ISLAMABAD- Who has not visited or shopped in Pakistan Bazar yet?
Certainly majority of Pakistani society and Indonesian students who are in Pakistan have visited or shopped there. Probably bazaar that we, Indonesian citizen know is an intentional market established in temporal time (several days) and usually offering many kinds of merchandises with the discount. Here in Pakistan it has little different, the meaning of bazaar is a shopping centre which is opened continually, every day or weekly, only in certain days.
Actually there are many weekly bazaars in Pakistan, but the most popular we know is the bazaar located in sector H-9 Islamabad, just 2,5 km from IIUI campus, even it can be reached on foot for 45 minutes. Jogging guys… IIUI campus provides free bus transportation to the students for going to the traditional market, on the fixed schedule of IIUI bus agency. The schedule is every Sunday for male students at 09.00 am for the departure and 10.30 am for the return, meanwhile for female students at 10.00 am for the departure and 11.30 for the return. So, don’t be left out the bus!
Then Pakistani society can access weekly bazaar by public transportation that is Metro Bus or we know Bus Way. One of Metro Bus station is available near bazaar, so the people can reach it easily and economically. Utilizing Metro Bus needed only Rs20 for payment to all destinations including weekly bazaar.
Availability of taxi can be an alternative public transportation going to bazaar. Because there is no public motorbike or reksa (motor pedicab), so taxi becomes the alternative public vehicle which can carry the passengers to anywhere. We as foreigners must be careful when using taxi service, because taxi driver often applies over cost especially to foreigner passengers.
The people going to bazar not only by public vehicle, but also many people use their private vehicles like motorbike and car. Bazar which is set up by CDA (Capital Development Territory) provides parking area for private vehicles around bazaar. Moreover on Sunday, very crowd vehicles in theparking area until the visitors park their vehicles at the edges of public road. One unique thing here, the visitors while parking the vehicle do not need pay parking payment, although there are security staffswho preserve the gate.
Bazaar which has width 5 times football square offers many kinds of goods as primary and secondary necessary of society; vegetables, fruits, clothes, tools, etc. Whole stands are managed, the stands which sell fruits located at the eastern part, the clothes stands located at the western part, the tools stands located at the centre part, so we can find desired thing easily. Even if all stands are managed, constantly we may be confused to find a stand that we desired because of stands shape looks almost same. To anybody who wants to go to bazaar for the first time suggestedto ask somebody to accompany him orhe will be strayed away.
Mostly the product prices in Bazaar H-9 are organized by a council under CDA (Capital Development Territory) especially for the vegetables, fruits, chickens, etc. So we might not be wary about the price offered by the seller, even the price is cheaper than in other shops out of bazaar relatively. Aside from some items such as clothes, shoes, tools, and second-hand goods, those prices are decided by the seller. This is an occasion for the costumers who are capableto bargain if desiring cheap shoes or clothes.
Various elements of society visit bazaar; labors, teachers, entrepreneurs, students, even public functionaries. They make bazaar as their shopping centre, because bazaar becomes the strategic place for shopping. Even not only the place for shopping, but also the place for hanging out, being there 2 hours feels like half hour, we will not be bored shopping there although the market is simple but large. So, coming to bazaar once, make it meaningful.
(Ditulis oleh Naufal Fairuzillah, Mahasiswa BS Education. Alumni PM. Gontor 2012)
