Plenty of juicy baby mandarins to get your teeth into & rambutans, (do you know what the difference is between a rambutan & a lychee – okay go on, send me a note!) you’ll find all these healthy fruits in stores now & buy the local oranges far juicier & better tasting than the imports! All of these fruits will keep those ‘bugs’ at bay, too many colds & flu around, even though it’s so darn hot…….
Makro – the original shopping warehouse, but then Carrefour came along!
I decided to take a visit to Makro recently, a place that I used to frequent, not so often now, however, was pleasantly surprised on arrival.
Makro are definitely better organized - it’s easy to park, walk through the doors, to smiling faces. It’s a big warehouse remember, so a large trolley is necessary if you are here to shop.
Well, no doubt about it, these people have done their homework (just to survive the plethora of retail offering that one finds in Bali now) their store layout is much easier to navigate, seems more spacious, more organized and with so much product!
The warehouse is now more like an Ace Hardware on one side and part of a Carrefour on the other, except, massive storage boxes rule! Sitting down on the floor, stacked high up on the shelves, they are everywhere to be seen. Never mind, you are here to shop, so get on with it!
If its household items then you are in luck, you will find what you want here, stoves, fridges, TV’s, DVD’s to a mass of small electrical appliances lamps, lights to hand phones.
Moving around, you have so much choice, hardware, car accessories to garden, stationary to toys, some furniture & clothing, garbage bins & re-cycled bins (glad to see this happening, folk learning to put different refuse into the appropriate bins)
Bed linens to bathroom towels (with a slew of pool/beach towels) to a dizzying number of storage bins in different colors and sizes. Kitchen appliances, utensils, table top ware, plus more!!!
One definitely needs to come to Makro to stack up and stock up a home, there is everything to buy but a kitchen sink (oh, but I think I saw one of these too!) no joke, this warehouse has improved, it had to, just to keep up and be competitive with the rest.
At the back is all the fresh food, it’s OK, regular, & judging by the customer traffic, it all would be fresh, nothing sits for long on a shelf here, that’s the beauty of shopping in ‘big’ places, the turn-around of product & produce moves quickly, which is important in any food outlet offering.
Fish and chicken seemed to be the most attractive to buy, frankly I didn’t see any meat, now that I come to think of it? Plenty of good fresh fruit, some vegetables, the selection of chili’s has to have been the biggest I have ever seen anywhere, as they say, the Balinese like their food – well, hot! eggs to diary, nuts & snacks galore. But the condiments are extreme, honestly, there were so many bottles of sauces, oils & vinegars, my eyes were popping! And this was just within the fresh fruit department, I hadn’t even got around to the main supermarket yet.
Well, the aisles of the main grocery area were packed with more boxes, staff on ladders, you have to be careful! But it all is here, not the selection of other stores, but every item was in quantity.
Makro loves big & excess, and why not, am sure all the small warungs & local stores have a field day here. Looking at their grocery trolley they spend their money on buying up scads of, toothpaste, toilet rolls & noodles in every size, shape & flavor. So much chocolate, coffee, tea, more nuts & even more local snacks which is amazing, they love them all!
You have to smile, it’s an experience, it can be a little frustrating, and look I found the ‘Taste of the World’ section (wondering what delicious delicacies would be found) but apart from some tinned blueberries and tomato juice, it was mostly more of the same. The wine & spirit department had closed (like one sees in other stores now) along with a reasonable bread section.
Push your trolley through & move on, it’s always good to finish ‘your shop’ & get on out, into your car & drive away (and no carparking fees here).
Makro is still a very popular haunt for the local small business people around Bali. The prices are very good & you can buy bulk, and in quantity.
And there is no doubt that for people that drive the ByPass daily, this is a great place to shop, it’s easy and can be quick if you know where to find what you want! Makro is definitely a Bali institution, and glad there is a place for it for many!
MAKRO ON THE BYPASS (BETWEEN KUTA & SANUR)
(LOOK FOR THE BIG SIGNBOARD & THE OPEN AIR CARPARK)
Jl By Pass, Ngurah Rai, No.222X, Denpasar
www.makrobali.com
For comments and inquiries, email: retailtherapym@yahoo.com.au
