There's no such thing as a free lunch...Or is there?

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It's official. The next president of Indonesia is former army general Prabowo Subianto. Quite how the next five years will pan out is anyone's guess but hopefully the foreign pundits who always bring up his dodgy human rights record will be proven wrong. Nonetheless, on policy making, Prabowo's popularist move to literally offer the poor 'a free lunch' every day of the week does not augur well for the future. Such a policy - if it ever came to fruition - would cost a phenomenal amount of money and likely lead to huge inefficiencies (food waste) and poor incentives (make people lazy). Another concern is Prabowo's strong nationalist bent. Thus, in the possible event that he finds himself with his back against the proverbial wall in the face of stern economic challenges, there is a big chance that he will simply scapegoat foreigners. But he will have to be careful. Construction of the new capital city, Nusantara, for example, is highly dependent on foreign in
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Taman Menteng, Jakarta

Menteng is the most prestigious residential area in Jakarta; a notable haven for Indonesia’s political elite and foreign diplomats. Suharto’s family still have a gaff here.

Menteng is also probably the greenest and leafiest area of Jakarta and there are a number of parks within fairly close walking distance including Taman Lawang - a nighttime hangout for Jakarta’s transvestites (referred to as banci in local parlance) – and Taman Menteng – a newly-established rectangular-shaped park which replaced an old and dilapidated football stadium.

 Taman Menteng is very small as parks go and you’ll be very disappointed if you compare it to a large city park like Central Park in New York or Hyde Park in London.

 Even so, if you need a spot of fresh(ish) air or a place for a potential romantic or illicit rendezvous then Taman Menteng makes a good choice.

 The park’s most notable features are two glasshouses, which strangely enough don’t seem to be used for anything at all.

Taman Menteng

The park also used to have a statue of US President Barack Obama (who once lived in Menteng as a kid with his mother Ann Dunham and stepfather Lolo Soetoro) but it was quickly removed after Indonesian nationalists questioned the wisdom of having a statue of a foreign politician in an Indonesian park.

Barack Obama statue in Menteng, Central Jakarta

There are a number of decent restaurants on Menteng’s main high street and which are only a short walk from the park. Sate Senayan serve good Indonesian grub, Gandy’s Steak House do juicy steaks, and if you are seeking a blast from the past, the venerable Miranda Restaurant will take you back to the 1970s. Swell!

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