Of Batik Making @ Balok, Kuantan....

In Malaysia often when we talk about Batik making we are always remind of Terengganu or Kelantan. Yes these two states are famous for its Batik and Songket but now the art of making good Batik has move to the other parts of the country as well. In one case it to the south of Terengganu in the state of Pahang; not that far from the boarder between Terengganu and Pahang at a place call Balok.

Some years ago a friend took us to this little place call the Natural Batik Village situated on the right side of the road on the way to Kemaman from Kuantan. On our first visit there I found the place is unique in that it not only sells all kinds of Batik apparels it also create this work of art at the back of the premise. Every time I am there I would go and watch the artisans work meticulously on creating the Batik. Beside the main building that display and sell Batik there are other smaller outlets in its vicinity that sell antiques, painting and other handicrafts. Since I love the work of art I have bought a numbers of handicrafts that look unique to me and always looking to get more of it whenever I see one on a visit to the place.

After that first visit whenever we are in Kuantan we would drive to Balok to have a look at the Batik there. The Tablecloth, the Sarong, the T-shirt that is exclusively created there are among the items I always look for; most of the time we end buying new pieces to take home. As I had mentioned other that selling ready-made Batik apparels one can also watch the artisans making Batik at the other end of the building. Besides that there is also a space where tourists can experience themselves in art of Batik making. For a fee the management has provide materials for the making of self-created Batik. Even if one are not interested in learning the way of Batik making it worth a visit to watch the artisans works on turning the white cloths into a great work of art that is call Batik.  Every pieces of the Batik is done by hand thus there are actually no two pieces alike. It may look similar but it sure is not exactly the same, which made it a unique work of art.

All images in this posting are taken at the Batik village on a recent visit there.

 Have a nice day.