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)