Kite seller Ni Luh was busy on Sunday serving two Japanese tourists, who were drawn to his shop by scores of colorful kites on display in Raya Kuta street.
Despite her broken Japanese, Ni Luh tried her best to make a deal with the Japanese travelers. She assured the potential customers that the prices were far from astronomical.
Unfortunately, the Japanese tourists were not convinced and left the shop only to enter another shop a few meters away and made their purchase there.
"They haggled too low. We purchased these kites for Rp 35,000 *US$3.5* each, but they *Japanese tourists* asked Rp 30,000 for a kite," Ni Luh told The Jakarta Post.
Ni Luh and her husband, Ketut Buda, 37, have been selling colorful kites for the last ten years. The parents of two daughters said selling kites was a profitable business.
"The business is not bad. The profits from sales help us buy groceries," said Ni Luh.
Their shop sells three products: colorful kites, gasoline and hot coffee.
The number of kite sellers along the Raya Kuta street's sidewalk rises during school and summer holidays in May and June. They attract potential buyers with huge kites, shaped like mythical birds or scary bats, and with colorful tropical bird-patterned ones. The latter type is the foreign tourist' favorite.
The price of a kite ranges from Rp 30,000 to Rp 200,000. The bigger the kite, the higher the price.
Ketut said the demand for kites increased significantly mainly during school holidays. That's why he only sells kites during that period. Outside that period, Ketut focuses on his core business of selling hot coffee and gasoline by the bottle to passing motorists.
"Local people would say good winds for flying a kite are around May to July. More domestic and international tourists also tend to come *to Bali* at that time for holidays. So, the timing is perfect *to sell the kites*," he added.
He didn't have any records to show how much profit he made during that period.
"Thank God, we never have any kites left. The stock is always sold out at the end of the season," said Ketut, smiling in gratitude.
Ketut gets his stock of new kites mostly from local kite-makers in rural areas of Tabanan regency.
In another shop just one kilometer away from Ketut's, Agung Galung doesn't only sell kites, but also makes and flies them.
"Making and flying kites is my hobby. The selling part is just a side job to get additional income," he said, adding he worked as a security guard.
Agung further said he employed his two relatives to make the kites.
"The price of the raw material has increased significantly... For example, an eight-meter-long bamboo, a required material for constructing frames for oversized kites, cost around Rp 60,000 now," he said.
"That's why we have ceased to produce large-sized kites," he added.
