Ok, first off, what business do I have writing a guide to Jakarta after just one trip there, right? Well, I learned from some of the best and major shoutouts go to Socrates69, MongerX, and Crazier. But there is very little information about Jakarta floating around on the Jakarta section of this board and the information that is there is just downright pitiful. For more information, check out MongerX reports at this link

This guide will try to cover the following areas:

• Getting There
• Immigration and Customs
• KAHA Desk and Airport Taxis
• Sim Cards
• Money
• Where to Stay
• Block M
• Lokasari Plaza
• Mamasans
• Penjay
• Stadium
• Places New Ciputra Hotel
• STD’s
• Safety and Security
• Taxis
• Friendliness of Locals towards Foreigners
• Language Issues
• Shopping
• Final Thoughts and New Country Rankings

KAHA Desk and Airport Taxis

I had arranged pickup with the hotel I stayed at. The rate they quoted was 150,000 Indonesia Rupiah, about $15 US, I already had made a reservation directly with the hotel, so I didn’t need the KAHA desk, but Merlin needed to get a room. The KAHA desk is located to the left, directly upon leaving the customs area of the airport. There is a big sign that says “KAHA” so it is quite hard to miss. MongerX recommended using this travel agency to book a reservation at the Sparks Hotels, which he also recommended. I personally contacted the hotel directly. The rates they gave me were TONS less than the ones quoted on their website. However, if you book through KAHA you can get an ever better deal on the hotel.

I believe Merlin got a room there for about $26 US per night. Here is the information from their card:

KAHA Hotel Reservation
Tours*Travel*Hotel*Transport*Telkom*Post*Paket
Soekarno Hatta International Arrival Airport Terminal D Jakarta
Phone: 62 (021) 550-2822
Fax: 62 (021) 550-2823
Mobile: 0818866753

Unfortunately, my hotel pickup car was not there. I don’t know why, so Merlin and I just arranged for a taxi from the booth next door. I don’t remember the name, but it was the booth right next to the KAHA desk. The charge was 180,000 Rupiah instead of the 150,000 the hotel was going to charge me, but that is only a difference of about $3 US.

Sim Cards

Mentari is Indosat’s prepaid GSM service using prefixes of 0815 and 0816. Mentari offers nation-wide coverage, free national roaming, and single tariff to calls within Mentari and Matrix (Indosat’s postpaid service) across Indonesia. It has a comprehensive feature set including text messaging. Mentari/Indosat works at a GSM frequency of 900/1800, so check and make sure your GSM compatible phone supports those frequencies. Here is a link to Indosat’s coverage map:

PT Indonesian Satellite Corporation Tbk (INDOSAT) - Interactive Coverage Map

The cost for the sim card was 100,000 Rupiah, about $10 US. As I recall, this only included 20 text messages though. Merlin and I purchased our Mentari cards from the KAHA desk upon existing customs. So that might be the quickest and easiest way to get a card upon entering the country.

Money

In the airport: Before exiting customs, but after immigration by the baggage claim area there are several banks and places where you can exchange your money. I had about $500 US that I had exchanged from Philippines Pisos back into dollars, so I figured I would exchange there. I seemed to have paid a premium though. I was given a rate of 9,500 Rupiah to the dollar, where the rate on Yahoo! Money seems to be closer to 10,000 to 1.

I didn’t see any money changing booths in the city, but I really wasn’t looking either. I stayed mainly in Kota, and banks were plentiful around the Sparks Hotel. There were banks and ATM’s along Mangga Besar on the same side of the street as Sparks and then across the street in Lokasari Plaza there was tons of ATM’s. I think I noticed ones from four of five different banks.


Where to Stay

Well my experience here is very limited so I can only talk about the one place I stayed. This was the Sparks Hotel

Here is the information:

Sparks Hotel
JL. Mangga Besar Raya no 42.
Jakarta Barat 11150, Indonesia
Phone: 62 (021) 625-2534
Fax: 62 (021) 625-2570
Webpage: http://www.sparks-hotel.com
E-Mail: info@sparks-hotel.com

Completely ignore the rates quoted on the website. Either email the hotel directly or just make a reservation through the KAHA desk.

The hotel has a nightclub on the first floor past reception. On the second floor is a restaurant, meeting rooms and a commons area for the internet. I never got the wireless internet to work. They didn’t have in-room internet available. On the third floor, they had a nice pool though.






The hotel also had in room massage. I never got a massage there, but Merlin was quite happy with his. They also had a small drug store with basic items in the lobby.

The best thing about this hotel is its location. It is right across the street from three clubs and Lokasari Plaza is a short five minute walk away. It is modern and brand new and the different design and décor of the hotel make it a cool place to stay. And it is 100% guest friendly.

Block M (Blok M)

Blok M is the touristy hang out that almost everyone knows about. It is located in South Jakarta and I spent very little time there during my trip. The actual street where most of the bars are located is called Pelatehan 1, which is between Pelatehan and Sultan Hasanuddin. Pelatehan 2 runs east-west and connects Pelatehan, Pelatehan1 and Sultan Hasanuddin on the north. See the map below.



On Pelatehan 1 the bars are D’s Place, Sportsman, Everest, Top Gun, My Bar and Oscars. On Sultan Hasanuddin is The Club.

I only checked out one bar, My Bar. It was the opinion of the folks I was with that this was the best bar in the area. There were many Westerners hanging out in this club. The ladies working here seemed to be older. Many of them spoke at least some English. The one lady I pulled from My Bar was absolutely lousy. It was worse than a TJ session. She complained the entire time for me to finish and wanted 500,000 Rupiah. I gave her 350,000 for short time. According to my guides, this was more the going rate for all night. Yet she still complained and wanted 500,000 until I kicked her out, threatening to call hotel security. Oh yeah, no BJ either from this one. On the other hand, MongerX, Merlin, and Socrates69 pulled winners from this area and bar. So YMMV.

I got so disgusted with my one experience there that I decided not to return. But I would not write the place off. I would recommend paying 350,000 to 400,000 for all night based on the recommendation of MongerX and Socrates69. It has also been reported that 150,000 to 200,000 is acceptable for short time, so I was really generous and overpaid, yet I still got shit from her. I would also not discuss money beforehand with your lady. It is my understanding that none of the ladies “work” for the bars, they are all freelancers so there is no exit free or barfine. According to Socrates69, if you sit down with your lady to do an interview and she orders wine, that is a sign that she is hardcore. He doesn’t believe they make commission off the drinks, but the bars do encourage the ladies to order these drinks. My lady did and that set off Socrates69’s alarm right away.

Blok M usually doesn’t get going until around 11 or so at night, but I believe they go very late there, probably until 4 or 5 am. So this may be a good late night option as well.


Lokasari Plaza

There are several bars located in this area. It is also the area right across the street from the Sparks Hotel. Along Mangga Besar 12 there are at least two bars. And then attached to Lokasari Plaza itself there is Today Country (Tiaria Ceria). Here is a map that includes locations of the Sparks Hotel and then Lokasari Plaza.



Madona



This is the first bar you will encounter. From the Sparks Hotel, simply walk across the street to Mangga Besar 12. On the left side of the road will be Madona. This is a small and dark bar. It has booths along the right side of the building where many of the ladies hang out. In the center there are high tables with stools to sit on. Then the bar itself is along the left side of the bar.

The price there was 200,000 for one hour. I believe you could upgrade to a “deluxe room” there for 260,000. This consisted of a mattress on a floor and a television. The room was also larger and the shower was tile with this hard rock flooring.

The talent overall here was decent. The mamasans, like the mamasans at every place, are very pushy. I will have a section on this next. They will essentially bring you a steady stream of ladies until you choose or until you continue shaking them off and they have effectively shown you every lady in the bar. This can be quite awkward, especially for someone who doesn’t speak the language, but who wants to politely decline the company of a lady without being rude.

A funny story. There was one lady who I_AM_SANCHO was hanging out with at Madona. She was hot and had a nice body. I_AM_SANCHO and I ended up seeing her ALL OVER THE PLACE. We noticed her later that same evening at Sari Ayu. And then we also noticed her on the third floor of the Sparks Hotel when I_AM_SANCHO and I were calling it a night. I thought it was pretty funny.

These places will start around noon, so they are great for daytime action. They won’t get really going though until the early afternoon.


Bintang Mawar



Basically referred to as BM or BM’s, this place is located just down the street from Madona, still on the left side of the road. It is right next to the Safari Hotel. This bar is larger, which translates to a larger selection of ladies than Madona. This also means that the price there is more expensive, at 240,000 Rupiah for one hour. The bar is located in the back; the ladies generally hang out towards the restroom and kind of line the right side of the building. There are booths for chatting and hanging out with the ladies on the left side of the building.

That was another thing I forgot to mention in these places. You can hang out with the ladies and interview them beforehand (if you speak the language), but there are no lady drinks there. You can purchase them a drink if you want and they accept, but I don’t believe they make a commission off the drinks. So they hang out with you for the sole intention of going to the room and making money.

Again pushy mamasans will bring you a steady stream of ladies. It is dark inside just like Madona’s, but there is enough light to evaluate the talent. If you want a little larger selection of ladies than at Madona, this would be the place to go.

Today Country



Today Country (aka Tiaria Ceria) is an interesting little country western bar where ladies are available. The price there is 200,000 Rupiah for one hour. There is also a cover charge of 20,000 Rupiah, but you get a drink for free with that. Beware of very pushy mamasans at this place. At one point, I was just trying to relax and enjoy my beer and survey the talent, but was constantly being interrupted by a steady stream of ladies. The other thing about this place it is that is very dark. It is so dark that it is barely functional as a place to observe the ladies and see who you want to pick. The place was never full when I was there. During the weekdays they have a band that plays pretty bad music that is very loud. I think on the weekends they blast some kind of techno.

The tables are wooden barrels that sit up high and there are stools that surround them. I believe the bar is in the middle and the stage is off to the left if you are entering from the plaza and not from the car park. The best place to get a table is by the restroom. Not only do many ladies hang out by the restroom, but the light is brighter there so you can actually see the ladies. The two biggest complaints about this place are the same though. It is too dark and the mamasans are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too pushy.

How to get there.

Credit goes to Socrates69 for showing me this way. I have read in the past that finding this place is not the easiest thing in the world to do. From the Sparks Hotel, head across the screet to Mangga Besar 12 like you are going to Madona or Bintang Mawar.

As the street starts to curve around, it will look like this:



Keep walking until you get to the car checkpoint. I believe this actually is an exit only for cars. I made a street for this checkpoint on my map above. It is the road running east and west after Mangga Besar 12 starts to curve.

Hang a right when you get to the checkpoint. It will look like this:



After you get past the checkpoint, it will look like this:




Keep walking east (right) from Mangga Besar 12. Then make a left at the first possible road. A good landmark is the Foto Juwita. There is also a big FujiFilm sign on the left of the building.

Go straight through some clothing stands:




Now you are almost there.

On your right will be Lokasari Plaza. There are ATMs that line the entrance and bottom floor.



Straight ahead it will look like this:



Keep walking until you get to the wooden stairs.



You are there! Walk up the wooden stairs and then enter the world of darkness!

Some additional notes on Lokasari Plaza. Like I said before, there are ATM’s along the bottom floor. There is also a Dunkin Donuts on the first floor of the plaza. If you want a new mobile phone, the entire first floor of the plaza (with the exception of Dunkin Donuts) seems to be dedicated to this. Across the street from the Dunkin Donuts is a McDonald’s and then down the street back towards Mangga Besar is the Madona Chinese Food Restaurant. (Seems to be affiliated with the Madona Club.) Down this street is also the main car entrance to the plaza. There are also several pharmacy stalls if you are in need of pharmacy services.

Inside the Plaza on the second floor are more basic mall type shops. I noticed a music stand and purchased several volumes of Indonesian music on MP3 CD’s.

If you go up the escalator to the second floor and then go through the doors to enter the car park, there is another entrance to Today Country. So you can enter the way I described (thanks to Socrates69) or you can enter the Plaza, take the escalator to the 2nd floor, walk through the doors to enter the car park, at which point you should see another entrance to Today Country.

I like this website for finding out what flights are actually scheduled to fly in and out of Jakarta's main ariport (CGK)

http://timetables.oag.com/CGK/

From here you can chase down airfares for flights that work best for you.

Mamasans

One of the most annoying aspects of Jakarta is the mamasans in almost every establishment I entered. I don’t know or understand the structure, but I would guess that the mamasan gets a cut of the 200K or so you pay. I would also guess certain ladies work for certain mamasans, but I saw multiple mamasans promoting the same ladies.

For someone who speaks the language, I guess it would not be that bad as they could politely say, “no thank you” or “maybe later.” But I was just left to shake my hand back and forth constantly, which made it awkward for me. The worst part is that the mamasans WILL NOT give up or get the hint. They will just keep bringing ladies up to you over and over again, often times the same lady you have already rejected until you finally settle on one and sit with her. But again, since I don’t speak any Bahasa, I was left to just stare at her and her me. This was just not an enjoyable part of the experience for me as I like to choose my lady and kind of survey the available talent. I also don’t like taking up the time of a lady I have no intention of taking to the room. But sometimes I had to just to get the mamasan off my back and get her to stop bringing me ladies. It is quite the quagmire.

Penjay Bars

I believe Penjay is a short way of saying “Pangeran Jayakarta”, which refers to the street that these bars are located off of. I have included a map below. The map doesn’t show the exact location, but I do believe it kind of shows how to get there from the Sparks Hotel. Many taxi drivers won’t know how to get there. Even with the address, I often had to have the nice folks at the hotel give instructions.

The address of the complex, from the card of massage parlor Socrates69 got is:

Puri Handayanhi
P. Jayakarta 45 49
Block C 19 21
Komplex Kota Indah

There are many bars and massage places in this complex, which is kind of a U shape. I will mention four places that I went inside. These places have been talked about extensively in previous trip reports, most notably by MongerX.

The bars are Sari Ayu, L.A. Bar, MTR Bar and Royal Massage.

Sari Ayu




This is by far the biggest and most popular bar of the main three (Sari Ayu, L.A. Bar, and MTR Bar)

It is usually a complete madhouse and almost impossible to navigate through because there are so many people. They blasted loud Indonesian Techno and House music and it was a non-stop party inside. The downstairs area had a layout typical of these bars. There was a standard U shape. In the middle of the U was the bar where the bartenders served drinks. Along the outer edge of the U were booths to sit down and relax in. At the left side of the U was a glass enclosed area with nicely dressed women (usually three.) This is where you paid. Next to this glass enclosed area and at the back of the U were usually a fishbowl and the toilet. And then there were usually stairs that went up to the fuck rooms. On the other side of the stairs was another area (besides the fishbowl) where the mamasans and ladies usually congregated. Sari Ayu was somewhat different because they had a whole other area that branched out from the far side of the U (if looking from the entrance). L.A. Bar and MTR bar didn’t have this. At least one of the bars didn’t have a fishbowl as well and I think it might have been Sari Ayu, but I am not sure.

Sari Ayu was usually crowded and rocking, but they did have some lookers. It is worth a look. All the bars charge a standard 200K Rupiah for 1 hour. I believe long time is available as well, but it will be in the neighborhood of 500K+ (I think). I also believe that the ladies won’t be available for long time until after a certain time. Another note is that Penjay pretty much closes up shop at midnight. They may start as early as three, but I think 5 or 6 at night may be a better time to start your day. As for the midnight closing, this is sometimes extended. Sari Ayu went at least until 1am one night I was there. But for the most part, things do start winding down around midnight, although it is not a “firm” shutdown time.

L.A. Bar




This bar is located right across the street from Sari Ayu. It is setup much like Sari Ayu, but it does not have the area that branches off from the U. It is just a standard U. At the very end of the bar behind the stairs I am 100% percent sure there is a fishbowl there. This bar, like Sari Ayu blasted a continuous mix of Indonesian Techno and House. It was a little brighter in there than Sari Ayu and the back area towards the stairs and restroom was a great place to get a good look at the ladies.

I believe this is MX’s favorite bar and I myself ended up spending a lot of time at this place.

Royal Massage

This place is located right next to L.A. Bar. I only went into this place once. It was not very crowded when I entered and they have a rather large fishbowl in the back area. May be worth a look.

MTR Bar


This bar is located towards the back of the complex. From L.A. Bar, walk away from P. Jayakarta. This place it setup much like Sari Ayu and L.A. Bar. It is mostly the same as I described above.

Some general thoughts:

Once again, mamasans are very pushy in Penjay. It is a little better as the lighting is better in these bars and in the back fishbowl areas. This still won’t stop mamasans from annoying you while you are attempting to check out the talent.

There is a little juice stand across the street from L.A. Bar if you want to get a freshly made shake or smoothie type drink. I got a pretty good mango shake there for like 6,000 Rupiah.

I addressed long time in the Sari Ayu part, but basically I think it is 500K+ to take a lady back to your hotel. Hours of operation are from about 3pm to midnight. Another funny scene is hanging around the bars as they ladies are filing out. They bus these ladies in from somewhere. As I_AM_SANCHO and I were walking from MTR to L.A. Bar one night a van full of about 8 or 10 ladies starting waving at us and saying, “Hi” or “Hello Mister!” I_AM_SANCHO commented, “How can I get in ride in THAT van?”

Penjay is a pretty fun area. The ladies are gorgeous and the price is right.

Stadium Discoteca
J.L. Hayam Wuruk #111
Jakarta Pusat
TEL. +62 21 6263 323}
FAX. +62 21 6296 686
http://www.stadiumjakarta.com

Stadium Discoteca is located off of J.L. Hayam Wuruk and is almost right around the corner from the Spark Hotel. I will try to highlight its approximate location on the map below, but I am not sure this is correct.

I went around 1 in the afternoon on a Saturday. I was greeted by someone annonying who wanted to show me around. He took me up to the 4th floor disco which was jumping. There were several freelancers hanging around in the light in the front before entering the disco. There were several more inside. Unfortunately, the disco was almost just as dark as TC’s and it was impossible to see anyone. The annoying dude wanted to bring ladies to me and I wanted him to go away. He then wanted money and I just dismissed him.

The disco on the fourth floor has two levels to it and a huge stage in the mid center to back. It was a pretty impressive place. Supposedly ecstasy is the drug of choice and many people enter on Friday and don’t leave until Monday or some craziness like that. Most of the ladies I saw were hideous or old so I passed. It was too early for the fishbowl on the third floor. I was told the ladies there arrived around 3pm. I was going to wait, but I did other things instead. I do regret not seeing the fishbowl though or going back in the evening.



If you take a taxi to the Ciputra Hotel, you can walk across the street to a range of bars, etc that MongerX and Crazier took me to one night. I was super tired the night we went there, but I am going to try my best to mark them up on the map below. I am sure I could find them again if I needed to, but if would be difficult to describe without the aid of a map. And I am only approximating. I could be entirely wrong, but this is where I remember them.

Map removed pending revisions

The area in the box is where some places are. I don’t remember the names of any of the places, but I believe MongerX and Crazier will be filing more detailed reports about it in the future. This is how I remember getting there. We exited from the Ciputra and then crossed a bridge. I think it was the road on the map named Satria. Then we were in a dark alley. Weheaded north and there were two small side streets. We made a right and there were two small streets lined with bars. These places seemed to be like Karaoke type places. They all had a similar setup.

The first place we walked into Crazier marched right in, but both MongerX and I were stopped and required to pay a cover charge of 30K. The downstairs bar was dark and it was impossible to see the ladies. Upstairs was much brighter. They had pictures of about 100 ladies and they were all glamour shots. Some of the ladies looked very nice. The pictures had numbers on them and you could look on the wall to see if the ladies number was there. If the number was there, she was available. If not, she was busy. There were several ladies I could have done, but each was busy or not working that night. I believe the cost of the first place we stopped at was 170K for one hour.

We skipped the rest of the places on the first street and then headed over to the second street. The ladies were all friendly to foreigners, I would say even more so than PenJay or Lokasari Plaza. There was one with huge tits that MongerX really liked on the second street. Once again, glamour shots were available upstairs. The third place on the second street was smaller, but the ladies were TONS of fun and friendly. It was only 120K there and MX was playing with a really friendly one upstairs in the photo viewing area.

It was around 10:30 and many of the places were just getting started.

We then headed east (I think) and walked for what I believe was at least a half mile or mile north. (If I recall correctly). This brought us to a whole other area of bars and I remember the name of one of these places. I think it was called Top One. Crazier talked to a really friendly papasan there that was very helpful. Don’t remember the price. There were at least four or five ladies I wanted to do (from the pictures.) MX asked the lady behind the counter about each of them and none of them were available or working. It was kind of frustrating. If they weren’t available, I wish they would have taken out their pictures. We just scratched the surface of this scene, so you can probably expect more information about these places in the future from MX and Crazier. I hope my maps were accurate as well. Hopefully MX and Crazier will spot check me.

The way of operating in these places was also different. Almost all of them had live entertainment, a hot singer and band but you could not do the singer. All of them had glamour shots of the ladies upstairs that you could look at. Some places were super dark, while others at least you could see a little bit. They were almost all cheaper than PenJay or Lokasari, although the ladies appeared to be older as well. The atmosphere in general seemed much more laid back at these places. They definitely warrant further investigation.

STD’s

I would recommend being very cautious and careful in Jakarta. The ladies in Penjay and Lokasari are VERY high volume. I don’t think they are Adelita’s in TJ high volume, but I think some of the hotties are easily turning 3-7 tricks a night. Genital Warts seem to be running rampant there as I personally noticed at least four or five cases. I opted out of sessions completely (without even getting a blowjob) from some ladies and some I just got blowjobs from.

I never asked for my money back, I didn’t want to make a big deal about it (it was only $20 bucks) and I probably would not have been able to communicate the problem anyway. You really need to do a visual inspection before you dive in at these places. Even if you wear a condom that is not going to protect you as most of the ladies I noticed had warts on their inner thighs or below their vagina. A condom will protect your staff, but won’t protect your balls or your inner thighs as the warts are coming into direct skin contact with you.

Be careful and do an inspection. But try to guise it under foreplay. If a lady won’t show you her pussy at all, I would opt out. A big thanks goes out to Socrates69 for looking out for me in this regards.

Damn. Messed up. Here are two more maps. One is a closer look at the Ciputra area, another is what I think the location of stadium is.

Map removed pending revisions

Map removed pending revisions

Safety and Security

Before I went on my trip, the governments of the United States, Great Britain and Australia issued fresh travel warnings urging their citizens to avoid all non-essential travel to Indonesia. A militant Islamic website had just posted instructions for how to target foreigners, Westerners in particular. This included targeting pedestrian overpasses with explosives, hotels where Westerners are known to stay, and lobbing grenades at taxis carrying Westerners. This freaked me out a bit, but after talking to Merlin (who did some research himself) and MX I decided to give it a shot. The area I was going to be in wasn’t really Western oriented, except for Blok M and I only went there once. There was still the problem of surviving the taxi ride in, but MX brought up a good point. If you play it by the chance and likelihood, I probably stood a much higher chance of dying in the taxi ride due to fatal accident, than a grenade or terror attack.

Here are some links to the travel warning:

Website tutored terrorists to attack

US warns of Indonesia terror threat

UK issues new travel warnings

I personally did some walking around Lokasari Plaza and the area around the Sparks Hotel. Crazier, MX and I also walked that area by the Ciputra Hotel. I never really felt unsafe or threatened, but still walked with purpose and authority to get where I needed to go. The only time I felt a little threatened was walking out from Lokasari Plaza towards the Madona Restaurant to meet Socrates69 and I_AM_SANCHO. A homeless dude kept following me, asking for money and would not stop. Now he was still rag clothes and never threatened me with a weapon, but I still don’t like the idea of people following me.

The people also don’t seem overly friendly there. I got a lot of hard looks and stares. I will talk about this more in my chapter titled “Friendliness of Locals towards Foreigners”

Taxis

This is wisdom handed down from Socrates69 and MX. Basically, if you want to pay a fair fare for your taxi ride, make sure you get into a Bluebird taxi. The only way to tell if you are getting into a Bluebird is by looking at the front windshield. It should have a sticker across the top part of the windshield that says “Bluebird Group.”

The hotel will happily call one for you. The problem lies when you are out and about. From Penjay, it is almost impossible to find one. If this is the case, make sure you negotiate the price beforehand. You should know roughly how much it should cost from the ride out there. Be careful about using meters in non Bluebird taxis. Socrates69 reported seeing a meter double from 25K to 50K in about five seconds. Also, beware of meters that run fast. It may just be better to negotiate the price upfront.

It only costs about 10K to 12K to get to Penjay from the Sparks in a Bluebird. But all the taxis lined up to take you back will want 20K to 30K. So you can decide for yourself if you want to negotiate, pay the price, use the meter, etc. Just beware. And remember Bluebirds are the way to go!

Friendliness of Locals towards Foreigners

Maybe it is just me, but I really don’t consider Jakarta that friendly of a place for foreigners. Perhaps it was just the area I was in. But I really felt like some of the people around me in Lokasari Plaza wanted to rip my heart out. I was constantly given hard looks by the locals and it seemed like I was the first white person many of them had ever seen before.

It was just such a dramatic change from Philippines, Thailand, or even Hong Kong and Macau where most everyone was friendly, outgoing and smiling. If Thailand is called the Land of Smiles, I would call Jakarta the Land of Frowns or the Land of Hard Looks.

Now don’t get me wrong. I am not going to tar brush an entire city or people based on a limited experience like this. And there were certainly people who did smile and make an attempt to be friendly. It was just an interesting change overall. There was also a group of people that made an effort to say “Hello mister!” every time they saw me.

Again, I’ll chalk it up to being in the area I mainly chose to stay in. From what I understand, Kota is mostly Chinatown and the bars I frequented were mainly geared towards locals and Chinese. So perhaps I was an outsider invading their turf. Regardless, it was just interesting and different. It was actually quite an experience. It won’t prevent me front going back, but I did feel the need to comment on it.

Language Issues

Language is a major barrier. MX, Crazier, and Socrates69 all speak Bahasa Indonesian and they all got along much better than I did. If you go anywhere outside of Blok M, English isn’t going to be widely spoken. This makes building any kind of rapport with the ladies almost impossible. Merlin had the best line. “What are you going to do for long time? Just stare at each other?”

If you are planning a trip to Indonesia, it would be highly advisable to spend some time and learn a little Bahasa.

I did a quick Google search and came up with the following site:

Bahasa Indonesia

It has a seven day tutorial with mp3 files so you can hear the ways things are pronounced. Give it a try and do a search for some more sites.

Shopping

I can’t really say too much about this. But Socrates69, Merlin and I all headed to a mall one day called Mannga Dua. (I think). It was about five stories high. Many of the shops contained computer parts and accessories and many contained camera and mobile phones. They had a little bit of everything including a grocery store on the second floor. Merlin even found a battery charger for his Canon SD400 since he forgot it this trip. The Sparks Hotel also has a shuttle that leaves twice a day for Mangga Dua.

Final Thoughts and New Country Rankings

It was an interesting experience. It is very raw in Jakarta. The scene is quite large and probably has a lot more exploring to do, but it is very raw there. I don’t know any other way to describe it. The scene seems mostly geared towards short time. And this place would have suited me great a few years ago. I still went a little crazy there I think. And I was easily able to revert to old habits. That being said, I don’t think Jakarta will ever make it into the regular rotation for me.

I want to check out Batam sometime next year, but other than that I don’t have any major plans to return. This is in stark contrast to someone else I recently spoke with who can’t wait to get back. The STD problem (mainly genital warts) is a major turnoff. This is especially true since it seems to be so prevalent there. If I were going to spend any more time there, I would also make an effort to learn some Bahasa. It is really a necessity if you want to get by on your own or have better sessions with the ladies.

Jakarta is not an easy scene to navigate. I would not recommend doing it on your own unless you are really adventuresome or you are going with someone who already knows the scene rather well. However, if you do choose to go at it alone, I hope this guide was helpful to you.

This really isn’t appropriate for a guide, but I always end a trip report on a new destination that I go with a new and revised country ranking. So here it is. This will change very soon as well since I am headed to Colombia soon.

My rankings as of November, 2005 were:

1. Philippines
2A. Thailand
2B. Brazil
4. Germany
5. Macau
6. Hong Kong
7. Panama
8. Dominican Republic
9. Costa Rica
10. Mexico

My rankings as of December, 2005 are:

1. Philippines
2A. Thailand
2B. Brazil
4. Germany
5. Macau
6. Hong Kong
7. Indonesia (Jakarta)
8. Panama
9. Dominican Republic
10. Costa Rica
11. Mexico

I strongly considered putting Indonesia in the number five spot behind Germany. And upon further reflection this may indeed change. But for now I am going to keep it in the number 7 spot behind Hong Kong.

Very interesting report. Thanks. I learned alot about Jakarta.

But perhaps I even learned more from your ranking of the Philippines as number 1, since it is one of the few places on your list I haven't been to and my rank orderings of places I have been to are very similar to yours.

Ok guys, be sure to IGNORE my maps on the Ciputra mall area. I have just been informed they are incorrect. I can't edit the posts anymore, but have a request in to have them removed pending a revision.

Fantastically organized and well written guide. I think you provided an excellent introduction to the Chinatown mongering, while far from comprehensive, this guide tremendously help someone making a first trip. I will only offer some extra tidbits for the first time visitor and also point out a couple of places I would add to a tour I would give a newbie.

The only thing I would like to emphasize is that this is a very incomplete picture of all the P4P opportunities in Jakarta that could be of interest to readers here. Side by side with the Kota brothels given here, there is a huge massage and spa scene, that covers the spectrum from down market to ultra high end. Example of such places are Beverly Hills Spa, Grand Comfort, Kimochi, Atlantis, Oasis, Olympic Hotel, Sands, Berlian, Kartika, etc. Its seems that for Socrates and I these venues just aren't on our agendas and so we aren't directing people to these places. Also, besides Stadium (which is really like a mega sex mall) there are lots of Indo discos filled with action on this end of town which run the full spectrum of upscale to down market; examples are 1001, Millenium, Crown, Hai Lai, Mille's etc. Probably not as of much interest are also a variety of high end clubs and karaokes. Most of these places will have a decent sized collection of girls who are more than good looking enough to have a session with. In addition their are also a large number of second tier smaller and cheaper places all over that will have nuggets to uncover but I personally haven't been able to pry myself away from the tier one places to research them.

Also, there is also a good sized Western oriented scene of which you only mention My Bar in Blok M. Granted you were hanging around a bunch of us who really prefer the local oriented scene. But lots of westerners and mongering expats never have even heard of any of these places in Kota outside of TC's, Berlian, and Kartika. They are perfectly contented with the 5* hotel bars, Blok M, Melawi Hotel, and cruising the malls during the day.

OK on to some specific comments.

Immigration and Customs

One comment: When you check into your hotel ask them to make a photo copy of your passport; your photo page on oneside and then the entry stamped page of your passport with the entry stamp on your departure card on the backside. Carry this photocopy with you everywhere. If you are stopped by the police (not uncommon when in taxis late at night) this photocopy almost always suffices. If you don't have a copy and you have a western face it will cost you 50K if you handle yourself well and bargain or up to a couple of hundred if you shit your pants and don't hold the line.

KAHA Desk and Airport Taxis

Kaha is great but it is also worth checking the hotel reservation desk that is in the baggage claim area as well. Kaha doesn't have a current contract rate for the Novotel Mangga Dua, but this desk does where a single is 450K nett with single breakfast and a double is 525K nett with two breakfasts. This is much better than the best rates on the Accor website.

You definately paid more than 50% you needed to for your airport transfer. Do not book you taxi insidethe terminal or with your hotel, instead exit to curbside. If you are at terminal two, international arrivals, look for a Silver Bird sign sitting on a metal pole. The queue will move fast. This will cost you about 90K to get to Sparks. Pay 20K more than what the meter reads to cover the tolls and the airport taxi fee.

Sim Cards

100K seems like you got ripped off. Go to any place like Lokasari and you can buy a sim card for 25-40K that will come will 15K worth of phone credit. Be forewarned that they will charge you extra for a "good" phone number.

Block M

It is a shame that you had a bad experience at My Bar. I have had some great success and some total blasts in here. You definately have to screen the girls and the flashy one's on the dance floor will typically be more hardcore. I too drop right away any girl who wants to discuss money or asks for a drink other than a juice or beer when I first meet her. Here is a tip I use, never ever let a girl order herself a drink directly from the waiter. If I am tempted to buy a girl a drink I will ask her what does she want, if she asks for a mixed drink, wine, or something else stupidly expensive I tell her "mahal" (expensive.) If she cops an attitude tell her forget it, but usually she will laugh and go for a juice. A juice or soda is 12,500 and cocktails start at around 50K. I learned these lessons the hard way.

Another lesson I learned the hard way is to never ever use a taxi that is parked on the street outside My Bar. The guys are scum's scum. They will say meter, and all of their meters are rigged to run twice as fast as is legal. What you need to do is exit out of My Bar and turn right and at the T intersection there is usually a queue of a couple of Blue Bird Taxis there. Reject any male who is offering to assist you in getting a taxi. When you get into the taxi, usually some local guy will open the door to the cab for you, this is usually the local taxi mafia guy. He will ask for paking. Pay the local parking mafia guy 2000 rupiah -- no more. This is standard.

I disagree with Xen in that I find the locals to be extremely friendly, welcoming and not looking to charge me foriegner prices in Jakarta. However, this is not true at Blok M. The local begging children syndicate, ojek mob, and ubiquitous jobless yahoos are definately much more confrontational, unwelcoming, and unfriendly here than in Kota. This is the one place that I definately will not mix in or interact with the locals. Unlike most places in Indonesia, there is obviously a lack of harmony between the outside elements and the inside management here on Blok M. Also, whenever a Blok M girl is too eager for you to take one of these taxis or engage with one of the outside yahoos it raises a big flag with me.

Lokasari Plaza

You missed two places that are a must stop on the MongerX newbie tour. Siera Club across the street from BM and Madona's. This is a real friendly place, inexpensive (175K used to be 155K) with a lineup of about 30 girls, I think there are some real gems in here and they are always bringing in new talent and moving out the stale talent.

The second is Hotel Travel. This place is quite the fresh breathe of air from the usual Kota joints and their loud dark atmosphere and mediocre ST rooms. To get here exit Lokasari Plaza turning left, turn right at the first corner past Hotel Astika. On this street you will see Atlantis Spa on your left. Continue about 200 meters and Hotel Travel is the grey building on your left. Don't enter in to the lobby, but rather the buildning entrance to your left. Must be about 30 girls in here, and I have hads some excellent sessions here. This place tends to have more curvy, hard body (not fat) girls than true spinners. I think TC's right now is the tiny spinner hot spot now.

Also, I think to find TC's the first time it is easiest to go into the main entrance into Lokasari Plaza from Mangga Besar. Go straight all the way back past the KFC first on your right and then McD's on your left later and into the shopping mall. Take the escalator up to thesecond flood proceed into the car park through the door with the small "wartel" sign above it. Once in the car park the entrance is directly across to your left. From this entrance the first seating option is the two relatively well lit booths at the entrance to the bathroom hallway. You shouldn't be shy to go into the bathroom hallway and back into reception area to the short time rooms. It very well lit back here and there is usually a crowd a sweet young things loitering here.

Mamasans

Yep the mamasan process is annoying. My best advice is if you really want to be left alone. You can try and say "tolong, jangan bawa chewek ke aku. Sekerang, saya mau duduk sindiri dan minum aja." (Please don't bring girls to me. Now I want to sit alone and drink only.) Also, to keep from having a girl sat with you who you don't want, you need to learn the polite hand gesture for saying no. Smiling (always important) lift your hand up so that it next to your shoulder and you elbow is down. With you palm open turn your hand back and forth (sort of like how the Queen of England waves) for about two to three seconds. This will usually lead Mommy to take the girl away and bring another candidate. Do this before you welcome the girl to sit with you or take place at your arm. If you are shopping let the mommy know what your are looking for...

Spinner == "kaycheel dan core-ruice" (Small and skinny and I am giving the phonetic spelling)
Tall = tingee
Big titts = susus besar
small titts = susus kaycheel
Young = muda
older = tuah
with pretty face = sama mooka chanteek
no yet had a baby = belum ada anack "or" tidak bayee
sexy legs = kahki sexy
big butt = pantant besar "or" pantant gamook
small butt = pantant kaycheel
sweet = maneez
good service or literally good heart = ba-eek hatee (but almost all the mamasans know how to say "service good" and will describe EVERY girl that way.)

Penjay

I would only elaborate on the fact that the Royal Massage and Bar is really showing lots of potential. Both Socrates and I had initial relatively poor sessions here and had backed off. However, the last couple of times I have been in here it has been totally rocking, the selection way up and the girls much more warm and interactive in the bar area. I will definately give the place a chance to win my business and try several sessions next trip. Also, this place has a different owner than the the other three bars.

Stadium

I finally made it into Stadium after a half a doxen trips. I was really impressed with the talent in the third floor fishbowl and which spilled out into the recpetion area and the live music lounge. At 225K a session I wil definately give the place a try in the near future. Personally I have heard enough stories of security concerns (pick pocketing, and fights amongst local gansters to give the fourth and fifth floor Disco a pass on the weekends) It is also worth noting that there is a new small joint on the alley on the north side of Stadium named Anggrek. Small lineup of about 10-12 girls formely at Siera, but definately some super cuties in there, the early opening hour of noon, and the price of 180K definately will put in on the usual rounds.

Places New Ciputra Hotel

These places do show a lot of potential, of the four places we visited that claimed to have about 350 girls in their employs and we stopped in less than half of the joints in this area. These places have more Indo-Indo local clientele rather than the Indo-Chinese clientele found in the Kota joints. This is what made for the more warm welcome. While the percentage of very hot and young girls will be lower than Penjay, it certainly looked like it would be fun and not to difficult to find someone to session with in these places. The prices certainly were right. I am still kicking myself for not taking that big titty bombshell or the that young spinner for a test ride. At the time I wanted to get back before the Penjay bars closed. It's a bit two early to write up much about these places but I am thinking of devoting a couple of days to explore and figure these places out.

Friendliness of Locals towards Foreigners

I am gonna just agree to differ on your assessment here as my experience has been very different. These places reported here are geared for locals not some Western tourist market like Walking street or Fields Ave. In these places I always am warmly greeted by the locals, they want dance with you, converse the best they can, and hell I have had them insist on buying me beers and high fiving me because I am there to fuck their women. How much more of a welcome can I want?

I realize you had a bad interaction with a pushy pan handler in Lokasari, but I get that everytime I wander down Fields Ave where I have also had a young boy follow me down the street shouting "Sir Sir Blow Job only 3000 pesos." Don't even get me started on the Thai hawkers and the way too young gum peddling girls who seem to be making other things available. Somehow I don't think we would be as warmly welcomed or allowed to carry on they way like we do in Kota in local places in Thailand or PI. Plus, they don't even charge us more as foriegners!

However, I will say this doesn't hold outside Blok M where there is a clear hustle the whitey mentality and some of the Disco's during prime time when the local lowest common denominator will gather and attempt to pick pockets and sometimes look to start shit.

Shopping

If you are in Kota you should go to the Mangga Dua Mall (not the WTC where the shuttle from Sparks Hotel takes you) where on the second and third floor the DVD's and Software selection is outstanding and the prices unbelievable low. You can literally save thousands of dollars on software and you the price of DVD's is now about 50 cents.

Xen-- AWESOME report, thanks for taking the time to put it together!!


MX-- I enjoyed your chapter as well ;)

Talk about timing? I am making a trip to Jkt in late Jan. What an excellent guide this will be.

Thanks guys for your time, effort and information.

Hope to see some of you there!

Sandman

Xen,

Nice to have met you. Well done, a comprehensive report on the areas that you personally covered. A commendable effort no doubt.

After we parted that morning, I discovered where Anggrek was - sorry I could not be more helpful then. It's up the side street parallel to the one where Stadium's main entrance is located.
As Mx stated here, the talent is very decent.

On Stadium's disco on level 4, there are ST WLs available there too on both side of the disco as you enter but, only after 6pm.

One of my best Indo STs was from there and I remember it as 245K Rps but, it may have been raised. The ST rooms are up the semi-spiral stairs of the right side of the Disco as you enter.

The talent on Level 3 is above average except that it's always busy and it's best to go in the early afternoon on a weekday.

I was a little dissapointed that you did not venture on the lovely "Deep Fried Gourami Fish" which we ordered. Then, I hear that you live near Mexico and never eat Mexican food too!

Some pre-visit language learning would definitely have increased your "tuning in" with the locals perhaps doubled up on your enjoyment overall.

Like I said, a great effort here for all to benefit from.

Outstanding overall report Xen... very well organized and full of useful information. It'll save the newbie a lot of headaches and embarassment if they follow the logistics info here.

IMO, I actually rank JKT a bit higher (tied for 2nd w/Colombia for me) and consider it a must return rotation venue for me. Notwithstanding my concern for STDS, I only encountered 2 Penjay gals that were somewhat suspicious. The gals at Kota and Hotel Travel seemed ok. What makes JKT so good for me is that I'm easily swayed by the cheap STS $20-$25, the availability of STs at most hours of the day, the consistently good BBBJs and service, and general good looks of the gals (pretty faces, nice figures and nice tits). At these prices, I found myself "gorging" on STs w/very pretty gals even when I couldn't pop a nut anymore. I've also had some of the most incredible sessions from some of the average looking gals at Penjay and one older gal from Block M. I'm convinced that they have some BBBJ training they give to the Penjay gals as the BBBJs were consistently good from the gals I've had.

Regardless, I realized I only experienced about a fraction of what JKT has to offer and am eager to explore the rest. I can only imagine how the JKT experience can be even better upon learning some basic phrases.

I'm trying mightily to get back real soon as you know, but getting back to JKT from the States is a big effort. Anways, I absolutely had a blast hanging w/you this trip and hope we can do it again soon. I'll likely see you in AC/Manila as I still consider that my top destination because of the ability to converse in English and the fun partying.

This may be of some use to the board, I did quite a bit of research prior to my trip but actually winged it when I got to JKT. The following are addresses of some p4p places w/a brief write up by an expat. I did not try most of these places and the descriptions/opinions are from an expat on another board.

"....
CJ’s
Mulia Hotel
Jl. Asia Afrika Senayan

CJ’s is probably the best overall hotel bar, in my opinion. You’ll find a mixture of pros, semis, and non-pros here. Usually a pretty good band, but it gets extremely crowded on Saturday nights. Wednesday night, ladies night, is reportedly the best night to visit this place.

Stix
Park Lane Hotel
Jl. Casablanca, Kav. 18

Stix is underrated in my humble opinion. It is smaller than the other hotel bars but I’ve seen some quality pros working the business travelers here on a couple of occasions. Stix flies in bands exclusively from Colombia and salsa night is Thursday. The steaks here are very good as mentioned above.

Stadium
Jl. Hayam Wuruk no. 111

Located in Chinatown, it is probably the sleaziest place in Jakarta, Open 24 hours, always has girls and short-time rooms available. Pretty much the last stop for everyone in the city.

Millennium
Plaza Gajah Mada
Jl Gaja Mada

I love this place because the most beautiful cewek I have met were nonpros partying hard here. It’s the largest one level disco in Jakarta and holds 5000 at a time.

Manhattan
Hotel Borobudur
Jl Lapangan

This place is a higher-class version of Millennium, Rich Chinese-Indo crowd with a few bules. Less intimidating place than Stadium or Millennium.

Massage Parlors

Galaxy Spa
D’Best Plaza
Jalan Fatmawati

This is my favorite spa which caters to more affluent Chinese-Indonesians and an occasional foreigner. The massages run about 180,000 rp for 1 ½ hours with a ‘happy ending’ always available. Occasionally, you can talk a girl into providing BBBJ or full-service for a price.

Mawar Massage
D’Best Plaza
Jalan Fatmawati

Also located in D’Best Plaza, this is a step below Galaxy but you can occasionally find a gem.

Melawei Hotel –
6th floor Massage
Blok M

This place is as reliable as it gets in south Jakarta for a solid sexual encounter. While I don’t find most of the girls here that stunning, you can usually find a decent enough cewek to get the job done. I believe the price is 250,000 rp. per hour although I haven’t been there in a while. It’s worth a look in the day when nothing else is going on. You’ll find that some of the girls who work the day shift here also moonlight at D’s/My Bar later.

Oasis Spa
Jalan Mangga Besar Raya area

Located right across the street from Lokasari Plaza and a few buildings down from Sparks Hotel. Very similar in format and appearance to the Galaxy Spa.

Kartika Massage
Jalan Mangga Besar Raya area

Located very near the Sparks and Mercure Hotels, this place offers a Bangkok-style soapy massage. I find the place overrated but it’s something to do if you are looking for variety.

Non-Pro Establishments

For those of you who would like to meet some non-pro Indonesian women, your options are endless. Indonesian women are among the easiest to approach in the world and it is very difficult for them to be rude. If you are a Caucasion male, you will receive attention and looks wherever you go as you are an object of tremendous curiosity.

Non-Pro Discos/Bars

Aphrodite
Jl HR Rasuna Said, kav C22

This is a popular expat pub and restaurant. Cool place to hang out and play a game of pool. You’ll also find some Indonesian woman who like to hang out there on the weekends and after work usually looking for bule boyfriends. Occasionally, you'll see some pros in here, also.

Bugil’s
Jl Gerbang Pemuda No. 3

This is another cozy expat hang-out which is owned by a Dutch guy. Good place to wind-down. I occasionally see some cute non-pros hanging out here. Live music on the weekends.

Embassy/CO2
Taman Ria Senayan
East End Building
Jl Gatot Subroto

Located near Bugil, these two are among the trendiest discos in Jakarta at the moment. Embassy is upstairs, CO2 is downstairs. No pros in here at all but still pretty easy to strike up a conversation with the girls. It helps if you are younger, have a bit of game, and possess some Indonesian language skills, however, many of the girls will speak some English. There is a dress code here.

Burgandy
Grand Hyatt Hotel
Jl. MH Thamrin kav 28-30

Solid up-scale club

Club Monaco
Gran Mahakan Hotel
This is a cool place- Upper class Indonesian women like to party here. Another place where you better have some game to compete- simply being a bule is not enough here."

X,
Great, informative report. Thank you for giving us a chance to share. Looking forward to more.

When I ask a Mamasan for a chewe in Bahasa, I ask these things:

Saya mau chewe cantik, harus esup dan main bagus sekali! Ada?

I want a pretty girl, who sucks and screws very well! Any?

If you feel hassled by the Mamis who keep on shoving girls at you, utter these words or better, WRITE IT DOWN ON A CARD and show it to her and she'll know to leave you alone,

"Mami, jangan bawa cewek lagi, saya sendiri lihat. Bila saya lihat yang saya suka, saya akan tunjokkan kamu yang saya suka ok?"

tranlated (Mami, do not bring me any girls anymore, I will look myself. When I see one that I like, I will point to you the one I like ok?)

You can actually write down your own preferences on a card in Bahasa e.g.

"Saya suka cewek yang pandai "karaoke" (isap) dan pandai main; lagi tetek besar tapi badan kurus; muka cantik."

tranlated (I like girl who is good in "karaoke" (blow job) and good in sex; also big breasts with slim body; pretty face)

"karaoke" is slang for a girl singing with a microphone - similar to holding your dick to the mouth!

One tip when getting your visa. I was obviously in a rush to get through customs and was asked when getting my stamp if I wanted VIP clearance. For $10 I was marched past long queues at immigration and told to wait the other side while the guy disappeared into the office on the right. Within 3 minutes he had returned and I was on my way to reclaim my baggage, saved me about 30 minutes I guess looking at the Q.

I had a much better experience at M bar. I went wrong on my first visit and went upstairs which was empty. After 30 minutes though two girls came in and attached themselves to me. One was very sweet the other just OK. I ended up going back for a threesome and met them again the next night. I only took the sweet one who turned out to be an awesome dancer and pretty dammed good in bed too.

Xen, wish I had all the info. you supplied before my first visit an excellent guide, well done and thanks.

MONEY MATTERS

One other tip about money matters. The commercial banks in Jakarta were pretty harsh w/changing $100 bills, not only do they exclude 1996 100s, but they exclude many other 100s with certain serial number prefixes such as "CL,CD, F,....". It was useless to exchange it at banks. I must have gone to about 6 or 7 banks before I called it quits.

There were reported to be money changers that were more flexible and Crazier gave me addresses, but I was too lazy to make the trek. I did not find too many around KOTA, i.e. around Sparks Hotel.

The way to go was to use the ATMS, which worked pretty well and you could w/draw upwards of 1.2 mill rupias (about $120.00). I used the PLUS and Cirrus ATM cards, but seem to have charged me a small conversion fee each transaction.

Xen, fantastic post, and when combined with the info others have added on, this is one awesome collection of information about a destination where a newbie with no info could probably end up having a shitty time.

I really liked Jakarta, and I'm heading straight there in a few weeks to begin my next trip. The thing I most liked about Jakarta was the insane ease of high-quality short time with very hot looking girls at a reasonable price. I was in a funk for a good part of the few days I was in Jakarta, and I certainly don't think it's a perfect destination by any means, but if you have 5 places in the world you'd rather be you're extremely well traveled and it's good to have options.

I have been very tardy writing about my first trip to Jakarta this summer (a backlog of report writing and more than a little writer's block), and it certainly seem like it's becoming less and less pressing that I do so with the recent flurry of Jakarta reports we've seen here at CH in the last few weeks. MongerX really did open a can of worms when he first started raving about the place and I can't imagine what going there for the first time without someone like he or Socrates to help introduce you to the place.

I also didn't really think much of Blok M, though I didn't really give it much of a chance either. Seemed to me to be waaaaaay too crowded with white guys that had fucked up priorities -- drink until they passed out -- instead of paying attention to the hordes of girls looking for a benefactor. Blok M was also quite inconvenient to chinatown where we were staying.

Xen, especially, and the others, THANK YOU for the outstanding info, pics of the venues and maps. Terrific job.

Everyone:

Thanks for the comments about the guide. I am glad it seems to have gone over well and people think it will be useful. Special thanks go out to Socrates69, MongerX and Crazier for helping me out during the trip. Thanks to I_Am_Sancho as well. Had a blast hanging out with you for a night. And then a BIG thanks to Merlin as well. You were a great travel buddy and I am very glad we went.

LAGuy:

Very interesting that our rankings are close. I think you might like the Philippines. The ladies are just so sweet and enjoyable to be around. Ironically enough though, I didn't enjoy it all that much my first time I went, but the second time when I met up with some fellow CH'ers, I had a blast. AC is a great, casual and cheap party town. And Manila has some incredible talent. Would be interesting to compare rankings with you as well.

MX,

Thanks for the additional add-on info. We'll have to touch base so I can update the maps of the Ciputra Hotel area.

DM,

Thanks. Have you been? Maybe planning a trip now?

Sandman,

Very cool that my guide will be helpful to you. Hope all goes well on your trip.

Crazier,

It was very nice to have met you as well. I am planning a Singapore/Batam run for sometime in 06, so I hope our paths will cross again sometime soon.

The suggestion about writing down that saying on a card is a GREAT idea. And with the lighter/flashlight I bought, even in dark places like TC’s that would work. I could just see it. After the mamasan brings over the first lady, I whip my flashlight and this card and point to it. I wonder what the reaction would be.

Merlin,

Thanks for the additional list. With everyone’s help this guide is becoming more and more useful. It does appear that Jakarta's scene is quite vast. I wish I would have been able to check out Hotel Travel with everyone. I just found it too difficult to pull myself away from PenJay and the other places. One can really go crazy in Jakarta. If I had found that place three years ago I might not have ever left. I am just in a different place now. Thanks again for all your help on the trip as well. It was terrific traveling with you. I am sure we'll end up partying again sometime soon given our mutual love for the Philippines!

WickedWilly,

Man. I got introduced to many great guys on this trip and am very glad we got a chance to meet. And being the gadget guy I am, I REALLY loved the little toy you pulled out at dinner that one night. Thanks for the tip on immigration. If Merlin and I had known about it, we probably would have paid it we were so anxious.

Merlin, you may have gotten really good luck with your 30' bbbjs. I certainly get decent to pretty good bjs, but not to the level of surrounding countries like the phils, thailand, and cambodia, although my sample size was small in cambo and phils so i may be off base there. It really probably gets down to choosing the 2nd tier girls like you mentioned.

xenono, excellent report! It was a pleasure showing you around and thanks for your help. my bahasa isn't good, but i did learn some key words in getting around since i was there for 2wks solo.

I'm getting some mention here, but the real people that made this happen for me were mx and crazier. I met up with them in batam shortly after their first weekend trip, and their excitement over the scene was palpable. They provided me with names of clubs like blok m, tcs, penjay, bm, cjs and madonnas. That gave me plenty of places to try to find. I decided to devote 2 weeks there solo. I also did alot of exploring and here's what i've found.

Hotels:
Mercure rekso is worthy of mention. it's a great hotel that mx/crazier recommended. the rooms are bigger and the view of the city spectacular. it also has better natural lighting for pics imho. staffing is top notch and the free morning buffet is awesome, but long stays there can be on the expensive side i found. I had a money problem at the time and was forced to search for other hotels that were more affordable and closer to lokasari. I found most of the hotels near lokasari to be old and dumpy with possible insect problems as strong bug stray odor emitted from many of the rooms. The only one that i found acceptable was sparks hotel, although i have a hunch that hotel travel rooms might be worth a look. I recommended sparks to zippy and he agreed that it was better than the other lokasari hotels. If you are a local in jakarta, you can get a locals discount fyi.

According to many of the blok m girls i've met, Melawei Hotel is their preferred hotel. you can run them over there and do sts, then come back for a lt choice. i got the numbers of multiple hotties on my first trip had had them over at mercure rekso or sparks for an afternoon delight or lt.

BlokM:
like mx, i agree the blok m is a really nice place to pull from, especially if you like LTS. i had some of my most memorable experiences there, but was sort of hating on it this last trip because i saw alot of the same old girls. In total, I've pulled about 7 girls there and they were all very good and quite talented as they seemed more use to western type sexual demands.

Hotel Bars:
the other hotels bars had some talent, but relative to the other bars, it was so so except for cjs. I saw one of the hottest indo girls there!

Tiga puluh was so so. saw some blok m girls doing the circuit there.

stix has great steaks, but again i saw some blok m girls going the circuit there. It seems to have potential though and according to others, it has some great lookers lookers.

Bugil’s had some fun waitresses, but was small and dead. no hotel connected to this hole in the wall.

Embassy/CO2 didn't make an impression on me.

Aphrodite is a nice hip restaurant where some semi pros can be had and the rare gem can be found. great steaks as well, but not to the level of stixs. it had a great atmosphere to take a date.

Discos:
Retro disco seemed like it might have potential certain nights, but when i was there, there were alot of homosexuals, same with stadium but without the fishbowls, mamasans, and gangster.

jjs was pretty dead, but the ratio there isn't bad. some cute pro fls, and semi pros were present. i would return.

millinium has alot of potential imho, it's just too damn big and dark. got many looks here from cute girls, but had two in tow from blok m. more upscale than stadium, never did i feel in danger.

stadium has many mamasans and has some decent girls on the disco floor and 3rd floor, but i had multiple pick pocket atttempts that were obvious from gangster looking types deeper into the club, also, a long fight broke out by the balcony bathrooms where one guy pulled out a gun. many other gangsters and body guards of the private tables up there seemed like they wanted to jump in and start a big fight. There is alot of congestion there so i imagine that people would be thrown off the balcony if shit got outta hand. Regardless, i still like the place but beware of shady cats.

Spas and MPs
Galaxy Spa had decent talent but there were talking high prices in uncomfortable areas for sex. got a decent hj there, tipped about 50 if i remember correctly.

oasis spa is great....got down and dirty in the legit massage room for 100k where the walls didn't go up to the ceiling, and traffic and the room was separated by a small curtain. I could tell the two guys next to me didn't get any action. Choose a more private room, and sex is probably offered more often. There is also a body massage section which pretty much means sex, but negotiate beforehand.

The spa across from sari ayu was much like oasis, but not was nice. talent was ok.

Smaller booking joints in kota:
around the kota region on foot and found that most of the small hole in the wall places seemed worthless. some places were very shady and possible dangerous as well....e.g. illegal gambling with rough looking guys. sierra club and hai lai in glodok were the only clubs i found decent talent in. In fact, hai lai was pretty awesome. many girls and they all come up to you and introduce themselves personally so you get to interact with all of them prior to your pick.

During this last trip, mx and i explored the stadium area and found angrit to be a decent place to pull. I had a so so experience at travel hotel, but shoose a real pro, in a bad way.

streetwalkers:
I was told that theses girls usually work the discos, but when competition is high, they separate themselves from the pack, and work hayam worok, south of stadium. Cost is about 200-300 i'm told. figures need to be confirmed.

Socrates,

Is Hai Lai the high end disco in Ancol at the far north end of Hayam Wuruk? From what I have read this is a pretty high end tripper disco with upper end prices.

I thought you said this place had a slightly different name as was on Hayam Wuruk between Mangga Besar and Mangga Dua? Anyway I recall you saying this was a night time place. Do you recall any of the pricing details?

Soc, was Hai Lai in the general area of Lokosari? May be worth a look next time.

The 30' BBBJ was probably unusual, but I'm fairly certain those Penjay gals, who must have lots of customer experience, were also trained -- very consistent w/the BBBJs, kinda like the Vietnamese gals at the mamasan houses in Cambodia. The Philippinas are often good, but you come across inconsistency in skill IMO and gasp, a few gals would have none of it.

HAI LAI
Jl. Lodan Raya, Ancol, Jakarta
http://www.hailai.co.id/html/build01.htm

mx, yes, that's it. it's described as along the lines with club 1001, but i don't recall the prices making me run for the hills. i wrote the prices down on the hai lai flyer i picked up (which i can't find now) and planned a return trip when the line up was full, but it must've slipped my mind. as soon as i locate the flyer, i'll post the prices. I want to say 500K for lt.

i recall the place starting at around 8pm or 8:30pm. we went at 9:30pm and quite a few girls had already been picked over.

merlin,
it's further north by the water's edge. penjay would be just past the halfway point.

There is a big ballroom, and next to it, a fishtank, similar to those in batam, but on a MUCH bigger scale.

Retro on wed nights (ladies night) is suppose to be good, but that also slipped my mind during my last trip.

This one and only Hai Lai is at Ancol not a long ride away by taxi if the traffic is forgiving when you are on the road.

Ancol used to be a fun place many years ago besides Hai Lai because there was a sort of Massage kind of joint that had some interesting talents that you could do ST on site as well as book out but I forgot.

Even more downmarket and right on some part of the beach "I had read" were whores who actually do their duties in "A-shaped tentlets" in the vicinicty of the beach - real 3rd world stuff if you ask me and I never actually went out to check this out myself.

Anyone read of heard about this in recent years?
The management might have cleared them out so don't go looking till more research is done if you are interested.

i heard of the st tents on the beach, but i think those have been phased out. I met someone who actually experienced them. Might have been a mutual friend actually!

Porker,

Thanks. You are so correct about the availably of high quality ST at reasonable prices. I really liked the Indonesian look and thought the ladies were quite attractive and hot there.

I hear you about a backlog of reports. I've done so much traveling this year it's been hard to keep up. I really wanted to bang this guide out though and spent part of Saturday and the better part of Sunday working on it. The part that took the longest time was the maps. It took me a long time to find places so I could highlight them.

It seems like I was the only one in our group that didn't have a good experience at Blok M, so perhaps it is worth another shot. I had the same thought about the distance from Chinatown. I was like, "What? A 20 minute taxi ride?" My lousy lay also complained about this.

Again, thanks Porker. Hope you have a nice time on your upcoming trip.

I found new and useful message board for Indonesia http://www.bintangmawar.net/forum/

It is mostly in Bhasa Indonesia, however many of the posters can communicate in English. They even have a small English section. In the english section they were offering the Englis-Indonesian translation for some sex terms. I took the opportunity to ask for a bunch more. Here is what they offerd. Please note the given translations use a lot of Jakarta specific slang. So when you see gue or gua (meaning I, me, mine) you can substitute in saya or aku. Where you see lu or elo (meaning you or yours) you can replace it with kamu.

Fuck - ngentot, ngewe, tidur
Anal - anal, lobang pantat
Blowjob - sepong
Hard-on - ngaceng, konak
Lick - jilat
Kiss - cium
Swallow - telan
Wet - basah
Suck - isep, sedot
Pulang - go home
Handjob - kocok
Lick my butthole - jilat matahari saya (lick my asshole)
Deepthroat - isep yang dalam (suck it deep)
Let's fuck - Ngentot yuk; Ngewe yuk
Sleep with me - Tidur sama saya
Cum in mouth - keluar didalam mulut
vagina, pussy, cunt, snatch, twat = memek
clitoris, clit = itil
breasts, tits, boobs, bosoms = tetek, buah dada, payudara
penis, dick, pecker, schlong = titit
buttocks, butt, buns, ass = pantat
anus, asshole = lobang pantat
semen, cum = peju
pubic hair, crotch hair, bush = jembut
crotch = selangkangan
I want to come on your tits = Gue pengen (nembak/muncrat/keluar) di (tetek/toket) elo
I want to come on your face = Gue pengen (nembak/muncrat/keluar) di muka elo
lick your pussy, eat your pussy = (jilat/isep) memek elo
Suck my dick with more suction. You can't hurt it = Isep lebih kuat dong. Gak bakalan sakit kok.
squeeze my dick harder = remes kontol gue lebih kuat dong
move your mouth and hands together = gerakin mulut ama tangan elo barengan
use your tongue = pake lidah dong
Suck on my balls = isep biji gue dong
lick my balls = jilat biji gue
give me the madurese squeeze = mana empot maduranya
french kiss, kiss with toungues = cium pake lidah dong
kiss my neck = cium leher gue
hickie = cupang
spank you butt = tampat pantat elo
before we agreed to all night = kan kita udah setuju buat semaleman
Don't be scared my stomach is big but my dick is small = jangan kuatir, perut gue gede tapi kontol gue kecil
Did you fart = lu kentut ye
your fart smells like roses = kentut lu wangi kayak bunga mawar
Your pussy smells bad please go wash it again = memek elo bau, cuci lagi sono!
do you swallow? = lu nelen ngga?
cowgirl postion, girl on top = lu di atas ya
Let's fuck in front of the mirror = ngentot di depan cermin yok
Stick a finger in my ass and massage my prostate = masukin jari elo ke pantat gue dan pijet prostat gue
I don't want to extend, I want to fuck before this session is finished = gue gak mau nambah, gue mau ngentot sebelum sesi ini abis
go spit it out in the bathroom, I don't want a snowball = gih, muntahin di kamar mandi, gue gak mau 'snowball'? (sorry, i don't familiar with this term. Anyone can help?)
can I trim your pussy hair = gue rapihin jembut lu ya
I want to looker closer at your pussy = gue mau lihat memek lu lebih jelas
do you have warts = lu ada jengger ayam gak
do you have herpes = lu ada herpes gak
snowball = [phrase] gumpalan lendir/peju ... (CMIIW)

MX
Why in the world would anyone want to learn how to say

Don't be scared my stomach is big but my dick is small !!

lol

I am always looking for some witty lines to make the girls laugh and possibily diffuse some apprehensions.

And sometimes the truth is funny.

Certainly there are times when Indonesian girls seem genuinely concerned that a white python will spilt them in two and are reluctant to go to the room. Letting them know that there is only an albino earthwarm can alleviate some of their concerns.

Mx

Snowball / Snowballing
The act of transferring semen from one person's mouth to another, or to put it a little more crudely - cum sharing!

An alternative could be:

"Gue badan besar tapi kontol gue kecil aja"

(My body is big but my cock is small)

Amd you could add,

"Kamu suka besar atau kecil?"

(you like big or small?)

That should set the mood right.

For myself I often say,

"Gue tidak lama, satu, dua tiga keluar aja"

(I am not long lasting, 1, 2, 3 and cum)

and, they always look unbelivingly at me!

And it breaks the ice!

Wicked Willy I know what snowballing is (but thankfully not viscerally), but the first gracious Indonesian translator didn't know what is was. And I certainly want to make sure that I can tell any girl not to spit in my general direction.

Thanks Xen for the compilation, starting a place for others to contribute their experience, and thanks again MongerX for the personal tour last summer. This thread has got to be EXTREMELY helpful to anyone visiting Jakarta. I will certainly print out much of it and bring it along with me later this month, even though I expect to be with the expert; it will help remind me of dimly remembered directions and new spots I want to explore.

"since I don’t speak any Bahasa"
Yes you do—you speak Bahasa Inggris, “[the] language [of] England.” What you want to speak is Bahasa Indonesia, “[the] language [of] Indonesia.” Everybody seems to make this mistake in their eagerness to show off, so I’m one-upping you all. “Bahasa” just means “language.” It’s similar in Thai, “passar (sp?) Thai” and “passar Ingrish.” And maybe one day I'll even speak bahasa Indonesia as we

Ok, I apologize for that self-serving comment, it’s a pretty measly contribution to the extensive information above.

I stayed at Travel Hotel two nights, and it was OK, an Asian-oriented/decorated hotel. I had a Royal Suite or something like that, 480K Rp. a night, regular rooms are around 300K. The two-room suite was decent and roomy. It had a Jacuzzi in the bathroom, but no shower except the hand-held type, so you could squat like the locals to bathe, and some of the tub hardware wasn’t working well. I really liked the on-site ST, with one of the horniest, hottest-performing girls I’ve ever had the pleasure with. I got there shortly after its opening (assigned to Room 1), and found a roach on the bed when we entered the ST room. And you can mingle with the karaoke girls in the hallway and snack bar in the evening, they’re a little older but some cute ones, and very friendly towards this bule.

One possible correction: In the Blok M section, MongerX recommends turning right out of My Bar to get to the line of taxis. There may be taxis to the right, but we turned left. Was that a typo, MX?

Oops Hunterman is correct, you want to exit My Bar and turn LEFT to find the Blue Bird taxis a the T-junction.

Can anyone please tell me what the acronym or abbreviation SYT (in reference to ladies from Indonesia/Jakarta) means?

Xen, this is a guess, "Sweet Young Thing"?

Merlin is correct Sweet Young Thing.

I thought it was " shit your trousers " ! lol

Gentlemen, please help me fill in some blanks.

I'd like to possibly take some sort of "combo trip" (not to be confused with Cambo trip) this Spring, and thanks to reports like this, strongly considering at least five days in Jakarta.

I'm thinking flying from the US to Singapore. From what I've gleaned, Singapore, for my purposes, is only a jumping off point for more exotic locales.

How much would a ballpark RT ticket from Singapore to Jakarta cost in USD? Would a better option be crossing into Batam and flying to J from there? Would the hassle of going that route be worth it for a first-timer?

Also, I understand there are flights from Singapore directly to Clark Field in AC. What is the name of the airline and how much would the RT ticket cost in USD?

Also, am I correct in my assumption that the Sparks Hotel is damn near Ground Zero in Jakarta?

If the trip evolves as hoped, maybe some other guys will "be in the neighborhood" to show a newbie around...

I'm thinking flying from the US to Singapore. From what I've gleaned, Singapore, for my purposes, is only a jumping off point for more exotic locales.

Good idea, and I agree 100%. You might try a night or two in Singapore, however, if you have the time and don't rationalize the relatively low bang for the buck (from what I've gleaned from the stellar Singapore reports on this site).

How much would a ballpark RT ticket from Singapore to Jakarta cost in USD?

Check out Zuji.com and jetstarasia.com for prices from SIN-CGK. I'd imagine $150 USD should do the trick.


Would a better option be crossing into Batam and flying to J from there? Would the hassle of going that route be worth it for a first-timer?

Yeah, it's significantly cheaper to fly from Batam, but not a wise use of time/effort if you're only interested in getting from SIN-Jakarta and don't want to check out Batam first. And when you factor in taxi and ferry costs (and time wasted) it's a better idea just to fly from SIN. Again, though, if you have the time, you might like Batam. It ain't Jakarta, but there are plenty of places to hook up cheap all-nighters with hot, horny girls.


Also, I understand there are flights from Singapore directly to Clark Field in AC. What is the name of the airline and how much would the RT ticket cost in USD?

www.tigerairways.com, prices are GREAT if you book early enough to get one of their sales. I paid more than 200 USD for traveling during new year's, though, so it ain't foolproof.

Also, am I correct in my assumption that the Sparks Hotel is damn near Ground Zero in Jakarta?

Only if you like short time brothels! It seems to work extremely well for most members of this site.

Re: peole being here to show you around, your travel schedules really yin and yang with mine. There's a bunch of us here right now and another contingent arrives in AC today. We'll toast the New Year in your honor!

GREGORIO: Porker has good advice, I'm trying to get out there again and have looked into every imaginable way to get there.

Singapore has got some decent p4p in Geylang is worth a look (veritable buffet of diff't nationalities), Batam is worth a look if you have time.

AirAsia is good but I'm having trouble getting refunds, seems the tix I got are not refundable.

Singapore Air flies directly into SUBURAYA or JKT from Singapore. MOre expensive, but fully refundable and you get UA Star Alliance miles.




(Message edited by merlin on December 30, 2005)

Thanks for the update guys. I've just crossed Jakarta completely off the list. This "lots of hot, horny girls and short-time brothels" thing, I just don't see the attraction...LOL

Oh yeah, one other question, does Jakarta have 24/7 freelancer joints like the Walkabout in PP?

Gregorio, look into ValuAir as one option for flying into Jakarta from SIN. They're a great airline.

Regarding your freelancer question, I don't think anyone has found one yet, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

Mura, MX, Porker, sorry I missed y'all in JKT, tried mightily to get out by New years. Finally made it to SUB and now in JKT. SUB is decent but I prefer JKT better, much more consistently better looking girls IMO in JKT. The SUB discos were better to find doables than Dollys.

GREGORIO, just by accident, I got into JKT and my hotel after midnight and went to Millenium disco and Stadium (24 hr disco), and these places had some freelancers.

The 4th floor disco at Stadium had about a dozen freelancers well into the morning hours. Seems many of the freelancers from all over that haven't hooked up go to Stadium to hangout. Not the cream of the lot, but several doables.

Hey Merlin, sorry I missed you too. IMHO the best talent the last two weeks has been in the 3rd floor Stadium, Bintang Mawar (some absolute stunners in here now), Sari Ayu, and TC's. Places that are down from where they were before: Siera and LA Bar. As usual I had no problem some very enthusiastic hotties. Also, you should try and check out Sands Executive Entertainment Club. A visit to to the Health Spa on the 7th floor almost became a daily event. Another place I think you might want to check out is Sumo Shiatsu in Kelapa Gading (ask Hunterman) I only went it for a look see. This is a high end health club - brothel super complex. The set up was really sweet and unlike other similar places it was crawling with girls all over the common area. Saw some great looking local girls where it was 500K for 90 minutes of Body Massage and my tour guide said that price was "all in" There are also mainland Chinese girl and Uzbek girls who are 1.5 million and that price is not "all in." It's pricey but I was very impressed with what I saw and going back for a local is high on my to do list.

MX, HM did mention Sumo and Sands, but I haven't had a chace to get out there yet. HM and I also like the 6th floor Melawi Hotel which had several ample tittie hotties, albeit a bit older than in other areas. Great services here.

We did hit several places you mentioned and I can confirm 3rd floor Stadium, Sari Ayu and TCs had a very good line up these past few days.

Just wanted to confirm that my last trip to Indonesia wasn't a fluke, it's definitely one of my favorite places with lots and way more pretty girls than I can shake a stick at with usually great service.

This thread may well prove to be another decisive "turning point" in my life. It's having the same effect as Sancho's "walking into Cambodia" work a couple of years back. WOW...

Silver Bird Taxi Queue for International Arrivals at CGK

The Blue Bird taxi group justifiably enjoys the best reputation amongst taxi companies in Jakarta. If you arrive at CGK (Jakarta International Airport) Terminal 2 (International and Garuda domestic flights) you can get a Silver Bird taxi by exiting curbside and going to a Silver Bird Taxi Queue. Here is the sign you should look for.



You should ignore all the taxi touts that will approach you. Silver Bird is a new larger car with more experienced drivers than their Blue Bird Brothers. However, the Silver Bird will cost you about 25% more than a Blue Bird.

When you take a Silver Bird you are expected to pay an airport taxi stand fee (8K rupiah I believe) and the tolls (9000K if you are going to the kota hotels.) The taxi meter should be about 100K and just top up the meter amount with another 20-30K. I you arrive at the Domestic terminal you can find Blue Birds taxis outside. Just walk to the curbside and walk along until you find a blue bird taxi parked.

Since the government has reduced the amount of the gas subsidy, taxis have gone up about 30% in price. Please take this into account when you see old reports of how much a taxi ride should cost.

Silver bird taxis were very nice, clean and spacious; they are the only taxis that serviced the nicer hotel called Mulia. But it was noticeably more expensive than bluebird, their meter seemed to be on "high-speed" cost me almost 80K rupias from Mulia to Orchard Amir (usually 50-60K).

The meter on my silver bird a couple weeks back was 120K, and including the airport fee and tolls, it was about double what I expected to pay with bluebird. I think blue bird taxis are available from the international terminal like they are from domestic, but you may have to wait around for one.

I paid 180K for a silver bird going from the airport to Rekso, but only $90K for a blue bird coming from Rekso to the airport. Take note.