Vendors on Jakarta's buses

Vendors in Jakarta are everywhere, including aboard public transportation like buses.

When he boards a bus, a vendor quickly passes his goods around the passengers for a quick look. Then he stands at the head of the vehicle and begins his sales spiel. The whole process takes around 10 minutes. Once you return an item, there is no second chance.

Hence Gita Hastarika's of Jakarta Post tips: "There is no time to think twice -- if you like it, buy it".

They sell virtually everything: fried tofu, candies, magazines, knives, "razors, a hand massaging machine, stickers of cartoon characters, primbon (religious chant books), toy ships, pirated VCDs, cellular phone vouchers, coloring-in books, donuts, flashlights, crackers, power glue, towels, socks and on and on and on".

And some of them are quite entertaining too.

This hugely varied stock is amusing and the vendors themselves usually put on quite a show, so if nothing else it's a nice distraction while sitting in heavy congestion on Sudirman.

Markets, SME Economics, Indonesia