Whoa, it’s been such a long time since I last updated this blog, hasn’t it? Lately, I’ve just been really focused on work and creating art that I hadn’t spared time to come back to this space. But, you know what? I’ve been sitting on this material for far too long, so here we go. Also, I recently found out a pleasantly shocking fact: Ardneks recognised me from this post. IT FELT LIKE SUCH A META MOMENT! In fact, Agung and I ended up having a little chat with him because of it. Gosh, what a surreal experience. So yeah, anyway, that little incident ended up motivating me to keep blogging—and especially now that I’ve got some photos I had just abandoned. These photos were taken when Agung and I visited Pasar Santa one random Sunday afternoon.
Whoa, it’s been such a long time since I last updated this blog, hasn’t it? Lately, I’ve just been really focused on work and creating art that I hadn’t spared time to come back to this space. But, you know what? I’ve been sitting on this material for far too long, so here we go. Also, I recently found out a pleasantly shocking fact: Ardneks recognised me from this post. IT FELT LIKE SUCH A META MOMENT! In fact, Agung and I ended up having a little chat with him because of it. Gosh, what a surreal experience. So yeah, anyway, that little incident ended up motivating me to keep blogging—and especially now that I’ve got some photos I had just abandoned. These photos were taken when Agung and I visited Pasar Santa one random Sunday afternoon.
📷 Fujifilm X-T100 with Fujinon Aspherical Superb EBC XC 15-45mm lens + iPhone 11 camera + Realme Pro 3 camera
Skena Ground Zero
You may have heard of Pasar Santa from Ed Sheeran who caused a commotion when he visited this space to slip some signed ‘Divide’ vinyls into all the record stores in the area—to be honest, he picked the perfect place, since Pasar Santa is practically a record store capital in Jakarta. But let me tell you a little bit more about this place.
Much like any other pasar (‘market’ in Indonesian), in 1971 Pasar Santa started out as a traditional market where people can get their groceries and household needs. It is located in the Santa area, Kebayoran Baru—hence the name. Pretty straightforward, really. For 31 years, it was known as a pretty disgusting marketplace.
Then in 2002, Pasar Santa underwent a major transformation as it was turned into a traditional-modern marketplace that will ensure a more hygienic shopping experience. The marketplace was then divided into three areas: the basement for groceries—vegetables, fish, meat; the ground floor for gold, textile and other services; while the first floor is for food and beverages.
In 2010 the place received yet another major transformation, which turned the marketplace into a creative hub and hot hangout spot. It has since become well-known for thrifting and record hunting. A phenomenon I completely missed out on, having lived in Germany at the time. Today, though, the place has suffered greatly thanks to the pandemic and become mostly deserted.
You may have heard of Pasar Santa from Ed Sheeran who caused a commotion when he visited this space to slip some signed ‘Divide’ vinyls into all the record stores in the area—to be honest, he picked the perfect place, since Pasar Santa is practically a record store capital in Jakarta. But let me tell you a little bit more about this place.
Much like any other pasar (‘market’ in Indonesian), in 1971 Pasar Santa started out as a traditional market where people can get their groceries and household needs. It is located in the Santa area, Kebayoran Baru—hence the name. Pretty straightforward, really. For 31 years, it was known as a pretty disgusting marketplace.
Then in 2002, Pasar Santa underwent a major transformation as it was turned into a traditional-modern marketplace that will ensure a more hygienic shopping experience. The marketplace was then divided into three areas: the basement for groceries—vegetables, fish, meat; the ground floor for gold, textile and other services; while the first floor is for food and beverages.
In 2010 the place received yet another major transformation, which turned the marketplace into a creative hub and hot hangout spot. It has since become well-known for thrifting and record hunting. A phenomenon I completely missed out on, having lived in Germany at the time. Today, though, the place has suffered greatly thanks to the pandemic and become mostly deserted.
If you’re wondering, no, Agung and I didn’t make our visit when Ed dropped by—nor did we make a visit because Ed wuz here. In fact, we made our visit two full weeks before Ed Sheeran even touched down in Jakarta. It was such a random idea, since I saw this reels and was intrigued (even more) to visit Pasar Santa. You see, I’d never been to Pasar Santa before—having missed out on the entire phenomenon, you know. Agung, my resident skena guide, was determined to take me there…so here we are! As we walked inside the marketplace, he led the way while telling me the hype history of Pasar Santa as he knew it. According to Agung, a lot of the tenants have closed down because, since the pandemic, the rent has skyrocketed without any change to attract more customers. Now all that is left is a shadow of Pasar Santa’s previous glory.
That being said, when we were there, we saw a lot of people milling about the area. Some of them would look at records at any of the available record stores—seriously, there were a lot! Probably the most record stores I’d seen in one place—while others would visit the other tenants or take photos of the area. Say what you will about the marketplace, it’s still undeniably iconic. In fact, one of my reasons for our visit was to have some photos taken in the area. We also loved the vibe of the place, with really cool music blaring out of the record stores in turn. It’s like having a little private party right here. Truly, there’s nothing like it.
Thrifted dress + shoes // hand-me-down jacket + earrings // Tiga Mata Sapi tote bag // photos of me by Agung
If you’re wondering, no, Agung and I didn’t make our visit when Ed dropped by—nor did we make a visit because Ed wuz here. In fact, we made our visit two full weeks before Ed Sheeran even touched down in Jakarta. It was such a random idea, since I saw this reels and was intrigued (even more) to visit Pasar Santa. You see, I’d never been to Pasar Santa before—having missed out on the entire phenomenon, you know. Agung, my resident skena guide, was determined to take me there…so here we are! As we walked inside the marketplace, he led the way while telling me the hype history of Pasar Santa as he knew it. According to Agung, a lot of the tenants have closed down because, since the pandemic, the rent has skyrocketed without any change to attract more customers. Now all that is left is a shadow of Pasar Santa’s previous glory.
That being said, when we were there, we saw a lot of people milling about the area. Some of them would look at records at any of the available record stores—seriously, there were a lot! Probably the most record stores I’d seen in one place—while others would visit the other tenants or take photos of the area. Say what you will about the marketplace, it’s still undeniably iconic. In fact, one of my reasons for our visit was to have some photos taken in the area. We also loved the vibe of the place, with really cool music blaring out of the record stores in turn. It’s like having a little private party right here. Truly, there’s nothing like it.
Thrifted dress + shoes // hand-me-down jacket + earrings // Tiga Mata Sapi tote bag // photos of me by Agung
For the (Books &) Records
While I didn’t know much about Pasar Santa, there were two stores that I knew was going to be there and I wanted to pay them a visit. The first one is Post Bookstore, which is a small and quaint independent bookstore in the heart of Pasar Santa. With its niche selection of books and cute interior design—in such a small space too!—Post has garnered a cult following of bookworms, such as myself, yet I’d never visited the place. I think it was time.
Despite its small space, Post Bookstore offers such a homey vibe. When we visited, the owner—and her friends, I assume—were just sitting there having an interesting conversation. It was like we were in their backyard with the chillness of it all. Agung and I looked around the store at all the books—and, personally, I was intrigued by each one.
The service was so nice too. There was a sign that encouraged visitors to ask for book recs from the shopkeeper. We saw a guy do just that and saw how thorough their conversation was. Magnificent!
The second one is Bendabeku Record Store. Neither Agung and I collect vinyls, to be honest, but this is a store owned by our mutual friend, so I thought we would at least drop by to say hi. Unfortunately, well, the place was always left unattended the whole time we were there—which is pretty funny, since…well, it’s an open public space. What if someone comes in to steal the goods? We even went by there twice just to be sure, but no one ever showed up.
I don’t really understand the music scene much—whose vinyls do people tend to look for?—but I think they have a pretty wide range of records and artists available in store, so do check them out whenever you’re in Pasar Santa. Heck, they were also one of the stores where Ed Sheeran hid his signed vinyls, so you can go to them to get one.
Feel free to hit ’em up online as well, if you don’t want to make a trip all the way to Pasar Santa. I may not know much about cool music, but my friend who owns this store does.
While I didn’t know much about Pasar Santa, there were two stores that I knew was going to be there and I wanted to pay them a visit. The first one is Post Bookstore, which is a small and quaint independent bookstore in the heart of Pasar Santa. With its niche selection of books and cute interior design—in such a small space too!—Post has garnered a cult following of bookworms, such as myself, yet I’d never visited the place. I think it was time.
Despite its small space, Post Bookstore offers such a homey vibe. When we visited, the owner—and her friends, I assume—were just sitting there having an interesting conversation. It was like we were in their backyard with the chillness of it all. Agung and I looked around the store at all the books—and, personally, I was intrigued by each one.
The service was so nice too. There was a sign that encouraged visitors to ask for book recs from the shopkeeper. We saw a guy do just that and saw how thorough their conversation was. Magnificent!
The second one is Bendabeku Record Store. Neither Agung and I collect vinyls, to be honest, but this is a store owned by our mutual friend, so I thought we would at least drop by to say hi. Unfortunately, well, the place was always left unattended the whole time we were there—which is pretty funny, since…well, it’s an open public space. What if someone comes in to steal the goods? We even went by there twice just to be sure, but no one ever showed up.
I don’t really understand the music scene much—whose vinyls do people tend to look for?—but I think they have a pretty wide range of records and artists available in store, so do check them out whenever you’re in Pasar Santa. Heck, they were also one of the stores where Ed Sheeran hid his signed vinyls, so you can go to them to get one.
Feel free to hit ’em up online as well, if you don’t want to make a trip all the way to Pasar Santa. I may not know much about cool music, but my friend who owns this store does.
Aside from the aforementioned stores, Pasar Santa also has a selection of unique stores. There were a lot of thrift stores, where you can get various vintage clothing, old band t-shirts and unique knick knacks. There were also some film labs and instant camera stores, where you can get your films developed, rent a cute camera on site or purchase it and bring one home. There were also some unique food and beverage tenants available, including Bisik, a small cereal ice cream store, and Kawaki Roastery, a Japanese-themed coffee shop in the basement. Pretty niche, I know. You can even get some high quality coffee beans in bulk in the basement. So just pay as you weigh.
Pasar Santa’s glory days may have passed, but the marketplace is still striving to make a comeback. The place’s iconic reputation and niche quality remains highly irreplaceable, that it becomes an underground cool spot of its own—despite what the general crowd may say. Yes, it may be pretty empty when we went there, but it feels like the crowd who were there had real interest in the things that the marketplace has to offer. You don’t really see much of that these days. Everyone seems to just go where the stream takes them, without any real drive of their own. I hear there is such a thing as Santa Festival and it looks really cool and fun, but I don’t know if it’s still going on. If it is, I would like to drop by sometime.
Let me and Agung leave you off with an interesting question:
How come people collect books and music, but not movies?
Why is there a cultural difference there?
Aside from the aforementioned stores, Pasar Santa also has a selection of unique stores. There were a lot of thrift stores, where you can get various vintage clothing, old band t-shirts and unique knick knacks. There were also some film labs and instant camera stores, where you can get your films developed, rent a cute camera on site or purchase it and bring one home. There were also some unique food and beverage tenants available, including Bisik, a small cereal ice cream store, and Kawaki Roastery, a Japanese-themed coffee shop in the basement. Pretty niche, I know. You can even get some high quality coffee beans in bulk in the basement. So just pay as you weigh.
Pasar Santa’s glory days may have passed, but the marketplace is still striving to make a comeback. The place’s iconic reputation and niche quality remains highly irreplaceable, that it becomes an underground cool spot of its own—despite what the general crowd may say. Yes, it may be pretty empty when we went there, but it feels like the crowd who were there had real interest in the things that the marketplace has to offer. You don’t really see much of that these days. Everyone seems to just go where the stream takes them, without any real drive of their own. I hear there is such a thing as Santa Festival and it looks really cool and fun, but I don’t know if it’s still going on. If it is, I would like to drop by sometime.
Let me and Agung leave you off with an interesting question:
How come people collect books and music, but not movies?
Why is there a cultural difference there?