Delivering sonic therapy Joseph Mangga, Contributor, Jakarta Master DJ Dave Seaman administered a nearly four-hour emotion- packed mosaic of sonic samplings that absolutely mesmerized the overcapacity crowd of enthusiastic clubbers at Musro in Hotel Borobudur, Central Jakarta.

Waxing: A short, sharp shock for unwanted hair Maria Kegel, Contributor, Jakarta A long-time resident of Jakarta was overjoyed to find a salon in West Jakarta that would wax her bikini area before her long- anticipated holiday to Manado some five years ago. However, once she was on the table in one of the salon's private rooms, she seriously wondered if she had made the right decision.

Air travel today really is all the range Have you ever woken up and just known it was going to be a very bad day? I found myself in such an unfortunate position recently when I was flying from San Francisco to Japan on my way back to Indonesia. My journey got off to an inauspicious start at the airport when I was told that my check-in luggage was 10 kilograms overweight and I would have to repack it or pay a US$500 fine.

Razor's edge: Seeking that clean cut Maria Kegel, Contributor, Jakarta The barbershop at Hotel Indonesia is one of the few in Jakarta that offers customers a traditional shave in addition to its other services of haircuts, shampoo and styling, manicures, pedicures, massages for the scalp, shoulders and arms and ear cleaning. The shaving tradition has been passed down from father to son, and at one point several generations of barbers worked there side by side.

A guide to traditional bites for your sweet tooth --------------------- Hera Diani The Jakarta Post Jakarta --------------------- Take a stroll around Melawai, Blok M, in South Jakarta early in the morning, around 5 a.m., and you will be accosted by the sight of street vendors selling a wide variety of colorful and tasty traditional snacks, still piping hot and with a delicious aroma. Don't bother to come after 7 a.m., though, as they will all be gone by then. Sold out.

Mayling breaks the gender ceiling Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Once in a while, you interview people who say so little that you have to dig deeper and deeper to make them open up. Other times, you've got to put up with babblers who just can't stop talking nonsense. In between, you're lucky to meet people like Mayling Oey- Gardiner.

Hello, honey! A food with a thousands different uses Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Honey, one of the oldest sweeteners known to man, is not only tasty but also nutritious. In ancient times, the food was so rare and valuable that it was also used in place of gold to pay taxes. Greek athletes were said to drink honey before they entered the arena, as honey was already known as a natural energy booster.

A guide to traditional bites for your sweet tooth --------------------- Hera Diani The Jakarta Post Jakarta --------------------- Take a stroll around Melawai, Blok M, in South Jakarta early in the morning, around 5 a.m., and you will be accosted by the sight of street vendors selling a wide variety of colorful and tasty traditional snacks, still piping hot and with a delicious aroma. Don't bother to come after 7 a.m., though, as they will all be gone by then. Sold out.

DJ Dave Seaman delivers sonic therapy to Jakarts ------------------ Joseph Mangga Contributor Jakarta ------------------ Master DJ Dave Seaman administered a nearly four-hour emotion- packed mosaic of sonic samplings that absolutely mesmerized the overcapacity crowd of enthusiastic clubbers at Musro in Hotel Borobudur, Central Jakarta.

What's in Sunday Photo credit: Kompas Model Musings: Her face is her fortune, but Tracy Trinita also knows that models have a short shelf life. The 21 year old, who is now pursuing a career in acting, tells us that, while she wavers on most subjects, she knows exactly the type of man she likes ... Test of Character: It has become a trend for companies to have their employees take part in an outward bound course to discover their strengths and weaknesses.

Where to go in Jakarta: Exhibitions * Painting, Sculpture: PEREK - "Womens' experiment" by members of the Yogyakarta-based art group, The British Council Gallery, S. Widjojo Center, Jl. Jendral Sudirman 71, South Jakarta, until Feb. 16. * Stone Lithographs and Paintings by Ken Pattern, Koi Galeri/Restoran Jl Mahakam I/2 (Tel. 7222864), 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. until Jan. 31. * Painting by Yulianto Liestiono, Galeri Cipta II, Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jl. Cikini Raya 73, Central Jakarta (Tel.

Escaping 'banjir' with the helimousine The Jakarta Post, K. Basrie, Jakarta The annoying floodwaters that recently inundated the vital tollroad to the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport raised a single question in the minds of Jakarta's leisure-seeking class: How to escape this monotonous banjir routine? It wouldn't be Jakarta if it couldn't handle a problem of its own making. Like other cities, it always has a solution to offer its well-to-do.

Adventures in living with outward bound Hera Diani and Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jatiluhur, West Java "Is there any toilet around here?" asked a trainee flight attendant for Garuda Indonesia Airlines to her outward bound instructors. What she meant by "here" were the rugged hills of Jatiluhur in Purwakarta, West Java, a two-hour drive east of Jakarta. "No toilet? So ... that means we have to do it behind the bush? But, what if there is a snake?" she said, obviously worried.

Up in the air: How safe are our skies? I. Christianto, Contributor, Jakarta As crippled Garuda Indonesia Airlines flight 421 from Mataram to Yogyakarta was battered about in a storm over Central Java, many of the 61 passengers and seven crew must have thought they were experiencing their worst transportation nightmare. News of the Boeing 737-300 ending up in its watery grave of the Bengawan Solo river, with one flight attendant dead and dozens of passengers injured, made front page headlines.

PDI-P says Sophan exit no big loss A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Prominent Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) legislator Sophan Sophiaan has quit from both the House of Representatives and the People's Consultative Assembly, but party officials played down the move.

Finding traditional bites for sweet lovers Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Take a stroll around Melawai, Blok M, in South Jakarta early in the morning, around 5 a.m., and you will be accosted by the sight of street vendors selling a wide variety of colorful and tasty traditional snacks, still piping hot and with a delicious aroma. Don't bother to come after 7 a.m., though, as they will all be gone by then. Sold out.

Soeharto: Tracing his rise and fall --------------------- Mochtar Pabotinggi Contributor Jakarta -------------------- Suharto: A Political Biography Robert B. Elson Cambridge University Press 2001, 289 pp A reading of some two-thirds of the book impressed me with its clarity, empathy, fairness and commendable scholarly discipline in dealing with its subject.

'I hate fanatics -- who are we to judge?' Bruce Emond, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Tracy Trinita's face, almost feline-like in its beauty, has been her fortune, that's a given. But the 21-year-old model-cum- actress says she realizes that her Eurasian looks will eventually pass their sell-by-date in the fickle world of modeling.

Artists of different ethnicities join as one Ahmad Solikhan, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta Discussions in political and religious forums, as well as in the world of art, are nothing new. But when these dialogs emerge from paintings by artists from two different ethnic groups, they become interesting, in terms of the varying development of art. Visitors can appreciate this uniqueness at the painting exhibition Dialog Visual Dua Etnik (The visual dialog between two ethnic groups), to run until Jan.

Media gets rap for fueling nation's woes Rita A.Widiadana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar The country's media must bear responsibility for creating social, economic and political instability through its shallow and incomprehensive coverage of national issues, a senior journalist has said.

Kemang set to have city's first 'green map' Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Jakarta has become notorious for its poor city planning. The City Planning Agency, with many excuses, has been violating its own urban plan, causing much skepticism among residents.

MRT project: A dream never comes true I. Christianto, Contributor, Jakarta The number of people that commute to work in Jakarta during the day pushes the city's population to 11 million, far higher than the capital's actual population of about 8.3 million. No wonder that the heavy traffic congestion in the crowded city has become an ignominious trademark. The government has come up with numerous plans to cope with the traffic problems but nothing seems to have been effectively implemented.

East meets West in Ghea's family home Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Fashion designer Ghea Panggabean combines the ethnic themes of her clothing designs in a harmonious eclectic "East meets West" interior at her two-story house in Menteng, Central Jakarta. Ghea and her husband Baringin Panggabean love artistic and unique objects. Her fondness of ethnic elements and his preference for clean, comfortable and modern items blend artistically in their house.

'MTV' ready to honor Asia's best Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Can't stand it, can't live without it. That's MTV for some people. Seemingly getting stronger in its popularity in this region, the television network will hold a major event next month. Next Saturday, or 02-02-02, MTV Asia will put on what is dubbed the largest gathering of international and Asian talents ever seen in this region.

Soeharto: Tracing his rise and fall from power Mochtar Pabotinggi, Contributor, Jakarta Suharto: A Political Biography; Robert B. Elson; Cambridge University Press 2001, 289 pp A reading of some two-thirds of the book impressed me with its clarity, empathy, fairness and commendable scholarly discipline in dealing with its subject. The book consists of 11 chapters, each of which is divided into pertinent topical sections that stick to the main line of the political biography.