. He acknowledged feeling concerned due to crisis engulfing the tourism industry shown by the small number of tourist visits and low hotel occupancy at the Candidasa area. This condition has a great impact on the economy of the local community. The purchasing power of the community stays low. On that account, Sumardika expects more tourists will visit, stay and watch the allurement of nature of Karangasem as well as to get to know the culture of its community.
A large number of Karangasem people are now souvenir craftsmen for tourists. Those souvenirs can be ordered as per request. For those intending to collect souvenir such as name card made from palm-leaf simply come to the art shop or craftsmen located at the Tenganan Pegeringsingan traditional tourist object. Apart from name cards, you can also order calendars and fortune telling sheets based on birth in accordance with the faith of Balinese people. Similarly, you can encounter appealing comic books drawn on palm leaf.
Souvenirs or various jewelleries made from precious metal like silver can be purchased or ordered at a number of craftsmen on various locations spreading throughout Karangasem. Most silversmiths occur at Pande Mas Hamlet, Budakeling Village some 10 km west of Amlapura city or some 16 km north of the Candidasa tourist object. Exclusive of the Budakeling Village, gold and silversmith can be encountered within the downtown Amlapura, Kubu, Tulamben and Tista. Since foreign tourists rarely make a purchase directly to the craftsmen so they as a general rule work based on order from end-customer or exporter. They will do the making of many kinds of souvenir design or jewellery based on the wish or design prepared by customers.
The reason is, other than tourism workers and owner of hotel or other tourist facilities, that the craftsmen supplying the handicraft products to art shops or street vendors offering their products to guests also turn listless. Farmers, that are currently supplying the foodstuff for restaurant, get miserable as well. (BTN/budana)