Myriad of thrills for Jakarta's nightgoers
Myriad of thrills for Jakarta's nightgoers
JAKARTA (JP): As one of the world's megalopolitans, Jakarta
has a lot to offer for who want to have some nighttime enjoyment.
There are a variety of places for nightgoers, starting from
traditional foods sold by street vendors to cafes, pubs and
karaoke bars at star-rated hotels.
Jakarta has been growing significantly compared to several
decades ago. The city's embryo of nightlife was developed by Ali
Sadikin, the capital's governor from 1966 to 1977.
At the start of his tenure, Ali set out to make Jakarta a
major commercial and business center; a city of industry and
service, including tourism. He also created a Jakarta animated
around the clock.
To gain more income for the capital, Ali legalized gambling.
The gambling sites were located in Chinatown in Kota (downtown),
West Jakarta, the Djakarta Theater on Jl. Thamrin, Central
Jakarta, and Ancol, North Jakarta. The places were closed down in
1981 when gambling was banned.
Gambling, thus, became one of the most wanted activities for
nightgoers in Jakarta in the 1970s. Actually, during that period,
the city had limited nightlife facilities. There were only a few
nightclubs offering dinner and ballroom dancing. These included
Nirwana at Hotel Indonesia, Tropicana at Senayan, LCC at the
National Monument area in Central Jakarta, and Latin Quarter,
Blue Moon and Blue Ocean in Chinatown.
Entertainer and singer Abadi Soesman said that nightclubs in
the 1970s, attended mostly by expatriates, rarely presented live
entertainment.
"Live entertainment at indoor places became popular only in
the mid-1980s when the Permata Hijau restaurant in Senayan had a
live band. Then the Green Pub was opened on Jl. Thamrin. I'd say
it was the first pub with a live band in Jakarta," he said.
He said that there were, then, more bands formed as more pubs
and cafes offered live entertainment in the 1980s and 1990s.
One of the most popular places in Jakarta, where many
restaurants, cafe and pubs are located, is Kemang, South Jakarta.
Kemang is also a favorite area for expatriates to reside.
One of the restaurants is Waroeng Kemang, which offers mostly
1960s music and Latin music.
Waroeng Kemang's marketing manager M. Nasir Liun said, "Our
regular customers are mostly families and those who are over 40,
who seek out such music. But there is also the Top 40 tunes."
He said that live music was an important part of Waroeng
Kemang, therefore, new groups were always shorlisted carefully.
Jakarta is also home to various international names, including
Hard Rock Cafe (HRC), Fashion Cafe and Planet Hollywood (PH).
HRC's assistant advertising and promotion manager Affi Assegaf
said that since its opening in 1992, it always presented the Top
40.
"In addition to entertaining our customers with good music, we
also have a mission to promote local groups," she said.
PH's assistant sales and marketing manager Ririn Wahyuningrum
said that most of the regular customers were families.
On a Saturday night, especially when Planet Hollywood 21
cinema upstairs plays a movie for children, more families visited
PH, she said.
Disco and karaoke remain stalwart favorites for certain groups
in Jakarta. Be alert though, as such places are always assumed to
be connected with crime-related activities.
For years, newspaper crime stories always mentioned discos and
karaoke bars, even hotels of certain levels, as places for drug
transactions, an excessive liquor supply, meeting of firearm
dealers, prostitution and gambling.
Among the discos are the Music Room at Borobudur Hotel, Hailai
at Ancol, and Stadium, Emerald, Caliber Rajamas, Sydney 2000,
Cleopatra, Atlanta, Lido and Tigakuda in North and West Jakarta.
For those seeking a different atmosphere, visit Kampung Tenda
Semanggi. This place is luring nightgoers as it is strategically
located in the central business district.
The cafes here have become a popular destination for
nightgoers. There is also live entertainment offered occasionally
by the cafes.
The cafes, built on an idle plot owned by PT Danayasa
Arthatama, developer of the Sudirman Center Business District,
first began operating in late 1998.
Jakarta also has Taman Ria Senayan Complex, accommodating
dozens of restaurant, cafes and disco including TGIF, Bebek Bali
and Underground, plus an amusement center. (icn)