Jakarta

[QUOTE=Rival]Blok M:



Never take a taxi parked in the street in front of the bars.

Walk to the end of the street (or any road nearby to hail a cab) and get a legit taxi (Bluebird, Express etc). They will use their meter.

[/QUOTE]

Guys, save yourself the Taxi grief and get the bar to call you one, they all will and then you can keep on enjoying yourself while until it arrives. It will cost 25,000 iDR and if the hotel is close then arguably you are paying more than on the meter. So what, its a late night tip for the driver. You may be asked to stump up a couple of thousand for the "parking" privilege or else the Driver will pay it. If your bill is over the 25,000 sum you should reinburse the driver out of courtesy as they get flak from the dodgy taxis in the street.
Having said that there is usually an Express or Bluebird lurking at the end of the street as Rival pointed out. If you don't mind fending off the urchins and young mums looking for handouts.

[QUOTE=Cooze Hound]
Having said that there is usually an Express or Bluebird lurking at the end of the street as Rival pointed out. If you don't mind fending off the urchins and young mums looking for handouts.[/QUOTE]

Sometimes you get those jerks trying to get parking fees out on that street also. I didn't know if I should pay it or not the one time it happened.

[QUOTE=Key Master]Sometimes you get those jerks trying to get parking fees out on that street also. I didn't know if I should pay it or not the one time it happened.[/QUOTE]
If you or your taxi are parked in Jl Paletehan for more than a brief drop off or pick up then you should pay them. If you are using a taxi you have called then if you do not pay then the driver will and you should reimburse him. Regardless of the rights and wrongs its best just to go with the flow in this case.
If you are driving yourself and don't play the game wait and see how long it will be before you get a flat tire or your paint scratched down the side ....

[QUOTE=Cooze Hound]If you or your taxi are parked in Jl Paletehan for more than a brief drop off or pick up then you should pay them. If you are using a taxi you have called then if you do not pay then the driver will and you should reimburse him. Regardless of the rights and wrongs its best just to go with the flow in this case.
If you are driving yourself and don't play the game wait and see how long it will be before you get a flat tire or your paint scratched down the side ....[/QUOTE]

I experienced the same last time at Top Gun when a local Sheriff outside demanded parking fee when a Bluebird picked me up, which I found ridiculous, so I told to just drive. But to my surprise the driver paid him himself, so I gave a solid tip, way exceeding the "parking fee". A small amount of money, so I agree the best thing to do is follow the flow.

guys:

let's put this into perspective. these guys patrolling outside top gun and my bar etc. asking you for a tip for opening the door or "managing" the parking spot and are trying to scrape by on a few crumbs. the next time you come out of one of these bars with a testosterone high and one or more girls getting into your pre-arranged taxi, the tip of a let's say 5k rupiah will bring a smile and a thank-you. after all you might be bringing home his sister, cousin, wife, or girlfriend. don't make a scene. pay the man the the fifty cent tip ! lose the battle, win the war.

af

Pay the man the the fifty cent tip ! Lose the battle, win the war.

You are right and well said We lose perspective here from time to time Just like a lot of us I suspect we sometimes get greedy like a well known Monger on this site who was so hard line on his prey. I think we all need to remember we are privileged to be able to buy what we want and so we should pay a dividend to the guys who might end up protecting us all in case of a issue The girls should always be treated nicely or at worst fairly
Blok M is a place to behave and pay due respect to the people who live off the scene.

I knew an x Brit army guy who refused to pay the girls if service was not up to scratch-yep he literally booted them out of his Menteng condo Now thats hard and short sighted

sorry to lecture guys but...

Jakarta, Jakarta! My first visit in a while.

Before setting off I chatted with a few girls on Date In Asia. Only one actual psycho, a few on the make, but a surprising number of genuine people looking to meet someone a bit different without having to line up in one of the meat (sic) markets that readers of this forum like me tend to frequent. After a while it narrowed down to two who seemed both interested and interesting. One obviously gets off on having a bule b/f as a fashion accessory, which is fine by me. The other is a single parent who can't get out much, wants some attention only a man can give, but doesn't want to get entangled with a local guy. Also fine by me.

A tip to anyone using DIA. All the girls I talked to started out highly sceptical. There are obviously loads of guys who claim to be one thing and later on turn out to be something entirely different. So start honest and stay honest; otherwise, if you do find a genuine friend, you've screwed it up before it ever got started. And webcams are a no-no with anyone genuine; if you ask they will have alarm bells ringing, if they offer it's almost certainly going to end up as a commercial arrangement.

Between times, I looked in on T&C around midnight and the place was worse than dead. Tried out Oasis Spa opposite Lokasari Plaza around midday. It was quiet. Only a few girls. But what put me off was the tatty run-down feel of the place. I can cope with seedy, which Melawi Floor 6 certainly is. Early evening and the place was knee deep in girls but no customers. Fixed price of IDR 450k with tip at your discretion. The girl I picked seemed delighted just to have a customer. Lintas Melawi next door is no more. Pity, I liked that place because you could actually dance.

CJ's at the Mulia was busy. I went in my capacity of fashion accessory, so only window shopping, and there was plenty to look at. The band was bad even by Jakarta standards. I was praying for them to end their set; then the DJ turned out to be even worse! Tiga Pulah at Le Meridien was similar for talent and rather better for entertainment.

Did I read somewhere in the Forum that Top Gun was going downhill? No way from what I saw; it was just as magnificently sordid as ever. Being already well looked after, my Plan A had been to have a beer in each of the bars along the street for old times sake and then home for an early-ish night, but I never made it out of Top Gun. Among various Close Encounters of the Jakarta Kind, I chatted to a woman who could have been even older than me, which takes some doing (being older than me I mean). I am certain the massage she offered would have been intense and done my back and other parts the world of good. Got hotly and repeatedly propositioned by a girl young enough to be my granddaughter, with the option of her friend as well as a package deal. And then I caught a dazzling smile from a girl who can only be described as genuinely beautiful. When she turned out to be funny and intelligent as well, Plan A flew out the window.

Maybe I just didn't notice on previous visits, but there seems to be many more girls working the streets. I spotted a regular line up all along Harum Waruk and also on the streets around Jl Paletehan. I wasn't shopping so I can't say anything about the terms of trade.

Oh! Jakarta.

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[QUOTE=Gzono]Pay the man the the fifty cent tip ! Lose the battle, win the war.[/QUOTE]

I don't know. Most times it's not a problem. But sometimes it's just too ridiculous for my conscience to accept.

For example, one time in north Jakarta, there was a time when there were no taxis, so we walked far away from the bar area looking for a taxi (we probably walked for 10 minutes) and a "parking" guy followed us the entire time trying to sell us drugs. We told the guy about 20 times to stop following us because we were not going to buy any drugs from him, but he was persistent and kept following us asking us over and over to buy drugs from him. We finally reached the main road (Hayam Waruk) and waived a blue bird taxi down. When the taxi stopped to pick us up, the drug dealer/parking guy asked us for a tip. We asked him "a tip for what? for bugging us the entire long walk to the main road trying to sell us drugs? no thanks". Then he said he wanted 10,000 rupiah "parking money". We told him we weren't about to give him parking money for a taxi from the main road that we flagged down ourselves. He then started pounding on the top of the taxi screaming for parking money. The taxi driver would not drive away, so we got out and asked the guy what his problem was and told him he didn't have the right to any money from us or from that taxi driver. The guy was only about 5 feet tall and probably weighed less than 60kg, but the taxi driver was terrified and gave the guy the 10k rupiah. In no way did that loser deserve any money at all. We ended up giving the taxi 10k over the meter at the end of the ride, but the principle of the taxi driver giving that guy money still bugs me to this day.

Another example is when my own driver was with me at an electronics shop in north Jakarta. He came into the shop with me. As we were walking out, my driver saw a car about to leave and there were no "parking" guys in the area so he ran up to the car and asked for parking money. And the car gave it to him! What the hell? I told my driver I thought that was unethical and if he ever did it again I'd find a new driver. His reply was "money parking" and he looked at me as if it wasn't a problem. But I asked him again to never ask anyone for parking money while he's driving me around. We then backed out and left without paying any parking since there was nobody around to ask for it.

There was another time when I was buying something inside a shop on a side street and there were no cars or people at all in the street other than my car and one other. Another car came driving down the street and blew a tire. The guy got out to change the tire and when the other car besides mine went to leave, the guy got up from changing his tire, walked over to the car as it was leaving, and asked for parking money. He then finished changing his tire and left.

Excellent stories Smoothy. They made me smile. The lack of ethics, conscience and morals is so mind blowing, if you don't smile, you will have a coronary.

TII

[QUOTE=Smoothy]
Another example is when my own driver was with me at an electronics shop in north Jakarta. He came into the shop with me. As we were walking out, my driver saw a car about to leave and there were no "parking" guys in the area so he ran up to the car and asked for parking money. And the car gave it to him! What the hell? I told my driver I thought that was unethical and if he ever did it again I'd find a new driver. His reply was "money parking" and he looked at me as if it wasn't a problem. But I asked him again to never ask anyone for parking money while he's driving me around. We then backed out and left without paying any parking since there was nobody around to ask for it.
[/QUOTE]

Smoothy, you should have charged your driver for parking. Maybe the message would have been sent.

For all who responded whether I should pay or not pay the bogus parking fee even when not on the street where the bars are like Top Gun. I did pay the stupid fee, but I don't give 5k like you guys. I have only given 2k over so many years and still do so without incident. But of course if you've been giving 5k, it's probably known and that's your price. It's still a crock but I do realize that's how it works.

[QUOTE=Rival]Blok M:

LT is 400-500K
Remember: its Blok M, not CJs or BATS.

300K is a shitload of money for an average young woman in Jakarta.
Never take a taxi parked in the street in front of the bars.

[/QUOTE]
Absolutely agree, not only that the taxis parked in the street charge rediculous prices, but some are also technically rather unsafe. Order a Blue Bird at the bar, give 2000 to the parking guy and 5000 to the security guy of the bar that warns you when the taxi has arrived and you will alway have a good treatment in the future.

I have been a couple of times in Jkt and payed 500 000 LT for a single night with a Blok M lady, which was fine with me. Next time I plan to have one of the girls stay with me for a longer time, say five days. What is the custom about the fee, 5 x 500k ?

NO

[QUOTE=Key Master] I did pay the stupid fee, but I don't give 5k like you guys. I have only given 2k over so many years and still do so without incident. [/QUOTE]

I also only give 2k to the "parking" dudes in Blok M.

To Smoothy and other members Hello, Hanging out more in Europe at present but still have fond memories of past trips to Jakarta. Just surfing the web here out of curiosity (or for old times sake) and have just read with interest a few of those bad taxi reports.

Here's part of a posting I did a few years back on the same subject on another site which I have just dug up. Forget the prices, but apparantly the same, same shit happens.

Nuisance Taxi drivers

Went everywhere by taxi day and night and only encountered ass holes trying to intimidate me and rip me off when I was in the company of girls I had picked up from any bar away from the usual 4 or 5 star hotel venues.

This only happens at night of course and don't expect any help or support from the girls with you.

My worst experience was coming out of the Night Club at the Hotel Menteng 2, central Jakarta. [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord140][CodeWord140][/url] take 1) Some scruffy bastard outside wanted me to pay him 100k rupiah so the girl could have her handbag back from behind some counter where she had already paid and left it for safe keeping. This I ignored.

[url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord140][CodeWord140][/url] take 2) Ushered into taxi and Taxi driver would not speak to me or drive away until I paid the usher a parking fee. At this point the girl gave the usher some money.

[url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord140][CodeWord140][/url] Take 2 to high stress level 3) Driver asks for 100 K Rupiah, about 5 times the normal going rate to take us back to the hotel. I say 'No' then we try to get out of the taxi but can't because he locked the doors. Driver gets aggressive and drives off like a mad man with us locked in the back. Where the fuck is he taking us? I thought while nearly crapping myself.

Higher stress 4 almost to breaking point) Then while he is breaking every traffic violation you can think of while trying to kill us all at the same time I try and reason with him and manage to bring his bull shit greedy fare down to half of what he asked for.

The love of my life for that day just sits there like some dumbo and doesn't open her mouth once. Thank you. Where's the help when I need it most?

From being angry to being scared shirtless and then just feeling plainly humiliated, when we arrived at the hotel boy did I make him wait for his money! I think the bastard was told to move on twice while I took my time getting his money together inside the hotel.

Definitely had no problems using Blue bird and Silver Bird but it's not always possible as Smoothy pointed out.

One white colored taxi I used another time seriously stank of sick and made me too smell all night and another taxis meter I used was obviously fixed and I ended up paying three times the amount. It's the luck of the draw I'm afraid.

If you are using taxis a lot in Jakarta, and can be bothered, book a Blue Bird taxi by phone and "pay the extra dollar'' in way of an added supplement booking fee but by even doing that will not solve the ass holes on the streets laying in wait for people like us.

Or, don't be adventerous at all in Jakarta and just stick to the good tried and tested 5-star mongering places like BATS, CJS, Tiga Pulah or the Misture? At the Ritz carlton where there will always be a Blue or even better Siver Bird Taxi waiting outside. But for the Taxis, bad traffic and annoying Ramadan. What a damn good mongering place Jakarta is. Cheers __________________

[QUOTE=Smoothy]I don't know. Most times it's not a problem. But sometimes it's just too ridiculous for my conscience to accept.

For example, one time in north Jakarta, there was a time when there were no taxis, so we walked far away from the bar area looking for a taxi (we probably walked for 10 minutes) and a "parking" guy followed us the entire time trying to sell us drugs. We told the guy about 20 times to stop following us because we were not going to buy any drugs from him, but he was persistent and kept following us asking us over and over to buy drugs from him. We finally reached the main road (Hayam Waruk) and waived a blue bird taxi down. When the taxi stopped to pick us up, the drug dealer/parking guy asked us for a tip. We asked him "a tip for what? For bugging us the entire long walk to the main road trying to sell us drugs? No thanks". Then he said he wanted 10, 000 rupiah "parking money". We told him we weren't about to give him parking money for a taxi from the main road that we flagged down ourselves. He then started pounding on the top of the taxi screaming for parking money. The taxi driver would not drive away, so we got out and asked the guy what his problem was and told him he didn't have the right to any money from us or from that taxi driver. The guy was only about 5 feet tall and probably weighed less than 60kg, but the taxi driver was terrified and gave the guy the 10k rupiah. In no way did that loser deserve any money at all. We ended up giving the taxi 10k over the meter at the end of the ride, but the principle of the taxi driver giving that guy money still bugs me to this day.

Another example is when my own driver was with me at an electronics shop in north Jakarta. He came into the shop with me. As we were walking out, my driver saw a car about to leave and there were no "parking" guys in the area so he ran up to the car and asked for parking money. And the car gave it to him! What the hell? I told my driver I thought that was unethical and if he ever did it again I'd find a new driver. His reply was "money parking" and he looked at me as if it wasn't a problem. But I asked him again to never ask anyone for parking money while he's driving me around. We then backed out and left without paying any parking since there was nobody around to ask for it.

There was another time when I was buying something inside a shop on a side street and there were no cars or people at all in the street other than my car and one other. Another car came driving down the street and blew a tire. The guy got out to change the tire and when the other car besides mine went to leave, the guy got up from changing his tire, walked over to the car as it was leaving, and asked for parking money. He then finished changing his tire and left.[/QUOTE]

Gents.,

In response to your earlier reports, my post follows. (This, by the way, is my virgin post to ISG. I'm losing my virginity right now).

It sounds like what was at work in the nasty-taxi posts was the force of Jakarta gang life and 'premanism. ' Going back to the 1940s, Indonesian cities have been informally organized along gang lines; the Indonesian security forces. Police and military. Have actually embraced the criminal gangs as a way of controlling them.

If you ask me (at over 10 years in Jakarta), the only reason a taxi driver would be scared of a scrawny, under-60 kg guy selling drugs and asking for tips was the fear the seller was a 'Preman, ' or petty gangster. Such preman are the footsoldiers of the criminal gangs sponsored once by military officials moonlighting, and in the 'reformasi' era, by local police chief. The police have done well out of democracy.

It's not really a matter of who deserves what. How many ISG members 'deserve' a $50 tryst with a 21 year-old woman? It's a matter of what you can get away with.

Now, yes, many say it's corrupt and evil that the police collaborate with organized crime. But the arrangement is one reason the sex trade isn't more violent than it is in Indonesia.

As for dealing with Preman: they're often scrawny losers with no authority and can be safely ignored. Taxi drivers may not know the area such preman are working in and are playing it safe because they may be held liable for damage done to their vehicles, depending on the company. Cheaper to stump up Rp. 10, 000 than deal with a Rp. 100, 000 scratch.

But sex for sale has a price; violence has a price; everything has a price. Premanism, organized crime, and the cops or military is just a reality in Indonesia. Ignore it if you like, but there was that famous quote, "I struggled with reality for 50 years, and I finally overcame it."

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[QUOTE=Longhardlook]
The love of my life for that day just sits there like some dumbo and doesn't open her mouth once. Thank you. Where's the help when I need it most?
[/QUOTE]
I think it's obvious why the girl didn't do anything. She has to return there (alone) sooner or later and doesn't want to bear the SOB's wrath.