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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Beer Garden (Kemang)

English pub gardens are magical places in the summertime. The long shadows of the towering oak trees and the easy breeze. The buzz of a bee and a pair of flirty, carefree butterflies. The sweet and sensual fragrance of an English rose. A lacing of foam gently sliding down the side of your glass, the definitive sign of a quality brew…

Such gardens of beer-drinking Eden are difficult to find in the tropics but in deepest Kemang, home to Jakarta’s stressed out expat community, you can find – if you look hard enough - the aptly-named Beer Garden tucked away down one of the narrow streets.
As beer gardens go this one is very small (seats 20-30), and whilst you may have to make do with mosquitoes for bees and a palm tree for a giant oak, it’s still a pleasant enough place to sink a few beers before you head back indoors to enjoy the ice-cold air-conditioning!

Beer Garden Kemang
JL. Benda No.7
Kemang
Jakarta
Tel: (021) 789 1145
6pm- 2am (3am on weekends).
Live music on Wednesdays and weekends (acoustic)

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