Why has all activity on Jaksa tapered off? Some here may remember the heyday of Jaksa in the nineties. What is the determining factor in your opinion?

*the 30 day visa. This crippled the backpacker industry because they don't take the time to stay in Jakarta

*changes in Jakarta itself. As the smog, overcrowding and the deterioration of JKT's infrastructure get worse and worse, tourism suffers

*failure of hotel owners to invest in their businesses. Backpackers prefer to stay in an IBIS or hotel on Wahid Hasim than to stay in some of the delapitated dives on Jaksa.

*Death of the International/ Q bar. This was the anchor bar of the whole street. When it went out of business, everyone suffered.

When will Jaksa get back on its feet again?

BB

The govt don't seem to want a lot of tourists here and are slightly xenophobic methinks. I mean even your poorest backpacker is spending more than your average Indonesian in a day and injecting cash directly into the economy . I just don't get it.

Canadians.

What a crappy video and poor way to show Canada. Canada rules because we are positive with each other (in Canada) and the rest of the world. We rule because we have so many different cultures and share and accept these cultures.

Maybe we will be the first country on earth were being “canadian” means that you can be any colour, race, culture, religion.

Noone would be able to distinguish a canadian when abroad, because Canada will be composed of all the various races on earth in an balanced and equilibrated way.

No BS video disgracing the flag please. Go blow something else (please, because i am a polite Canadian).

ice hockey

i always laugh when people bring hockey into these debates. according to the current ducks roster the previous season’s stanley cup winners the canadian ratio to american and european combined is more that 2:1 (15 out of 24). as for carolina there are more canadian players than american 11-9. as for tampa bay, there are 15 canadian and only 3 american. and even detroit…altho european heavy has 8 canadian and only 3 american. so before anyone brings up how AMERICAN teams are far more superior…just take a look-see as to why it is.

**disclaimer-these are from current year rosters…but they haven’t changed much.

but, i like america and americans…just certain people make things unbearable.

Piss, what are you on about?

I think what killed jaksa was all the stds the whores are carrying... that and the dismal looks the whores carry.

Oh... and I strongly suspect that it was in fact Piss who spread these STD's from whore to whore... but this has not been verified. It might have been Kenny.

Kenny could never get it up. It was all me.

It's a combination of things in no particular order of importance:

1. Lack of tourists (because of stupid gov't policies AND terrorism fears)

2. Lack of a really good, hip places to go (like the Q Bar used to be)

3. Lack of expats/residents living nearby (due to KrisMon, which saw the expat population dwindle considerably. Most now live in southern Jakarta or the southern/western outskirts.)

4. Distance from expats in #3, which didn't used to be such a problem but is now due to so much more traffic congestion, higher prices for taxis and petrol.

5. Overly negative reputation in the media and gossip amongst people who've never even been there.

6. The country has gotten much stricter in terms of drugs and other vices, which used to be easy to score without anybody judging you on Jl Jaksa and is not like that any longer.

7. The FPI and other thuggish, moral groups that bash up the place and get on the front page of the papers. This certainly has kept people away, even though it's only occurred like 3 or 4 times in the last 5 years.

8. Competition with other bars/cafes that have successfully attracted the bule/expat/foreign resident market - the ones who may not want a lap dance, but just a beer and some soccer and some conversation with other foreigners. (5 or 6 years ago there was no Bugil's [or its many descendants] or Aphro, so the only choice for a "bule" bar used to be either Jaksa OR places of extreme ill-repute like Tanamur or Blok M).

9. The poor state of the hotels/hostels and some bars. Most of these seem stuck in the 70s and haven't upgraded or even hired a competent janitor -- thus people don't stay on the street if they can help it.

10. The African contingent. (while I personally don't mind them one bit and consider several of the long-time regulars as friends, Indonesians and Englishmen are scared to death of them for some reason.)

English are scared to death of Africans??? Fuck me ric you haven't spent anytime in England have you son? think you will be surprised if you have a look around brixton ric ...

indonesians are certainly scared of the africans. why? maybe cause they're huge bastards with loud voices.

I should have noted that that wasn't necessarily my personal opinion but was told to me by a couple of Bule guys (1 English, 1 Aussie) who used to own/manage bars on Jaksa and had to field complaints from their English patrons.

What Jaksa needs, and I know for a fact there's been some consideration of it, is another successful, well-managed Bartele bar. If he could set up there, that alone would immensely improve Jaksa.

And if some guy (English or otherwise) wants to go to Jaksa for a beer with their Indonesian girlfriend, she will most definitely VETO that option because of that fear of Africans. Further, if Indonesians are afraid of them and thus don't go to Jaksa, then single Bule guys hoping to meet Indonesian girls naturally won't have any motivation to go there either.

Ask the Reveller on his opinion of the Nigerian contingent who occupy the block!

Good list, ricardo. One more thing both of us missed, the security situation. Not that I long for the 'good old days' of the new order or anything, but i wonder if it isn't a factor when backpackers are plotting out an itinerary.

I notice too that the aus, can and US embassies have had travel warnings on indo on an almost continual basis for years now.

Surely that can't help things.

As for the Aricans, I haven't really much noticed them. Out of interest, has anyone had an incident they'd care to relate?

I went to jaksa on saturday night and took an instant dislike to one of the African chaps drinking in Romance. Not because he was African but because he was supporting Manchester United. The management of Romance should know better than to allow United supporters in the bar ... no good can ever come of it.

one thing that seems to have been left off everyone's list, and that is the general decline in backpacker travel generally worldwide. times have changed.

I don't get it either... look at the neighboring country like Vietnam, a country with 85 million people and 8-9% GDP growth, Foreign Direct Investments are pouring in. The Vietnamese government is making smart decisions that move the country ahead of Indonesia, shame.

How so?

Ku, you gotta invite the lonely planet guy, give him media kit on Jaksa. Bet that'll bring backpackers back.

people nowadays are increasingly returning to "packaged" travel. perhaps it's a symptom of increasing prosperity in western developed countries. "backpacking", or free-wheeling, budget travel, used to be the preserve of poor hippy types who perhaps saw romance and adventure in poverty.

who says i want them back?! their time is past, i feel.

Are you saying, less competition for you Mr. Ku?