I have an indonesian girlfriend (normal friends as hang out together, nothing more) She only knew about jalan jaksa from television. I invited her to come over and have a drink together in one of the bars. She didnt really want to, but after some persuation she agreed to take a look. She barely dared to strawl the road (covering her face), but by no means she wanted to eat something in one of the restaurants. (I just could get her to eat something at the kaki lima) It seemed to me she was ashamed to be there???

She told me later jaksa has a very bad name amongst 'decent' jakartans and her family would not accept if she would be seen there.

Does jaksa really have such a bad name?? I find it the most pleasant and safe street in jakarta, why all this fuzz?? Do you have similar experiences?

most pleasant street in Jakarta??? Well that is you and kuku .. personally I think its okay but nothing to get excited about.

long time ago, very long time ago i heard that jalan jaksa has bad reputation. i heard about it from my crazy clubbing friend. she like to eat bule man and she eat only selected bule man.
she told me only poor bule who like to go and stay in jaksa to spend their little money on cheap beer in jaksa. sometime when she go out she told me she doesn't want to date bule jaksa.

its weird that girl is ashamed to be in Jalan Jaksa but she want to eat there anyway. Stereotyping is only valid for stuck up people and stuck up bitches..Duh!

is that girl is you emma??

For me its ok, no problemo. Same2 all streets in Jakarta, no big deal

jalan jaksa at day is nice
at nite people seems take it as nite life place
but i think if you feel fine then it is fine.

The first I came to Jakarta, the first time I heard of Jalan Jaksa, it was about "the place for poor bules"... And the first time I get there, it was on Idul Fitri 2005; it was the only place with bars open for

haha.. how that make snese? if its me, i wouldn't call own myself stuck up bitch right?

The place sure has its uses, however, I know some Indonesians who wouldn't be seen dead there. When I suggested one night to my German mate and his Indonesian wife that we go there for a drink, she looked at me as if I had shit under her pillow.

Its notoriously for some stuck up indo girls. They should come down step their foot back to the ground

In the West bourgeois types sometimes enjoy slumming it it prole holes. This idea hasn't manifested itself in Indonesia however.

I used to enjoy prole holes....Oops, just realised you meant working class areas!

i dont mind going for a date on jl.jaksa, as long as he is HAWT..

btw..i went to a dance club called "tanamur" in tanah abang a few times when i visited jakarta. they got very good musics..kinda a bit wild..but its great, i really liked it! hope its still there, i'd really love to go again...

LOLOLOL... reminds me of something or someone...

That's a gay venue, innit?

It's all over for the late lamented Tanamur I'm afraid chaps.

I think Dolphin hits the nail on the head here. A lot of locals can be quite slow to change their way of thinking on some things/people/places that have certain reputations and thus remain totally ignorant of reality. It goes back to the history of the place.

In the '70s and '80s, a pragmatic Jakarta administration "created" Jaksa as a little "sin city" for foreign tourists interested in things (weed, all-night Pubs with beer, girlies..) They sort of took a page from Bangkok, Saigon and other places.

However, in the past 30 years, dozens of areas/streets in Jakarta have far surpassed Jaksa in terms of vice (girls, drugs, rent-boys, banci) availability and Jaksa has actually gotten much more tame, more conservative.

HOWEVER, the reputations remain for the ignorant people. Most Indonesians (young or old, educated or backward) and the media STILL think Jaksa is nothing but a "den of sin" and forbid their kids to go there.

But they have no problem letting their kids go to these sleazy disco clubs in 4-star hotels or the hundreds of other sleazy places from Kemang to Kota... IT'S all about the reputation, WHICH IS NOT ACCURATE. So I agree with Dolphin, it's the same in hundreds of other places, it's just that those other places don't have the "bad" reputation.

I knew about jalan jaksa is from JakChat!

Jalan Jaksa was a memory for me, now
I didn't know at all about jalan jaksa and I never hear that also before..

when I had to start my days in jalan jaksa..I asked my friend to accampanied me there at night, we tried to find jalan jaksa before the day, we went arround and asked too much with the people frm Thamrin erea to Wahid Hasyim area, then finally we found jalan jaksa No. 11

there's nothing special in jalan jaksa, if you heard that jalan jaksa is a place for poor bule with the chiepest girls..we can say yes..but also we can say no!
almost two years I spent my days in jalan jaksa and it was nice enough..not all of bule that coming to jalan jaksa are poor bule..they were just transit before go to another city..
but well, jalan jaksa is only a name of the street in central jakarta..

I go with you, terra you can be whatever you want and wherever you're

listen mate you haven't lived 'til you've had a Pappa's curry

what you mean to say is, you know you're still alive after you've eaten a pappa's curry ...

pappa's curry nice. i like it :P

you mean, Papa's cafe ???

ohhh...I met alot of young girls there..was hangout start at 10am to wheneever they want..until she find a bule that can date with her I

yes pappas curry its nice n also cheap

i for one dont get the ideal behind snubbing a place because it is frequented by "working class" or the poorer of society.

i can guarentee you that:

1. i will definantly visit jalan jaksa

2. i am far from a "poor bule"

and 3, that any girl whos too stuck up to be seen there, is missing out...



i have had some of my most memorable nights in the seediest of places

I'd rather get stuck into a Pappa's curry than some of the birds who frequent the place. Absolute slap-fest it is.

he he...!

tsunami strikes? What kind of cryptic in-joking is this? Out with the juicy details!

I think I may have claimed to be having a Tsunami in my underwear during one Pappa's expedition. Probably just the beer goggles though.

if Tsunami in your underwear..it's mean local Tsunami

[

No I used to hang out there in the Early 90,s Was a long way from being a Gay hang-out

I lived in Jakarta for 4 years 1991-1995, Frequented every known watering hole ,Never heard of Jalan Jaksa back then

Diyu, it's really hard to believe that you "Frequented every known watering hole ,Never heard of Jalan Jaksa back then"

If you did 'frequent every watering hole' in the early 90s, you surely would have been to Angie's or The Borneo or Pappa's cafe. Maybe you were taken there and just didn't know what the name of the street was at the time. Jaksa is located less than a mile from Tanamur....

BTW Tanamur went downhill from the late 90s onward and did indeed have a big Gay/Banci element move in, before finally - mercifully - dying a slow death.

I dug this up from the JP Archive... It's any interesting perspective on Jaksa that few people understand. Does anyone know who this writer, Bryant, is?? I guess he doesn't know or understand that Simon was just having a bit fun with his wording, but nonetheless an fresh perspective by this fella.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Individuals forming community
Friday, August 05, 2005

Simon Pitchforth's article on Jl. Jaksa (The Jakarta Post's Sunday edition, July 24) did little more than perpetuate the stereotypical perceptions of this celebrated and notorious street. His whimsical portrayals of Jaksa inhabitants indicate that he has spent little time talking to them and much time judging them. Since his idea of fun is to bring his own friends and completely take over a small restaurant, I can only assume he prefers judging people to meeting them.

Not all the visitors to Jaksa are tie-dyed hippies. Not all the expats are "on the slide". The ladies are definitely not all "dentally challenged". Their smiles are wide and bright, despite their often tragic histories.

The "overly-optimistic blowpipe salesman" also happens to be a kind, gentle, intelligent, well-respected man who is always ready to help a friend or a stranger. If it weren't for draconian customs laws, he would sell dozens of his well-crafted blowpipes at the reasonable price he asks.

There is also a man on Jl. Jaksa who is some kind of parking attendant. He is quirky, possibly autistic, and can speak just about any language you can throw at him. I have met a former professor who now dedicates his life to picking up litter, a former hit-man who now teaches at a primary school, a foreign millionaire who lives in squalor alongside the railway tracks, and many other characters who are drawn to Jl. Jaksa for one reason: it is the only place in Jakarta where individuality is truly celebrated.

Unity in diversity sounds good on a coat of arms or a coin, but where is it really practiced in Indonesia? Community with conformity would be a more fitting motto in most cases. The sense of community in Indonesia is strong, and should be celebrated. But in this post-Soeharto era, with the nation fumbling towards freedom and democracy, it is time to also celebrate the diversity within the community. Not just the diversity of races and religions, but of ideas and lifestyles.

The majority of conflict in Indonesia is sparked by one group opposing another, and there are so many groups (and groups within groups) that is impossible to memorize all the initials used in a single edition of The Jakarta Post.

The large groups shout while the smaller groups whisper in darkened rooms behind closed doors. The voice of the individual with an independent viewpoint is barely heard, rarely heeded, and more than likely to get the individual in trouble with the herds.

The characters who inhabit Jl. Jaksa are not wearing it down. They are propping up the last bastion of independence against the forces that rail against it. They are people who took their freedom instead of waiting for some authority to grant it with forms filed in triplicate.

They are individuals working together to form a community, as opposed to a community working to absorb individuals.

BRAD BRYANT Melbourne-Australia

Yeah! I remember this letter. I was very proud. This guy protests too much me thinks. I reckon he married a Jaksa hag.

Don't get steamed up Brad, I love Jaksa really

very good comment from Brad in The Jakarta Post. It just about strikes the nail on it's head. JJ is just ahead in time and a perfect example of how people can be together in peace no matter what religion, colour, race or sexual preference they might have.

not so sure about the peace bit but they are indeed together

Roy's Hair,
Do you know this Brad Bryant? He seems to know his way around the street a bit, so it would seem he's probably a "regular", but I've never met him as far as know... perhaps someone does.

never met the guy. I'm sure he's a lovely bloke. He claims to live in Melbourne though. Bit far to come for a beer.

I like Jalan Jaksa coz of the cheap beer and food. Other than that, it's just an ordinary street with hookers in every corner.

LoL

I just got back from jakarta and singapore, and its true my husband didnt want to go there.To Jaksa or blok m I mean. The closest I got was pondok indah and then we visited some friends out near cinere, where they have built a very nice mosque.
Found a FAB pakistani restaurant -kinda near JIS? Well you drive past jis anyway..Its called aneka bubur. It has THE best curry ever.
I cant believe how much jakarta is changed.Its great now!
Atrium is totally full of "bule" -they look the dodgy ones to me-I don't think they are staying long ..ahem.
I am seriously considering a possible move to jakarta.I think it is loads more liveable than before. Senen is really much quieter( kalilio). Pasar baru has heaps more bikes, but still ok for living. NO worries!!!
LOL at the busway though.

hey! you came to jakarta and you didn't drop into jaksa?! shame on you! jakarta has certainly changed in many ways over the past few years. those of us living here all the time probably don't notice it as much because of the incremental way that change happens.

most of the blame/credit for this can be laid a the feet of bang yos (governor sutioso), who has railroaded through many infrastructure projects. also there has been a high-rise building boom over the past 2 years especially, which has altered the jakarta skyline somewhat (presuming the smog lifts and you can actually see anything).

plus theres a law about seatbelts!! wtf? haha

yep. and laws about smoking, too.

Whats the law now?
Ha - I find those cigarette ads very funny actually( you know they don't show any here in oz)
I remember one and some guys are doing capoiera and then huffing off to smoke sampoerna I guess.

Enaaaaaa..! OMG...kemana saja? never seen you for ages? how are things going with you? how's your lil cutie kungfu boy? glad to see you again Ena! welcome back...

kewl! can i call the cop when i see my bro smoking in public Ku? especially in front of me...yikes! my bro is a stinky smoker, yet i love him to death! i hate it when he hugs me!!

just to dig it up a bit...

i dont see how any "ordinary street" can have hookers in every corner.

It's depressing to see that people have to resort to that kinda work

Hey WD!
Good to see ya . Boy is now a monosyllabic 9 year old welded to his nintendo ds.
And he is learning the drums..
HELP!!!!!!

Anyone with the link to the video of these tabacco ads? I heard they're hilarious.

Ashamed to be seen at jaksa

Back on topic... an acquaintance took me to Jaksa one night. To a place called Pappa. Quite ordinary. No female staff. Several bule, who seemed either too poor, too ugly or too drunk to say or do anything worthwhile. Probably mostly English teachers. Most girls there quite noisy and unattractive. Beer cheap and flat. I won't be going back there. Can't see the attraction... unless there's a place there where I might find any women up for a threesome? Can any of you sad "Jaksa regulars" tell me if there's such a place?
Thanks.

pappas is the worst excuse for a pub/restaurant on jaksa, if you exclude the african speak-easy next door. so hardly surprising you were less than impressed.

Kenny , I really think that you are looking in the wrong place , as asked elsewhere , do you need 3 or 4 inclusive ? possibly a 3 hole doll will be suitable .

Ah, the old two in the goo and one in the poo!

I'm sure they are on youtube-try indonesian ads or iklan or somnthing.Or dji sam soe.
Can we link youtube ads on here Kuku??

sure you can. but not that useful for most of us here in indonesia; bandwidth sucks.

Jaksa is the best place to eat and drink in Jakarta. There is a variety of places all at a good price. Why pay more for the same just because it is trendy to do so? Yes Indos seem to act like sheep and follow the crowd and if they say jaksa is out then so be it they won't go there. Noone is game to say hey that is not such a bad place if their friends suggest otherwise.

I USED TO LIVE THERE IN JALAN JAKSA FOR A YEAR CAUSE MY WIFE LIVE THERE AND THE WHOLE ENTIRED FAMILY AND I FELL SO COMFORT AND FELLING GOOD TO STAY THERE I DONT CARE WHAT ANYONE TELLING A BAD STORY ABOUT JALAN JAKSA WHAT THEY WORRY THATS TIME WAS SO MANY BACK PACKER LIVE THERE EVEN UNTILL NOW THEY STILL LIKE TO STAY THERE DUE TO THE INCOME FOR THE RESIDENT LIVE THERE TO SUPPORT THE FAMILY MYSELF LIVE IN KEBAYORAN BARU WHERE ALL THE EITE PEOPLE LIVE TO ME JAKARTA AS MY HOME BOY TOWN SYDNEY IS MY HOME NOW

klicker, why are you YELLING?

his keyboard is a little deaf.

but yes, jaksa is quite underrated. which suits me just fine, in fact!

Pissed!

well I'll expect a guided tour next time ok.

not really my tipple of choice these days. in fact the older i get the more a pipe n slippers type of gent i become

however in my bkk era i did spend a few good, and bad, years in a similar area. soi ngam dulpee was a run down, sleazy shit pit that attracted skanky slags, the perennially pissed and stingy storytellers

i kept leaving but kept being drawn back to the place...there was a charm about the place and (some of) the people and it had that small kampung type feel where every one knew everyone else and their secrets.

moved on now but a couple of mates didn t

rip

unfortunately, jaksa's time as a run-down, sleazy shit pit are numbered! development is coming, and it's coming fast! in a year or two's time, i don't think any of us will come here for "entertainment" purposes. it'll be wall-to-wall modern commercial establishments.

sounds ghastly

it will be. it will be.

seems the idea is to pressue the "kawasan wisata malam" to jalan sabang and jalan wahid hasyim. jalan jaksa will be widened (on the eastern side) to become a through road, esp. when the new carrefour is built.

but then, we all know the french are bastards.

New Carrefour? Jesus.

I can Understand how is ur GF feels... some people in indonesia still thinking that girls who hangout with western is not a good girl ... sometime they talked dirty to that girl and treath her like a whore .. in fact not every girls who hangs out with the western is whore .. could be friends and or wife like i do
I been visit jalan jaksa several times ... with some friends also with my hubby .. but i dont feel that they ( western or local people there) is thingking negatively about me .. honestly i feel like i bali where no one care what you are ..

I think your GF maybe scare that people in jalan jaksa will be thinking negatively about her.

Swedish hubby?

no... american hubby ..

My condolences.

I've never been there...Should try ones then!

I wouldn't bother.

Ms. Eckland will soon be packing the pounds on.

why CM .. is that bad???

Its not Eckland RH .. its Eckholm

I hadn't noticed your photo before - if that is something of a likeness (rather than some of them used here) - then you are pretty tidy, send me a PM and I'll see if you can fit me in.

What on earth did you marry a septic for?

End of the world sayang, end of the world.

From the website it states, Certified O&M Technician

What does the O & M stand for I wonder??

i shudder to think ...

A quick Google show it as - Operations and Maintenance!!!

Sounds better as initials... Americans love their abbreviations don't they!!!

Orifices and Manholes.

hehehhe .. i think i will take that or perhaps you has better Option ??? hahahhahah

Hi..

I know Brad Bryant, he had been live in jkt for years, he knows alot about Jaksa for its people who visit and live there, the nite life and everylittle things he never missed it. He knows all the people and close with them humbly corner to corner. I was affraid too when he brought me there. I came from a good life, good family and had a great job a secretary but He teach me and show me everything bout jaksa in good way. WE always came there everynite just to have cheap food and drinks, play pool and gathering with best friends and socializing, basicly in positive way. I didnt ashame anymore coz i know Jaksa in better way. As long as you dont do anything bad or support the bad things around there, you will be OK..as long as u showed ur good attitude and respect , u will be OK. So far no one hastled me whenever we go there,even with my complete secretary dress, Jaksa people show me respect coz im with the good man they ever known which is Brad Bryant. He was famous for Mr. Roti, we always had great time in ABSOLUTE and JAKSA POOL without hastles and worries. Now i know why he likes Jaksa coz the people who live with their own way but basicly they just like other people, trying to survive but still humble and friendly. If you want to chat bout this or HIM, ill be honour.. :-)

looks like we have a little "brad bryant" fan thingy happening here ...

Yeah that Brad is a saint.............Mother Teresa told me so......

I live behind Jaksa street, and let me tell you... evry girls that hanging around that street mostly prostitutes, it's no secret any more, so no wonder that the girl fiend of yours are ashamed to be seen on that street... can't you see, jaksa street are full of fags (banci) pursuing bule wondering around those street almost every night, I mean why those bunch of fags and prostitutes are comfortably hanging arounds? Well, it's not my damn business isn't it? I just feel pity for thoese people who ain't fags or prostitute that living in there, people might recall them as one of those desease...

actually, that's not true.

and i live *in* jalan jaksa; have done so since 2000.

if it *was* true, i would not be overly concerned, as long as they didn't hassle too much.

i don't feel sorry for "them". it's called staying alive.

well, indeed it is no secret now that you've told us. I'm sure kuku who's been there since 2000 must be a bit shocked to hear all this.
Check out the italics Sir Romiand. You seem to be a hostile, judgmental little shit.
i'll give you this though, place aint the same since pedro left

Mister, have they done anything bad towards you? Have they ever judge you? Let me rephrase that, have they ever judge what you do, what you wear and where you hang out?

I don't think so.

Well I mention that those fags & prostitutes things aren't my goddamnd business didn't I! So whats the fuss? I don't give a shit about it. I just telling what happened in there, and I'm not judging or shit, it's not my problem and I don't give a shit about it... Once again guys, it's not a judgmental shit, it's just the way I see!!! I don't give a shit about those whose hanging around making a living at the jaksa street, I just give my opinion with the way I see things around, because I lived there, and thats what I saw every night, shit!!! why so touched guys, we don't know shit unless we didn't see shit right??? Damn...

Well you could always move - Jakarta is for the mostpart a dump in anycase, and Jaksa is it's ringpiece. Unfortunately there seems to be this old clique looking back at when it was considered trendy to be on first name terms with the wildlife in your bed, and to wake up covered in puke.

The tarts and fruits and drunken bules are one thing, but the silveries are quite another - I too share your concerns about those buggers.

Dude, WTF? You should read your own post, and tell me if you're not pissed off. Not all of 'em are "fags and prostitutes", alot of em are just innocent bystanders. And I don't need to go to Jaksa to see them... They're everywhere in Jakarta!

there are fags,prostitutes,bancis and bules living under the same goddamn roof as me for sucks fake.

Only because you're too cheap to take your bedfellows to a roller-door motel with hourly rates.

Well you have the weekend all alone. Because you didn't get an invite to THE wedding.

aaah but cap'n, you overlook the admittedly little-mentioned dutchman who lives the life of a hermit in his yellow room downstairs. Kenneth Yeung is well acquainted with him

Does he have any more unsavoury habits than Hair and Lambert?

that's a hard duo to top cap'n, but he does have a nasty habit of swimming lengths in his birthday suit, even with guests round, flaunting his substantial fresian manhood...rather offputting

Could be problematic if you didn't have a pool.

Most Jakartans think that Jl. Jaksa is a place of bad things - cheap hookers, poor bules, bancis, drugs and the like.

that's bad?!

I think that's the problem. What's the point of a poor bule? Having cash is our raison d'etre. Without it we may as well... Wait. Shit. My life is a sham.



Pesky beautiful death. Tchoh.

Vulgarian, you may want to go down to SOS and consult with them about your bleeding Strawberry jam, either that are bottle that stuff up and sell it at the next women's get together.......

The Jaksa induced self laceration. You'd be better off chopping ya cock off down there.

Is that from your own music collection then Chewwy?

What's that all about then Chewwy? Heh heh. You ol' Chesney lover.

One step ahead of you.

Bit small for a BMW

Well, i never feel ashamed to go there for drink, pool or chatting with my bf or bule best friends,at first time was affraid but then its changed my point of view bout jaksa.. for me just another cheap area to spend your money to have great fun with friends, of course the image is full of fags and whores but..hei.. thats the accessories ! without them we never know bout jaksa, cheap drinks/food, entertaintment and pool of course ! You should see the other things..jaksa not all about that image though.., anyway..people have different opinion based on how long and the way their experienced it...:)

...if at all possible

Kemang is much more prestigious.

But full of fucking JIS-kids.

They are much fresher. Very young grass!

Warning! I may get angry with posts about kids!

Very, very angry!

Err, I meant fucking kids as in bloody kids, not as in, well...

Jalan Jaksa reminds me of kampung Kuta/Legian. Wish there's jalan Hakim and Jalan Pokrol Bambu to complete the look

Don't Judge a book by it's cover.
Don't judge a place unless you've already gone there and experience it.
Everyone has the rights to say and do something as long as it doesn't against the law.
Why would you spend more money on something if you can spend less and enjoy it? Will it hurt your pride?
Always be down to earth, respect one another.

Life is too short to waste, so Enjoy your life and don't worry, be happy and smile, and the life and the world will smile back at you

A careless word may kindle strife,
A cruel word may wreck a life,
A timely word may lessen stress,
A loving word may heal and bless.

It is better to bite your tongue than to let it bite someone else.

Oh, fuck off.

Stroll on John! Are you 'avin a laff?

What lovely kind words Ms BlueSkyLady. It is so refreshing to find such joy and optimism on this site.
And from Mr Vulgar. The predictable brutish, nasty response.

Boom!
It shook the room!
The sound of my doom!
Then, I smelt the fume!
And heard the death tune!
Played on a loom!
Everything went... Voom!

It was a dark and stormy day
When you went away!
I cried and I cried and I cried,
(I think I nearly died)
You left me for Suzie Caronabularis,
Which was awfully sad,
I felt so bad,
You broke my heart,
I should have known from the start!

Or the haiku:

I like bees, they're so
Yellow and black, and yellow
And black and yellow

I almost had a fight with a bunch of losers who called me names that I didn't understand even after Cuggy translated it for me. But then it didn't make sense, cause I don't know what it means anyway.

Therefore you are officially a DUMBASS!

i'm with you on this one buddy. It may help people when they are sucking unwanted cock, but I wish people would fuck off with their quoted philosophies...

My shrink said I'm witty.

wanker! ur just jealous :P

for honest, i never hear about Jalan Jaksa, where is it?
(i came to Jakarta since 1996.) how poor me...LOL

jalan jaksa is merely the centre of the universe.

Kuku...
hmmmmm.... where is it? in kuningan? sudirman?
how to come to jalan jaksa?

I second that. but I prefer nasi goreng kambing kebon sirih anyway

there goes your social life

I agree, its a terrible place, last wednesday I was so drunk there I chatted up two ladyboys , dropped my trousers, my underpants, and showed them my todger!

In the process lost my hp (probably slipped out of my fallen trousers)so I too am ashamed as is your girlfriend.

but for different reasons. What was she ashamed of?

My mate pissed himself laughing at the time...

Apart from that I think JJ is a wonderful place.