Where are your favorite places to hang out?

Nongkrong (hanging out) is one of the most popular things for teenagers to do in their spare time. So, where do they go when school's out and they want to be with their friends?

We gave six young Jakarta residents a chance to tell us about their favorite places to hang out.

Fernanda, 14, South Jakarta: Malls are pretty standard places to hang out. I like Pondok Indah Mall a lot. It's close to everything, there is movie theater and all of the stores that you need.

For going out at night, me and my friends usually go out dancing on Friday nights. My parents don't let me go out on weekends.

We usually go to clubs like Musro at the Borobudur Hotel or Jalan-Jalan. I like to go there because those places are fun and you can dance. We usually just hang out, talk and dance all night. The music is really good. They play stuff like hip-hop and trance. I'm really into that music.

Both clubs also have a really good atmosphere, a lot of people and good music. Those are the three things that matter most when I pick places to hang out at. To me, where the people are is where the party is!

Gretchen, 15, South Jakarta: Sometimes me and my friends go to the mall to watch movies and stuff. I'm usually with a group of friends, and then we go and meet up with a lot more of our friends at the mall. I usually go to Pondok Indah Mall because it's close to where I live.

I also like to hang out at my friend's house. Sometimes we have sleepovers there. Once in a while we go skating at Mal Taman Anggrek.

At night I like to go to Chichi's to mingle with my friends. I just socialize a lot there and that's mainly why we go. That is the place where kids from international schools like me go to hang out on the weekend. So we can meet kids from BIS and other schools there.

At Chichi's there is the restaurant part where people can sit down and eat, and there is also the part where they have the bar. It is actually more of a restaurant than a club. There is also a dance floor, but it's really small. No one ever really dances there.

In the bar area there are two billiard tables where people can shoot pool and hang out. I like to hang out at Chichi's because I can just hang out and talk with my friends.

Nunu, 17, South Jakarta: Every weekend I usually hang out at Pondok Indah Mall. I like it there because I think it's a really cool place and it has a really fun atmosphere.

My favorite spot in the mall is the food court. I usually go there every weekend with my friends. The mall is pretty complete, so you can find everything that you need there.

At night, I usually hang out on the street with my friends to watch motorbike races that kids have there. I usually do that on Saturday nights or on school holidays.

I don't like to go clubbing, unlike most kids my age. I prefer to hang out and watch the races or even join in sometimes. It's really fun. I like the adrenaline rush when I race.

On Sundays I usually like to hang out at Senayan, the sports center, not the plaza. I usually go running there or play badminton with my friends. Sometimes when we are lazy we just hang out and talk, and also check out the people. It's usually very crowded on Sunday mornings.

Mitra, 14, South Jakarta: I usually hang out at malls. My favorite is Plaza Senayan (PS). Even though I live closer to Pondok Indah Mall (PIM) I prefer to hang out at PS. I like it more because most of my friends go there. It's also bigger than PIM and it has a lot more stores.

What I do there is mostly window-shop and hang out at the food court with my friends. We also like to check out girls there. There are a lot more cute girls there than at PIM. Also, most kids my age usually go there.

At night I never really go out, you know, like clubbing and stuff. My parents don't let me. But I have this band with my friends and we usually practice our music on weekends. At night we go practice at this studio near where I live. I don't have to go clubbing just to have fun, right?!

Lusi, 19, East Jakarta: My favorite hangout at night would definitely be NYC (New York Cafe) in Taman Ria Senayan. I go there every weekend with my brother and my friends from school.

First of all, because there's this band that always plays there called Brown Sugar. They are so cool! Mostly they play R & B and top forty. I love R & B! The good thing about Brown Sugar is that they always play new songs, so they wouldn't play, you know, songs like Sisqo's Thong Song, which is so last year.

When the band is not playing there is a DJ. Like the band, he plays cool R & B songs, not like those other clubs that mostly play monotone electronic music.

The place is also quite small so me and my friends can be close to the band. Because we go there a lot there we get to talk and hang with the band. The cool thing is they get to know what we think, you know, like in terms of music, what is in and what should be thrown out the window. So they always play cool songs that we like.

Because the band is more popular with college kids the crowd is also older, like maybe 17 and up. That's what I like, to see more people my age.

Another thing that I like about the place is that it doesn't stay open to like 4 a.m. or something. It closes at 2 a.m., because you know how it is in places like that. They usually get crowded and therefore happening just when they are about to close. So I like that I don't have to stay there to the wee hours of the morning to get that atmosphere.

I always stay until it closes, though. I really like it there!

Adi, 16, North Jakarta: I live closer to Mal Taman Anggrek than to places like Plaza Senayan and Pondok Indah Mall. The place is not bad! It's big, let me correct that, I mean it's huge. It's got so many stores I can choose from.

What I like is that it has small shops that sell things like skate clothes and gear that you don't find anywhere else.

For clubbing I like to sort of club hop. I go to one place and if it's not interesting then I just go to another club. I used to really go out every week, but now, since the school year is almost over, my parents tell me to concentrate on my studying, so I don't go out a lot anymore.

Before I used to go to the Lava Lounge in Taman Ria Senayan, Mata Bar, and also to places like Sky Bar and Retro.

I know they all have different kinds of music, but that's what I like. I'm not the type who only dances to a certain kind of music. So if I feel like listening to R & B music I go to a place where they have a live R & B band playing, and if I feel like listening to trance, drum and bass and all that electronic music I go to clubs like Lava Lounge and Retro.

Those places are all so last year, though, now I like to go to this club called Wizard in Taman Ria Senayan. It's pretty cool. I like the music, the crowds and the atmosphere.

--Monique Natalia