Alterity | Jakarta and Bali

In a series of remarkably candid tweets over the social media service Twitter, a devastated Michael Villarreal has described how his beautiful Indonesian wife Sophia Latjuba has done the dirty on him and fallen in love with somebody else. Michael doesn’t mention who the lucky man is, but speculation abounds that he lives in Indonesia since the lovely Sophia arrived in Indonesia a few weeks ago to start shooting a new film. So their marriage looks set to end in the same way that it begun. In some controversy. All appeared well enough when the two lovebirds got engaged back in 2004, but the media soon got whiff of a juicy scandal that created a public uproar. Michael was already married! And his wife at the time (Louisa Ibbotson) was pregnant! Eventually, though, Michael managed to get divorced and married Sophia just four days later on 30 April 2005 in Jakarta’s Anglican All Saints Church. But like so many celebrity marriages, there was sadly not to be a happy ending. So they must both...

My favorite animal is steak. ~Fran Lebowitz You can get the man out of the jungle but you can’t get the jungle out of a man, so the prospect of a trip to this tidy little restaurant in the affluent tree-lined district of Senopati literally left me drooling in anticipation of sinking my teeth into some succulent raw steak. Verdict The Restaurant : Nice laid-back rustic vibe to the place with brick walls, soft lighting, modern seating and a few sofas chucked in for good measure. No vines to hang from but apart from that it was fine (not vine!) The Taste : We ordered four steaks for three people – two for me! – and as you can see in the picture below they looked superb. The taste did not disappoint either – the steaks were juicy, tasty, mercifully free of fat and very tender, albeit a tad salty (not that I don’t like that). The steaks were served with the obligatory French fries (shame they weren’t potato wedges) but a nice touch was the excellent watergrass with olive oil. ...

Everyone has heard stories of realizing the “American dream” - making it big through hard work and achieving success, fame and wealth. But things are no longer what they once were and America’s dominant position in the global economy is steadily declining as Asian countries - especially China, India and those in SE Asia – ascend with ambitious intent. These are the shifting sands of economic progress; the only certainty being uncertainty itself. For Ayu Ting Ting, she must still be pinching herself to see if it’s real. Or just a dream. An Indonesian Dream. Hailing from the suburban wastelands of Depok, this teenage dangdut prodigy was only recently on the demeaning dangdut “sawer” circuit. In these dangdut shows, members of the audience - usually men (and often lecherous men with frisky hands) - pay money to dance with the singer on stage. And Ayu’s fee at that time? Only a very modest Rp250,000 per show. But from out of nowhere she was given a song to sing, a very catchy song called A...

Very few Hollywood or foreign English language movies are ever shot in Indonesia. Even “The Year of Living Dangerously”, a real humdinger of a movie in which a still charismatic Mel Gibson forges an unique relationship with a Chinese dwarf, wasn’t actually filmed in the country (it had to be shot in nearby Philippines because of objections from Suharto’s iron fist regime). And while sections of Julia Robert’s “ Eat Pray Shag Love ” were admittedly shot in Bali, this pile of sanctimonious horseshit is widely regarded as one of the “worst films ever made”, and nobody has ever managed to watch it to the end anyway (most viewers simply fall asleep, although plenty more vomit and have to leave the room). Other than that there is the gritty Balibo , of course, but that film is essentially about the turbulent history of another country – East Timor – where it was shot in all its tragic glory. “Jakarta” is a pretty much unknown B movie (more like Z movie!), which although shot in Suharto’s In...

I’ve explained here why we should really consider direct investing (as opposed to investing in mutual funds) if we have a sizable sum of money to invest. But herein lies an interesting question? How much do we need before we can consider going down the direct investing route? Well, if we only have, say, US$5,000, then that obviously won’t be enough, and we’ll have to put our money into a mutual fund. But what about US$100,000? Is that enough? And why? The answer to this question relates to how many stocks we need to have in our portfolio. Obviously if we only have a few stocks in our portfolio, and something bad happens to one of the stocks, then we will be stuffed. That is why we need to diversify – to eliminate the specific risk of investing in stocks. But while we can significantly reduce the specific risk of investing in stocks, we cannot do anything about the systemic risk – if the market goes down, our stocks are sure to follow. So how many stocks do we need to remove - o...

Nice 'n' sleazy Nice 'n' sleazy does it Does it every time. ~ The Stranglers Never let a woman walk all over you. Although every rule has its exception of course… Welcome to Orchardz, where ersatz treatments, nay therapy, heel the body (if she’s wearing shoes) and sooth the mind. Besides walking all over you, the therapists - as they are so endearingly called - are also extremely proficient in the almost-vanished art-form of soapy massage: the girl massages you with her body as opposed to her hands. More esoteric offerings include the pricey "butterfly" package and the cryptically named ice smoothie (!!!), or you can simply ask for a “normal” massage – although whatever passes for “normal” in madcap Jakarta is anyone’s guess of course – and see how it goes from there. The only real drawback is the spa’s location: it’s a real bitch to find and the traffic in this area can be a nightmare. At night, it’s very unappealing outside and there are ...

This tidy little spa is tucked away on Jalan Kartini Raya in central Jakarta. Quite ironic considering that Kartini struggled fervently for women’s rights. But this is Jakarta and harsh realities will trump noble aspirations any day. As Jakarta spas go, this is the real deal. Value for money and a comprehensive service. No man could ask for more. Although Kartini might raise an objection or two. Wallet damage: Rp500k for a really great time. Spa facilities only: around Rp100k Massage only (2 sessions): Rp200-300k Puri Sehat Hotel and Sp a Jalan Kartini Raya No. 24 Jakarta Telp : (021) 6252721 What can i do for you, mister?

A tearful Julia Perez has been given a prison sentence of three months for being found guilty of bashing fellow dangdut singer Dewi Perssik . Luckily for her, she won't actually have to go to prison. The sentence is probationary and as long as she stays out of trouble she should remain a "free" (?) woman. The verdict was lighter than the prosecutors' demand of six months. Although the presiding judge for the case said there were a number of alleviating factors that reduced Julia’s sentence, being Indonesia’s number one sexbomb was apparently not one of them. The rivalry between the two sex symbols intensified in November last year during the filming of “Arwah Goyang Karawang” (“The Dancing Ghost of Karawang”), a typical Indonesian horror cum skin-flick combo, in which they both starred. The scenes of wild fighting between the two girls, in which they were pulling each other’s hair out and slapping and scratching each other like wild kittens, actually proved to be goo...

Many of the 5 star hotels in Jakarta put on sumptuous “all you can eat” buffets. Although prices have risen considerably in recent years, mostly they are still pretty good value, ranging in price from around Rp200,000 ++ to Rp400,000 ++. Complimentary water/tea is often provided but you have to pay for other drinks. As you can eat as much as you want, it’s obviously best to be ravenously hungry when you turn up. I generally go for a long run or spend a couple of hours in the gym to get a really hearty appetite! Cafe Gran Via is located in the Jakarta Melia Hotel, and as they were doing a promotion I thought I’d check it out. How does it compare with the competition? Especially the legendary SATOO in the Shangri-La , possibly the best buffet in Jakarta against which the competition will be judged. Located on the first floor of the Melia Hotel, Cafe Gran Via has an “open plan” design. This makes the restaurant feel very spacious and you can see what’s going on in the hotel around you, in...

Since making her breakthrough into the Indonesian movie world with her debut performance in “Rumah Hantu Pondok Indah”, Andhien Carmella has found work hard to come by. But while others might be deterred, not Andhien. "There’s no way I'm gonna take this lying down", she cries! Although funnily enough, that’s exactly what she plans to do to get her stalled movie career back on track. “I feel unlucky as I’ve never done a bedroom scene. Up to now, I’ve never even had a kissing scene – even though I want it real bad. Hopefully, I will receive an offer soon,” the star of Rumah Hantu Pondok Indah lamented. Source: Rakyat Merdeka To familiarize herself with the subject material, Andhien has even admitted to watching some of the more “saucier” DVDs you can find up – or should that be “down”? - in Chinatown. Yep, it’s an ambitious and daring undertaking alright. With no guarantees that a full frontal strategy of this nature will work in a conventional (non-A/V) movie. But who know...

A pocong is an Indonesian ghost that is said to be the soul of a dead person trapped in their suit. It looks like this: Pocong, spotted in Kota, Jakarta The pocong suit (kain kafan) is used by Muslims to cover the body of the dead person. They cover the dead body with white fabric and tie the clothing over the head, under the feet, and on the neck. According to the native beliefs, the soul of a dead person will stay on the earth for 40 days after the death. If, however, the ties aren't released after 40 days, the body is said to jump out from the grave to warn people that the soul need the bonds to be released. Once this is done, the soul will leave the earth and never show up anymore. But in Pocong Minta Kawin, a new film set to be released on 13 October 2011, we have an although different proposition. Set in one of Jakarta’s “projects” (rusun), Ningsih (Chika Waode) is set to marry the man of her dreams even though the two of them have never actually met (they “found” each other ...

Without the seasons of the year it can be difficult to track the passage of time in Indonesia. Unlike in temperate climes there are no falling leaves to let you know it’s autumn. And no flower blooms to mark spring. Yes, we do have Ramadan. But it is not fixed and moves forward by 2 weeks every year. But perhaps one season is always in vogue in Indonesia. The silly season. The time after the fasting month – lasting for 50 weeks until the next Ramadan begins – when the most frivolous and incredulous of news stories compete for the attention of the masses. And like the media world, the silly season also affects the movie business. It’s like a game. Now that’s a silly title for a movie. Trump that! And so we have, just a month after Ramadan, Perempuan Perempuan Liar (Wild Women), a real hodgepodge of a movie which focuses not on the lives of some tribal women living it up in the Kalimantan jungle – as you might have first imagined – but rather on the affairs of Mey and Cindy, a couple of...

Jakarta has saved a select few of its old Dutch buildings - most notably the Jakarta History Museum - but many are in a state of terminal decline, literally crumbling into the ground for lack of a clear government plan on how to save them. Not far from the historic Sunda Kelapa harbor are some ancient Dutch warehouses. These are more than 350 years old and – incredibly – still standing having been refurbished to be used as Jakarta’s Maritime Museum (Museum Bahari). I’ve gone past the museum on many occasions in the past – on long cycle trips – but never actually gone inside. This time, however, I needed some respite from the blazing tropical sun and cycled up to the main entrance. A disinterested and sleepy security guard waved me through where I bought an entrance ticket for Rp5,000 from an equally sleepy ticket seller.  As expected, the museum was virtually deserted. Given its inaccessible location not many people make it up here – either foreigners or locals – although gr...