I have an indonesian girlfriend (normal friends as hang out together, nothing more) She only knew about jalan jaksa from television. I invited her to come over and have a drink together in one of the bars. She didnt really want to, but after some persuation she agreed to take a look. She barely dared to strawl the road (covering her face), but by no means she wanted to eat something in one of the restaurants. (I just could get her to eat something at the kaki lima) It seemed to me she was ashamed to be there???

She told me later jaksa has a very bad name amongst 'decent' jakartans and her family would not accept if she would be seen there.

Does jaksa really have such a bad name?? I find it the most pleasant and safe street in jakarta, why all this fuzz?? Do you have similar experiences?

most pleasant street in Jakarta??? Well that is you and kuku .. personally I think its okay but nothing to get excited about.

long time ago, very long time ago i heard that jalan jaksa has bad reputation. i heard about it from my crazy clubbing friend. she like to eat bule man and she eat only selected bule man.
she told me only poor bule who like to go and stay in jaksa to spend their little money on cheap beer in jaksa. sometime when she go out she told me she doesn't want to date bule jaksa.

its weird that girl is ashamed to be in Jalan Jaksa but she want to eat there anyway. Stereotyping is only valid for stuck up people and stuck up bitches..Duh!

is that girl is you emma??

For me its ok, no problemo. Same2 all streets in Jakarta, no big deal

jalan jaksa at day is nice
at nite people seems take it as nite life place
but i think if you feel fine then it is fine.

The first I came to Jakarta, the first time I heard of Jalan Jaksa, it was about "the place for poor bules"... And the first time I get there, it was on Idul Fitri 2005; it was the only place with bars open for

haha.. how that make snese? if its me, i wouldn't call own myself stuck up bitch right?

The place sure has its uses, however, I know some Indonesians who wouldn't be seen dead there. When I suggested one night to my German mate and his Indonesian wife that we go there for a drink, she looked at me as if I had shit under her pillow.

Its notoriously for some stuck up indo girls. They should come down step their foot back to the ground

In the West bourgeois types sometimes enjoy slumming it it prole holes. This idea hasn't manifested itself in Indonesia however.

I used to enjoy prole holes....Oops, just realised you meant working class areas!

i dont mind going for a date on jl.jaksa, as long as he is HAWT..

btw..i went to a dance club called "tanamur" in tanah abang a few times when i visited jakarta. they got very good musics..kinda a bit wild..but its great, i really liked it! hope its still there, i'd really love to go again...

LOLOLOL... reminds me of something or someone...

That's a gay venue, innit?

It's all over for the late lamented Tanamur I'm afraid chaps.

I think Dolphin hits the nail on the head here. A lot of locals can be quite slow to change their way of thinking on some things/people/places that have certain reputations and thus remain totally ignorant of reality. It goes back to the history of the place.

In the '70s and '80s, a pragmatic Jakarta administration "created" Jaksa as a little "sin city" for foreign tourists interested in things (weed, all-night Pubs with beer, girlies..) They sort of took a page from Bangkok, Saigon and other places.

However, in the past 30 years, dozens of areas/streets in Jakarta have far surpassed Jaksa in terms of vice (girls, drugs, rent-boys, banci) availability and Jaksa has actually gotten much more tame, more conservative.

HOWEVER, the reputations remain for the ignorant people. Most Indonesians (young or old, educated or backward) and the media STILL think Jaksa is nothing but a "den of sin" and forbid their kids to go there.

But they have no problem letting their kids go to these sleazy disco clubs in 4-star hotels or the hundreds of other sleazy places from Kemang to Kota... IT'S all about the reputation, WHICH IS NOT ACCURATE. So I agree with Dolphin, it's the same in hundreds of other places, it's just that those other places don't have the "bad" reputation.

I knew about jalan jaksa is from JakChat!

Jalan Jaksa was a memory for me, now
I didn't know at all about jalan jaksa and I never hear that also before..

when I had to start my days in jalan jaksa..I asked my friend to accampanied me there at night, we tried to find jalan jaksa before the day, we went arround and asked too much with the people frm Thamrin erea to Wahid Hasyim area, then finally we found jalan jaksa No. 11

there's nothing special in jalan jaksa, if you heard that jalan jaksa is a place for poor bule with the chiepest girls..we can say yes..but also we can say no!
almost two years I spent my days in jalan jaksa and it was nice enough..not all of bule that coming to jalan jaksa are poor bule..they were just transit before go to another city..
but well, jalan jaksa is only a name of the street in central jakarta..

I go with you, terra you can be whatever you want and wherever you're

listen mate you haven't lived 'til you've had a Pappa's curry

what you mean to say is, you know you're still alive after you've eaten a pappa's curry ...

pappa's curry nice. i like it :P