Get your kicks at Club 69 in Bandung
BANDUNG (JP): Club 69 in Bandung is located in an old building with high ceilings, the type that the capital of West Java is famous for. This, combined with an interior uncluttered to the point of sparseness, gives the club the feeling of the converted warehouses one finds in the newly gentrified areas of large American cities.
It probably goes a long way toward explaining the club's reputation for being a hip place; warehouse chic, for some reason, having attained ultrafashionable and happening status.
When asked about the name of the club, the waiter giggled, actually giggled like a little girl, and said the owner was born in 1969 and so Club 69. No other meaning behind it, apparently, but the drink menu prominently features such cocktails as the Screaming Orgasm, Sex on the Beach (which, admittedly, are not all that unusual in bars around the world) and some concoction that funnily enough has the words "mother f****r" in its name.
There is no food to be found here, just beer and cocktails. The owner of the club also owns a place in Jakarta, which may explain why, according to a waiter, the joint attracts a decidedly Jakartan crowd. However, at 9 p.m. when we visited there was no evidence the place attracted any sort of crowd; reportedly the joint does not start jumping until 1 a.m. or thereabouts when it is filled with all the good and beautiful people.
If you can negotiate the stairs, there is a pool table on the second floor, and a few stools from which you can watch the action unfold below. The downstairs bar is located in the middle of the cavernous room, and settees line a wall. There is some outdoor seating, but it does not get too stuffy inside because the windows and doors are kept open, allowing one to watch the foot traffic passing by on the sidewalk.
For a club going for cool, the cocktails are surprisingly affordable, the same price or cheaper than in places that are unabashedly, almost proudly, unhip.
And they are nice and strong, no skimping on the alcohol. This is good, because the cavernous Club 69, kept in a perpetual half- light, begs to be considered and enjoyed through alcohol-dulled senses. This is no knock on the place, rather it is a compliment. Some bars and clubs are downright hostile, and after a few drinks the paranoia and dread will start to kick in, forcing you to flee. At Club 69 it's just the opposite; the more you have to drink, the more you enjoy the place.
Next time you find yourself craving cocktails in Bandung, check out Club 69 at Jl. Asia Afrika 188. Go early if you want some time by yourself, just you and your drink, and late if you want to enjoy the company of others. (David Eyerly)