Jakarta's backpackers paradise no longer so Edenic<\/p>\n
By Juliane Gunardono<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): \"Hello Mister, need a room, some food, a cold
\ndrink?\" This was how foreign tourists on Jalan Jaksa, the center
\nfor backpackers in Jakarta, used to be greeted. Before they could
\nanswer, they would be dragged into a restaurant or a hostel and
\noffered everything they could want.<\/p>\n
Now, a foreigner on Jalan Jaksa meets with nothing but silence
\nand \"closed\" signs on the door.<\/p>\n
A few days after the Idul Fitri holiday, most of the workers
\nat the hostels, known locally as losmen, restaurants, bookshops
\nand money changers, have not yet returned from their vacations.
\n\"Why should they come back quickly,\" asked an employee. \"You
\ndon't need anybody to take care of an empty place.\"<\/p>\n
The tourist industry has suffered sharp declines in revenue
\nbecause of the country's political uncertainty. From January to
\nOctober last year, the number of foreign tourist arrivals was 2.9
\nmillion, with the government estimating a total of 3.1 million by
\nyear's end. It constituted a 30 percent drop from 1997's figure
\nof 5 million. Projected arrivals this year are 3.5 million.<\/p>\n
In the last three months, four losmen along Jalan Jaksa have
\nclosed down because of the lack of tourists. The remaining
\nhostels, about 40 in all, are struggling to attract what tourists
\nthere are. Because of the political situation in Indonesia, a lot
\nof foreigners do not dare to come to Indonesia for their
\nholidays, resulting in about a 70 percent decline in the usual
\nnumber of tourists.<\/p>\n
Pendawa, a small hostel with 10 rooms, went weeks without a
\nguest. At the moment, the owners are happy to have four of their
\nrooms occupied by tourists from France, the Netherlands and Saudi
\nArabia.<\/p>\n
\"Before the crisis we always used to be booked solid,\" said
\nRikfi, one of the owners. \"We even had to send people away.
\nSometimes they begged to sleep on the floor because all the other
\nplaces were full too.\"<\/p>\n
The owners of Pendawa are lucky to have saved some money in
\nthe years before the crisis. At the moment, there is no way for
\nthem to make money running their hostel.<\/p>\n
\"We spend about Rp 1 million a month for electricity, water,
\ntelephone, garbage and to pay the man who cleans the street, as
\nwell as a security fee and the salaries for our workers,\" Rikfi
\nsaid. \"If we are lucky, we earn about Rp 500,000 a month running
\nthe hostel, which means that we have to pay Rp 500,000 out of our
\nsavings every month.\"<\/p>\n
A room with two beds, a fan and a bathroom used to cost Rp
\n15,000 (US$1.70) at the Pendawa. The price has been raised to Rp
\n20,000, but in practice the owners are willing to negotiate.
\n\"Better to have a tourist who pays just a little than to have
\nnone at all\", is the new motto at the hostel.<\/p>\n
With the sharp slump in business, people who did not manage to
\nsave money during the precrisis days when former president
\nSoeharto was still in control of the country have no way of
\nsurviving the current crisis that is affecting everyone in the
\ncountry, including business owners on Jalan Jaksa. It is now
\nnearly impossible to survive by only operating a losmen.<\/p>\n
\"We hope the crisis will be over before our savings are gone,\"
\nsaid Rikfi, who also works in a bank.<\/p>\n
It is rumored that some of the hostels on Jaksa are so
\ndesperate that they rent their rooms to prostitutes, foreigners
\nwho overstay their visas or people who sell drugs.<\/p>\n
However, most establishments claim that they would not even
\nconsider such a business. \"We would rather have empty rooms than
\nillegal people staying here,\" said an employee at the Borneo
\nhostel. \"It would be too expensive if we were caught.\"<\/p>\n
The Borneo, with only half of its 40 rooms filled, has tried
\nto deal with the crisis by improving efficiency. The staff has
\nbeen reduced from 20 to seven and the hotel restaurant has been
\nclosed.<\/p>\n
\"Most of the people who used to stay here were foreigners\",
\nexplained an employee. \"Now we have quite a lot of Indonesian
\ntourists and Indonesians who work in Jakarta.\"<\/p>\n
Unlike most other establishments, losmen Rose is still full,
\nliving on the reputation it has earned among tourists.<\/p>\n
The price for one of its 10 rooms has not been raised from Rp
\n20,000. Ali, the only employee at the hostel, cleans the rooms,
\nwashes the blankets and looks after the guests.<\/p>\n
Still, he could not survive on his monthly wage of Rp 80,000
\nalone. He often receives tips from guests, and, to earn more
\nmoney, he also sells Coca-Cola, beer and other drinks at the
\nlosmen. With all this work, his total income reaches about Rp
\n250,000 a month -- enough to live on, especially because he
\nsleeps at the losmen for free.<\/p>\n
\"If you need money, you have to search for the arriving
\ntourists. If there are not enough tourists, you have to look for
\nsomething else to make money. It's not impossible to make money
\nhere,\" he said.<\/p>\n
However, for many, business at Jalan Jaksa has become a hard,
\nif not impossible task. \"It is no fun anymore,\" said Rikfi. \"It's
\na difficult season for people working here; a bitter time.\"<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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