Jakarta

[QUOTE=NewImage;2257583]In past have walked around Bangkok can walk to Soi Cow & Nana, Patts walk around, Phuket walk around, Kl walk to BC & TC, Phil walk around Angeles & Cebu bars, PP walk from hotel across road to Crycee, HCM walk around district 1 bars, HK Temple Street, Bali walk around clubs and around Legian / Seminyak & monument area. Just thought Jak might be the same. So is it heat or traffic or crowded sidewalk? Never been.[/QUOTE]Jakarta is different. But no problem. I think you will like. Bluebird is your friend. My favorite nightspots are Malio / Malioboro, Emporium (any night of the week), CJ's & possibly BATS for FL pickups (especially on Friday and Saturday nights starting around 11 and going strong after midnight).

I always feel comfortable & safe. The food is good. The people are friendly. There are many hotels to choose from at various price points. AND THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THE GIRLS ARE GREAT! as in very sexy & very amourous in bed. The only negatives as far as I can see is that everything is spread out far & wide, there is not much to do during the day, and the traffic during the day and early evening is very congested. Think of Jakarta as a more exotic, less dangerous Manila with better food and arguably better looking girls.

[QUOTE=NattyBumpo;2257586]Jakarta is different. But no problem. I think you will like. Bluebird is your friend. [/QUOTE]Agreed. For those who do not know, Bluebird is a taxi service. Unfortunately, Jakarta is not a place for walking.

Don't expect to be able to walk anywhere, and don't expect anything fun to start prior to 10 pm (Unless you want to go to brothels in the afternoon starting around 4 pm) and you will be fine in Jakarta. For me, the way to enjoy Jakarta is to sleep the entire day to be ready for the night. Then grab a taxi and head out. I know guys who spend all day long on Tinder lining up girls and other guys who like the brothels, but I like going out at night to the bars and chatting up free lance girls in person. I also find the karaokes to be good fun. I mainly go to BATS and CJs. Malio is good to play around with the dancers, but I haven't taken a girl upstairs there in years. I find the party atmosphere with the free lancers in the bar then take them to my place to be much more fun than a one hour brothel session. Then again, right now I have a girl living with me so I don't go anywhere.

We don't walk in these areas because there is nothing interesting to see. It's not like walking in Pattaya or Bangkok when you get to see girls everywhere and look into massage shops every few steps. I've walked from Lokasari to Hotel Travel to Berlian and Kimochi Mabes. I've walked Travel to Classic. I've walked Classic to Emporium to Malio. There's nothing to see and the streets are filthy. Bluebird taxi is your best friend in Jakarta. Dirt cheap.

[QUOTE=Smoothy;2257590]Agreed. For those who do not know, Bluebird is a taxi service. Unfortunately, Jakarta is not a place for walking.

Don't expect to be able to walk anywhere, and don't expect anything fun to start prior to 10 pm (Unless you want to go to brothels in the afternoon starting around 4 pm) and you will be fine in Jakarta. For me, the way to enjoy Jakarta is to sleep the entire day to be ready for the night. Then grab a taxi and head out. I know guys who spend all day long on Tinder lining up girls and other guys who like the brothels, but I like going out at night to the bars and chatting up free lance girls in person. I also find the karaokes to be good fun. I mainly go to BATS and CJs. Malio is good to play around with the dancers, but I haven't taken a girl upstairs there in years. I find the party atmosphere with the free lancers in the bar then take them to my place to be much more fun than a one hour brothel session. Then again, right now I have a girl living with me so I don't go anywhere.[/QUOTE]Also for New Image.

The timezones for mongering in Indonesia are:

Pre 10 am, everyone is asleep, nothing is open, you will even struggle to find a cafe etc to get breakfast.

To 4 pm, options are mall hunting or online. Then most brothels and low end hotel based establishments open but don't expect them to be busy until much later.

6pm. Mid to high end mall hunting. Employed girls in food courts waiting for traffic to clear before bussing home

11 pm. High end bars and brothels start up getting busier as the night goes on. Blok M bars open with light crowds.

2 am onwards. Blok M, freelancers or discos (Fri and Sat nights).

Maybe walk to a near by mall for breakfast. Otherwise, Bluebird everywhere. Note that many taxis have look alike colours so check for a "Bluebird" label and motif.

Enjoy, G.

[QUOTE=BananaBoi;2257640]Bluebird taxi is your best friend in Jakarta. Dirt cheap.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Goferring;2257695]Otherwise, Bluebird everywhere. Note that many taxis have look alike colours so check for a "Bluebird" label and motif.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Smoothy;2257590]Agreed. For those who do not know, Bluebird is a taxi service. Unfortunately, Jakarta is not a place for walking.[/QUOTE]Chiming in with my two cents. There is a Bluebird App available for iOS and Android. It will help you book a taxi in advance if you don't want the hassle of standing on the roadside and trying to differentiate between a Bluebird and a non-Bluebird taxi.

Also, there is GO JEK which works like Uber. You can get a Bluebird through the GO JEK app also. You can also get a moto-taxi through GO JEK. I use this often to counter the notorious Jakarta traffic. Sure, one can argue about its relative safety, but it is way faster than anything else on wheels.

Finally, there is Grab, which works exactly like Uber. Grab bought out Uber's operations in all of SEA a few months back and in turn, Uber has taken a financial stake in Grab. Grab is a Singaporean venture.

[QUOTE=Blanquiceleste;2257737]Chiming in with my two cents. There is a Bluebird App available for iOS and Android. It will help you book a taxi in advance if you don't want the hassle of standing on the roadside and trying to differentiate between a Bluebird and a non-Bluebird taxi.

Also, there is GO JEK which works like Uber. You can get a Bluebird through the GO JEK app also. You can also get a moto-taxi through GO JEK. I use this often to counter the notorious Jakarta traffic. Sure, one can argue about its relative safety, but it is way faster than anything else on wheels.

Finally, there is Grab, which works exactly like Uber. Grab bought out Uber's operations in all of SEA a few months back and in turn, Uber has taken a financial stake in Grab. Grab is a Singaporean venture.[/QUOTE]Great info Blankie! Thanks for posting this.

I wish we knew this when we were in Jakarta in August.

Would publicly like to acknowledge assistance from Natty be, Smoothy, Banana be, Goferring and Blanq. Your feedback gave me a much better understanding of the situation in Jakarta.

When I travel which is only twice per year I try to give detailed and useful information to benefit all. This exchange of information can only make all our experiences better. Once again Thankyou.

[QUOTE=Blanquiceleste;2257737]
Finally, there is Grab, which works exactly like Uber. Grab bought out Uber's operations in all of SEA a few months back and in turn, Uber has taken a financial stake in Grab. Grab is a Singaporean venture.[/QUOTE]I've wondered how Grab could exactly copy Uber and get away with it. Aren't there laws against that?

[QUOTE=Smoothy;2257841]I've wondered how Grab could exactly copy Uber and get away with it. Aren't there laws against that?[/QUOTE]Ride hailing as a concept is not copyrighted to any firm. Every app looks and feels a bit different and uses different algorithms to produce the ultimate same result. A consumer gets a ride for a price. They also partner with different companies for GPS technology and Maps. So technically Grab isn't a copy of Uber. That said, both companies got a rap on their knuckles when the merger happened.

[URL]https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/grab-uber-fined-after-merger-deal-competition-watchdog-10751522[/URL]

Chicken feed IMHO considering the bigger picture. At last count Uber was making losses of $2 bn per annum and counting. The valuation is still fucking sky high. Sometimes I wonder what these Wall Street guys smoke, I would like some of that.

[QUOTE=Blanquiceleste;2257858]
Chicken feed IMHO considering the bigger picture. At last count Uber was making losses of $2 bn per annum and counting. The valuation is still fucking sky high. Sometimes I wonder what these Wall Street guys smoke, I would like some of that.[/QUOTE]That is indeed a good question. And Uber is not the only one. Amazon's profits are teeny compared too its valuation. Economics 101 would tell us that the system is one big Ponzee scheme. But it keeps chugging along.

[QUOTE=Blanquiceleste;2257737] Grab bought out Uber's operations in all of SEA a few months back and in turn, Uber has taken a financial stake in Grab.[/QUOTE]True - except for India. Uber still operates in India and considers it to be one of its core "strategic" markets.

[QUOTE=Blanquiceleste;2257858]
Chicken feed IMHO considering the bigger picture. At last count Uber was making losses of $2 bn per annum and counting. The valuation is still fucking sky high. Sometimes I wonder what these Wall Street guys smoke[/QUOTE] Uber will go public in 2019. I predict it will be the Hottest IPO of the year.

Wall Street always looks at the *potential future* earnings; the losses are considered an "investment" to build the business.

A good example is Netflix, which racks up losses year after year, yet enjoys a sky high valuation. As of December 4th, Netflix stock is trading at USD 275 per share.
Before the recent stock market decline, the stock price was around USD 340 per share. Fantastic valuation for a company with no profits.

[QUOTE=Uncle Volodya;2257921] <snip> Amazon's profits are teeny compared too its valuation. Economics 101 would tell us that the system is one big Ponzee scheme. But it keeps chugging along.[/QUOTE]

Amazon is a different animal with a unique business model. Amazon does make a profit. For the last 4 Quarters, the profits have been growing.
The Amazon Web Services (AWS) business is a Cash cow. This business is growing roughly 40% per year.
Amazon does invest a lot of its earnings in its Infrastructure (Data Centers, Network, Warehouses etc).

Companies like Walmart, Target and others are struggling to keep up with Amazon because they do NOT have a Cash cow like AWS.
For the next 5 years, the Cloud will be the growth engine for Amazon and Microsoft.

[QUOTE=Blanquiceleste;2257858]Sometimes I wonder what these Wall Street guys smoke, I would like some of that.[/QUOTE]It's called low / no interest credit. And investment money, where's it supposed to go? American infrastructure?

Don't know which company you are thinking of. But netflix has made a profit every year since 2005.

[URL]https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/NFLX/netflix/net-income[/URL]

[QUOTE=BKKguru;2258043]True - except for India. Uber still operates in India and considers it to be one of its core "strategic" markets.

A good example is Netflix, which racks up losses year after year, yet enjoys a sky high valuation. As of December 4th, Netflix stock is trading at USD 275 per share.
Before the recent stock market decline, the stock price was around USD 340 per share. Fantastic valuation for a company with no profits.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=NoGermaphobe;2258085]Don't know which company you are thinking of. But netflix has made a profit every year since 2005.

[URL]https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/NFLX/netflix/net-income[/URL][/QUOTE]I look at Cash Flow. You can play accounting games with other numbers on the Balance Sheet but not Cash Flow.
After a Company pays its expenses, taxes and other bills, is there any Cash left in the bank?

Netflix has negative Cash flow which means this company is spending MORE than it is EARNING. (See the negative sign in front of the numbers below).

[URL]https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/NFLX/netflix/cash-flow-from-operating-activities[/URL]

Netflix annual / quarterly cash flow from operating activities history and growth rate from 2006 to 2018. Cash flow from operating activities can be defined as a company's cash flows from operations.

Netflix cash flow from operating activities for the quarter ending September 30,2018 was $-1. 445 B, a 11.36% increase year-over-year.

Netflix cash flow from operating activities for the twelve months ending September 30,2018 was $-4. 223 B, a 5. 73% increase year-over-year.

Netflix annual cash flow from operating activities for 2017 was $-1. 786 B, a 21.16% increase from 2016.

Netflix annual cash flow from operating activities for 2016 was $-1. 474 B, a 96.68% increase from 2015.

Netflix annual cash flow from operating activities for 2015 was $-0. 749 B, a 4646.74% decline from 2014.

Theres another thread where you can burble on ad nauseum, all your facts on Uber, netflix and whatever else floats your boat. This one is about punting in Jakarta.