Blok M Diary, May 2004

Slippage

It’s sackcloth and ashes time - the normally punctual Reveller has only just finished the May Diary, and it’s already well into June. The reason is prosaically simple. May was The Month From Hell - a crippling work load, plus an exhausting trip to Medan, wipe out those precious hours of leisure usually devoted to ruminating and writing on the fads and follies of Blok M. His visits to the depths have been rushed whistle-stop affairs, rather than the relaxed meandering which is the Reveller’s habitual modus operandi. Glad to say it’s now holiday time, so the Reveller can fill his glass, put up his feet, and mull over the month that was.

Taken for a ride

Yes, transport is a perennial "silly season" news topic in Jakarta, but one night in Oscars the Reveller reflects that its impact on life in the Blok is really quite profound. Many of the punters and most of the girls rely on local facilities to get to and from Blok M, so any upheaval in the cost, availability and reliability of their transport will directly affect the Blok denizens.

It’s getting tough on the girls. A bajay ride from Buncit is now Rp 10,000 - which makes the return trip a sizeable outlay. His inside sources inform the Reveller that consequently quite a few of the girls have reduced the number of sorties they make, which may  explain why some nights the Blok is rather sparsely populated. The ojeks haven’t changed their price, but there are fewer of them about. One reason appears to be that local inflation is pushing more and more ordinary folk to take an ojek rather than a taxi or a bajay, so the ojek riders can make enough money during daytime hours not to have to ply their trade at night.

The taxi drivers, a mercurial bunch at the best of times, seem to be going through a particularly bad phase. Getting out of his taxi in Palatehan one evening, the Reveller forks out eight thousand for the ride. The clock says just under seven, but a small tip is always appreciated in these difficult times. Putting on a look of pained disbelief, utter contempt and righteous anger all rolled into one, the driver splutters that there’s a minimum fare of ten thousand for all journeys. The Reveller smiles patiently and nods to the driver, then swiftly opens the door and gets out. The driver is all set to open his door and perhaps express his views more physically, but is sensibly dissuaded by the looming appearance of a couple of the D’s Place security heavies.

The regulars recount similar stories, one recurring theme being the demand for a fixed payment of twenty thousand. Now this is the recently-introduced minimum-fare for a Bluebird taxi that’s been booked by phone and comes to your door, and doesn’t apply to street pickups - but that doesn’t stop the racketeers trying it on. Another try-on is the "long way round" trick, where a canny driver can use his knowledge of the Jakarta one-way system to take his victims right round the houses and way off the direct route. Then there’s the "busy road ahead, so I’ll avoid it" scam, which also ramps up the fare as the driver wriggles through a maze of backstreets, alleyways and side roads until his victim is completely bamboozled.

Saturday night splash

It’s a bustling Saturday night down the Blok, and the Reveller starts out the evening in D’s Disco. As the place fills up he moves upstairs to the VIP Club, and there enjoys a quiet tipple with his favourite barmaids and a couple of his cronies. Well, not long after he’s settled in, the D’s Exotic Dancers appear and begin their routine, to the clear delight of the guys.

After savouring the flexuous contortions of the dancers the Reveller fights his way down into the disco bar, which is pretty well packed solid with a seething mass of carousers. Deciding to forego the lubricious pleasures of mingling with the crowd, he descends to the street and wanders of down to My Bar to see what’s happening in there.

Well, it’s the wild side of vivacious in My Bar, so the Reveller struggles to the bar and is lucky to find a seat that one inebriated carouser is just vacating. No sooner is he perched at the bar than a group of girls descend on him, and he’s soon engaged in the flirtatious badinage that he so relishes. It’s a great night in My Bar, the place is pulsing and there are lots of old friends in various states of compos mentis.

After a most enjoyable hour the Reveller, still feeling the effects of his work load and exhausting travelling, decides to call it a night and wander homewards. However, as he’s strolling down the street some demonic urge makes him drop into Oscars for a nightcap, and he’s soon at the bar checking out the fish. There are now only three of the little blighters left - two look vaguely familiar but there’s a new one that seems to be in a real tizzy about something.

And surprise, surprise, up wander a couple of old flames to chat about this and that. And of course, to offer a bit of the other. However, the Reveller is only interesting in one thing - escaping, and getting a good night’s sleep - so he gracefully bows out and wanders off in the direction of the Ambhara Hotel to get a bajay.

D’s Place branching out

The D’s Place owners are branching out - not on the Blok, but down Kemang way, some four kilometres to the south east. Now Kemang Raya [High Street] has over the last couple of years become the West End of south Jakarta - a glitzy parade of flashy shops, boutiques, eateries and salons that complement that venerable institution, Kem Chicks supermarket. It’s the social and shopping hub of the local community, and with a fair wind behind it the new venture should do very well.

Now an awful lot of the wealthier expats dwell in Kemang - which, as fate would have it, is a mere stone’s throw from Bangka and Buncit, where many of the Sweet Young Things live. There’s potential for synergy in this fortuitous proximity, and thereby hangs a tale. One reason some of the guys have forsaken Jalan Palatehan is that it’s become a bit too hot for them. Everyone knows everyone else on the Blok, which is both a blessing and a curse - the latter especially if you’ve got a new girlfriend. Hell hath no fury as an ex-girlfriend when she sees her late beau arm-in-arm with a new bit of fluff, and things can get Rather Ugly. Similarly, guys who like to spread their affections more widely all too often have close encounters of a particularly nasty kind when one of their paramours catches them in flagrante delicto with another one. For them, a new watering hole, far from the madding crowd, could be just what the doctor ordered.

So, come June 18th there’ll be a welcome new D’s Place on Kemang Raya - based on the same three-level design as the Palatehan bar/disco - and sporting a rooftop-garden VIP Club! Of course, it’s not connected with the Blok other than by ownership, but the Reveller will treat it as a sibling and report on it in a "from the colonies" sideline. Follow developments on the D’s Place web site, dsplace.jakartablom.com.

My Bar, the nightspot on steroids

My Bar continues to thrive. The raw energy of its management has carved out its place on the Blok, and at the weekend it’s standing-room only in there. To find out what My Bar has to offer, and keep up to speed on planned events, attractions and promotions, visit the brand-spanking-new My Bar web site at MyBar.jakartablokm.com.

One particularly interesting bit of news is that the owners have expansion plans at a fairly advanced stage, and will be extending and developing the facilities in line with clamours from the customers - and the Reveller is assured that this will include an improvement in the present bar/dance floor bottleneck. Watch this space, quite literally!

Of particular interest to the well-heeled carouser is the amazing (and growing) variety of cocktails that the place has on offer. Some contain a mind-blowing mixture of exotic spirits and juices that would knock out a horse - one day when he’s got money to burn the Reveller promises himself a fling at a couple of these lethal blends.

Epilogue

Well, May is past and gone. By all accounts it was a good month on the Blok, and the Reveller wishes that he’d been able to see more of it. With My Bar’s ambitious expansion plans and D’s Place’s imminent colonizing of Kemang, there’s a feeling of bullishness and optimism down the old place. As long as the upcoming Presidential elections keep on an even keel and there’s an uneventful transition to a new order, things are looking promising. June should be a great time for the Reveller, as he’s got a whole month’s holiday in which to recuperate and write about his favourite place.