A walk down Jalan Mataram in Kuta Bali

A couple of days ago I strolled down a back street in Kuta called Jalan Mataram. This is what I saw.
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I was walking down in the Kuta area down a street off of Jl. Pantai Kuta called Jl. Mataram. It sits right off of Bemo corner and if you’ve been in Kuta you’ve probably passed it without noticing. I was just checking it out and it proved to be an interesting little adventure. Situated right behind the tourist fa�ade of Jl. Legian this street is home to many locals and there lives a thriving community of people all getting through life in typical Balinese style.

Close to the junction of Pantai Kuta I stopped into a streetside warung ( restaurant / caf� ) and had a small bottle of water. I really needed to use the bathroom and this was a good excuse. The owner is from Jawa and told me she had lives in the area for 8 years. She is Muslim and was taking care of a young son who proudly showed me his police car. She said the people on this street are a mixture of religions ranging from Hindu to Christian to Muslim and all get along quite well. Her other son came along a while later on a motorbike and quickly sped off again.

I stopped for a moment to observe the ceremonial statues and offerings along the street. There was one big temple as well as a school and I snapped this white umbrella shade in one of the smaller temples. In fact there were many places with a traditional front.

A multitude of local food stands line the street sporting familiar names even to a foreigner like me. This Bakso vendor is offering a kind of noodle soup, while this warung from Java offers items including Soto Ayam ( chicken soup ).

These fried items were in a case for passer by to pick from.

Jalan Mataram is a thoroughfare for the locals who mostly prefer motorbike. I had to watch myself each time I crossed the road as some people were really moving. I came across a refuelling station�Balinese style of course, with various size bottles filled with gasoline. According to some reports I’ve heard they mix this with kerosine too, but they are handy for sure.

Some people of course prefer peddle power and this for deliveries too.

The motorcycle repair guys were hard at work but usually managed a smile when they looked up and saw me photographing them. �Makasi� ( thank you ) they would say.

Other people weren’t so busy and were waiting for business to come their way.

This shoe store was quiet along with the beauty parlor, when I finish this I’ll go for some �shafing’.

Another lady was working in a shop with 3 other people busily sewing garments together.

I must say once again the locals came up with a selection of lovely kids who’s mothers were only too happy to show them. Most people liked when I showed them their photo on the display.

I could tell by the prices this was a low budget area and some people seemed lower on the peeking order than others. The assortment of animals knew their only chance of dinner was to go and find it.

I stopped for an orange juice ( local OJ squeezed ) at this lady’s caf�. She’s from Klungkung to the east and told me her brother owns a clothes shop opposite. Surprisingly some of her customers are tourists who manage to find their way to the small guest houses in this part of Kuta.

Nearing the last third of the street ( I took over a hour strolling and chatting ) I met a young lady named Putu who works in a carving shop on Jl. Legian. She was keen to know why I was interested in Mataram and where I was from. After explaining and saying farewell I passed a Sate stand who’s owner was from the island of Madura near Java. The Madurese are famous for soup.

Nearing the end of the street it felt like the place got more up-market. I saw one quite nice house with a fancy car outside and also the street was less populated and shadier.

After saying hi to many locals and having a good laugh with them at the photos I made my way out the other end of Mataram onto Jl. Legian close to Jl. Benesari.

An interesting little area right under the nose of tourist central.