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

Sydney 2000

"Let's all meet up in the year 2000.
Won't it be strange when we're all fully grown?
Be there, two o'clock, by the fountain down the road.
I never knew that you'd get married.
I would be living down here on my own.
On that damp and lonely Thursday years ago."
 

~ Pulp, Disco 2000

Usually we follow our dreams. “Look forward toward a brighter future and forget the past!” Or so goes the conventional wisdom! After all, what has already happened is now history and there is nothing we can do to change it. 

But while this is true, it doesn’t mean that we should never look back. Yes, of course, some of the things we revisit will surprise us. Other things may even shock and disgust us. Yet that is the price we must be willing to pay in order to roll back the years. 

And make no mistake: a visit to Sydney 2000 in Jakarta’s bustling Chinatown is a journey into the past. Back to the dying embers of the second millennia when Sydney hosted the 2000 Olympic Games and a time when Y2K paranoia reached fever pitch. The year in which Leeds United finished third in the premiershits and my team Wimbledon were relegated.

Sydney 2000

But that was then and this is now. And Sydney 2000, with the best years well behind her, is still, by some miracle, open for business! Looks can often be deceiving it is true, but in this particular case the venue’s thoroughly shabby and ramshackle appearance provide a good indication of what to expect: a dark, degenerate and very loud club where communication is next to impossible (unless, of course, your ESP skills are up to scratch). 

But some things are best left unsaid and judging by what goes on here - the furtive movements of hands into pockets and the spaced-out expressions on the sexy-looking girls who move like vipers in a liar, that is perhaps just as well.

Raw as sushi but dirty as Diana, a visit to Sydney 2000 really is a visit back in time. 2000? Prince, can you play that song just one more time?

Sydney 2000 
Jl Hayam Wuruk Pert Glodok Jaya Lt 9
Jakarta
Telp (021) 625 0686

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