
THE MARKET DAYS OF BALI
day in day and out there is always something new
My selection: the three best markets to see in Bali
To me the markets are like a second home, as well as where I feel the deepest roots of Balinese culture. Day in and day out there is always something new.
The traditional market of Bali begins early in the morning, with producers arriving to set up their goods to meet the demand from the resellers, who truck their purchases further afield into regional markets, where warung owners arrive to negotiate their daily supplies. The trade continues through the day, although the markets are at their busiest between eight and nine. The housewives arrive in the afternoon to buy produce for the next day’s meal.
The three best markets to see in Bali are the livestock market of Mengwi, which is right out in the countryside and offers that real Bali everyone likes to think is lost; the Jimbaran’s Pasar Ikan, the wet fish market; and the grand bazaar, literally the Denpasar of Pasar Badung in the centre of Bali’s overlooked capital city. Make sure to travel light, carry a camera and be prepared for a long day.

Mengwi: Pasar Beringkit
While it is not everyone’s cup of tea, the livestock market, Pasar Beringkit, for me is brilliant, with the pens, the confusion, the hustle and bustle and the rumble of the big trucks entering and exiting the mud-caked parking area.
The steam literally rises from the ground as the animals are carted, carried, dragged, pushed and pulled into their “areas”. The market takes place four days a week. The Tuesday and Saturday markets sell mature stock ready for slaughter, while on Wednesday and Sunday the animals are sold for rearing.

Unlike many other livestock markets there is no auction, just negotiated sales. But while the market lacks the cacophony of the auctioneer there is still much to see and do. Men tussle with the cattle and the laneways are cluttered with pens full of fidgeting foul.

It’s a lively market if you can get there at dawn. By midday the bustle has dwindled and the few people left are selling daily goods and foodstuff to the locals with only the muddied footprints and soiled ground to indicate the morning’s activity.
Jimbaran: Pasar Ikan (Fish Market)
Markets have their own time frames. What is early morning to you is the end of a hard night’s work for the fishermen of Jimbaran’s Pasar Ikan.
Setting out at sunset, the life of the fishermen is a hard one. Some boats come in from as far as Papua, Ambon and the islands of Western Sumatra. Most of what you find in the market is fished from Java, frozen onboard, and ferried in by the satellite fleets that radiate across the seas at night.

The business of buying has developed into a highly professional operation with standardised weighing machines and pricing scales.


Denpasar: Pasar Badung
The most compelling market though is Pasar Badung, Denpasar’s grand market. Although housed in a sprawling storied building, it still spills out into the forecourt and arterial laneways. Luckily this market has bursts of activity that extend its operations throughout the day and into the night.

So if an early morning visit is beyond you, you can arrive by dusk and still enjoy the bustling atmosphere of trade that takes place outside after the major market has closed.
