Cheap sidewalk eateries serve sex on the side

By Putu Wirata

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): Until a few months ago, residents and visitors in Denpasar rarely saw pretty young women at small warung (street stalls), which sell cups of coffee, snacks and meals on the city's main streets and in traditional markets.

These beautiful warung attendants, mostly from rural villages outside Denpasar, are flocking Denpasar in the hope of fulfilling their dreams and seeking their fortune in the tourist and service city of Denpasar.

What they sell in their warung is just modest and cheap food and local drinks priced at between Rp 1,000 to Rp 2,000. But, they also run a more lucrative sideline in a separate service business -- illegal sex business.

The girls, popularly known as dakocan, which stands for dagang kopi cantik (pretty coffee sellers), are the city's most talked about subjects among its youth and middle-aged men, whose wallets are not thick enough to take a girl to expensive restaurants or five-star hotels.

Every night, dozens of Denpasar youths flock to the dakocan shops to buy cups of coffee, nasi jenggol (rice and meat wrapped in banana leaves) and some other snacks. But the main attraction for them are the girls' sensual bodies.

While sipping their coffee, the boys' hands aggressively explore all parts of the girls' bodies. Often, sexual transactions follow.

In a city like Denpasar, such establishments, which mix entertainment and the sex trade, are easily found in every corner of the city. Discos, karaoke bars, pubs and many other places are not only known as entertainment centers but are also disguised as places for the "flesh" trade. Such places usually attract middle class and upper class clients.

However, Denpasar was quite startled when suddenly, dozens of young rural women appeared on the city's main streets, such as on Jl. Diponegoro, Jl. Sulawesi, Jl. Kartini, to cater for the city's less opulent customers.

Amid the hustle and bustle of Kumbasari market, in downtown Denpasar, the newcomers from Buleleng in North Bali, Karang Asem in East Bali, and Jembrana in West Bali, are ready to compete with the city's higher class of call girls and prostitutes in luring customers.

Under the dim light of kerosene lamps, a number of males were flirting with the girls.

Their "business" has more or less ruined the image of Denpasar's original nasi jenggo and coffee sellers, whose clients are mainly university students and low-income workers.

Nyoman Sunarta, a law student at Mahasaraswati in Denpasar, said he used to buy nasi jenggo for his dinner.

"I just don't believe that there is a new-style of 'nasi jenggo'" said Sunarta.

While chatting at a warung nasi jenggo at the corner of Jl. Sulawesi, Sunarta accidentally witnessed a sexual transaction between the seller and a young man.

The young customer and the girl got into his Feroza jeep and drove to a certain place. Within two hours, he drove her back to her warung.

Poet Hartanto, 40, has been traveling around the island's rural villages and has found this social phenomenon interesting to study.

"This is how youngsters in small villages are 'dating'. Denpasar's youths usually take their chances at cafes, coffee shops, disco or hotels," said Hartanto, who is often inspired to write poems while sitting at a dakocan warung.

He went on to say that in some villages, many parents have even forced their teenage daughters to set up dakocan warung.

"Mothers who have pretty daughters have more chances to get profits because their charms will easily attract more buyers to their shops," said Hartanto.

Some of the girls become prostitutes to get more money from their customers.

These young and naive girls rarely state their dating rate. "It's up to their customers. But, some have started to understand the meaning of 'money and pleasure'," said Hartanto.

It is these girls, who are not satisfied with their meager incomes at home, that seek fortune in the more glittering Denpasar.

Dewi, for instance, was bored with her life in a small Buleleng village. She came to Denpasar a few months ago.

Clad in tight pants teamed with a bright-colored fake branded sexy shirt, Dewi has been transformed into a "night queen".

Her almost perfect legs tattooed with animal figures, blossoming breasts and sensual mouth have made her popular in Denpasar.

Her cellular phone never stops ringing. Her small shop at Kumbasari market is only a transit place for her real "business" transactions. Dewi and other girls at the shops usually get Rp 300,000 for a two-hour "date". No wonder these country girls are able to afford luxury clothes, branded bags and cellular phones to optimize their businesses.

According to a reliable source, who requested anonymity, the girls' operation is elaborately organized by an influential person who acts as their pimp.

And it seems such tangled prostitution practices get by the area's security officers, whose office is only 200 meters away from this location. It appears that many more girls will pour Denpasar's dim corners.