How low-income people spend their weekends
By K. Basrie
JAKARTA (JP): Getting away from the routine weekend is not the monopoly of the well-to-do. Low-income people in Jakarta also see weekends, particularly Sundays, as the appropriate time to spend their money for leisure.
Unlike the rich, however, they can't afford visiting and staying overnight at holiday resorts far away from the city. With their limited budget, they have to be extra careful in choosing the "right" holiday spot.
But Jakarta is a city with various facilities for all walks of life. There are recreational spots for the wealthy as well as for the tight-budgeted residents.
Even though it is not easy to earn money here, it seems that low-income people would not mind spending some of their earnings to enable them to leave their routine weekends, even if they have to break their piggy bank.
Maman, a 31-year-old tofu hawker, for instance, spent almost half of the money he earns during a week, when he took his wife and two children for a weekend at the Ragunan Zoo in South Jakarta recently.
They arrived at the zoo at 8 a.m. after a one-and-a-half hour drive by bus from their rented house in Grogol, West Jakarta. After paying Rp 6,000 (US$2.50) for entrance fees for the whole family, Maman led his wife and children around the zoo's vicinity and browsed for three hours. They took a ride on a dokar (horse carriage) around the zoo and looked at the animals from one cage to another. Sometimes, they had to stop in front of food stalls or toy traders to meet their children's requests.
The family had a picnic at the zoo, eating their homemade lunch on a mat placed under a tree. While Maman and his wife took a rest, their children, two girls aged three and four, chatted and played happily with their new toys around the tree.
At around 4 p.m., Maman took his family home again. They spent around Rp 25,000 for the entire day.
Fresh again
"I feel fresh again and ready to work hard in the coming harsh days," said Maman.
"Besides, I'm proud that, as a man, I could bring my wife and children to spend the weekend at a holiday spot like many other people in this big city," said Maman, a junior high school dropout from a village in Subang, West Java.
The amount of money Maman had to spend on that weekend is significant for a street vendor like him, who has to walk many kilometers every day with a wooden crate on his shoulder offering tofu.
On the average, Maman said, he could earn Rp 50,000 per week.
According to Maman, he and his family always spend Sundays at the city's popular, but cheap, holiday spots twice a month.
Among their favorite places are the Monas park in Central Jakarta, and Ragunan Zoo and Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in East Jakarta.
His wife, Triana, 25, commented: "Everybody, including the poor like us, need to refresh our bodies and minds and make our children happy."
Like Maman's, many other low-income families flock to their three most favorite recreational spots, namely the Ragunan Zoo, Monas park and Taman Mini, to spend their weekends.
Ancol Dreamland in North Jakarta, where a wider range of sophisticated entertainment facilities are available, is also popular. But visitors have to spend more money there.
"We go there only on special occasions, like Lebaran, New Year's Day or school holidays," said Buyung, a street broker for printing materials at Benhil in Central Jakarta.
Ticket
Of the three popular places among low-income Jakartans, only the Monas park charges no fee for visitors. In this spacious park, there is a crowd of traders offering a variety of items, from balloons and toys to sandals. When night falls, families try to avoid the park, because prostitutes and transvestites come on the scene.
An entrance ticket at the Ragunan Zoo costs Rp 1,000 for adults and Rp 500 for children. most of the facilities available there are free. The entrance fee at Taman Mini is twice the price of Ragunan and visitors need to spend extra money to see or enjoy certain facilities.
An entrance ticket at Ancol Dreamland is Rp 2,500 on weekdays and Rp 3,000 on Sundays. Children above the age of two years are charged the same rate as adults. Those who want to enjoy the entertainment facilities, such as the dolphin show or Sea World have to pay much more. Almost every weekend, however, the management provides free entertainment, such as music shows. Ancol, located next to Jakarta Bay, attracts thousands of people during weekends.
Shopping malls
Besides some holiday spots, many low-income Jakartans find the mushrooming shopping plazas as another low-cost place to spend their weekends.
"We've visited almost all of the popular recreation centers in this city. Now we have learned that exclusive shopping malls are probably the most desirable place to enjoy the weekend," said Jumadi, 21, a garment worker.
The Jakarta Post met him when he and his four friends were hanging around the Lippo Supermal in Karawaci, Tangerang.
He said they liked going to the mall to window-shop and watch many beautiful girls there. Sometimes they felt embarrassed because they looked poor.
"If we feel embarrassed because of our clothes and we look like we're broke, we just buy cheap soft drinks to build our self-confidence," said Agus, one of Jumadi's friends.
So, it's obvious that the popular "I love Fridays" slogan is not only popular among top business executives and their staff, but also among low-income people.