Indonesia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 181

screens for sports fans and live music Fri & Sat in the
spacious beer garden. Daily 10am-late.
Vietopia Jl Cikini Raya 33; map p.178. The first authentic
Vietnamese restaurant in the capital, serving moderately
priced pho bo (Rp50,000), goi cuon (Rp26,000) and other
favourites in a sleek, minimalist-style venue (meals from
Rp25,000). Daily 11.30am-9.30pm.
VOC Galangan Jl Kakap 1; map p.178. Set in a restored
seventeenth-century Dutch warehouse a short stroll from the
Maritime Museum, VOC Galangan serves tasty Western and
Indonesian at reasonable prices ( gado gado Rp13,500). A
vintage car and horse carriage rest by the veranda. Good for
a break from sightseeing in Sunda Kelapa. Daily 9am-5pm.

Periplus chain. For secondhand books, visit Jaksa Bookshop
on Jl Jaksa, or Memories Café.
Market There's an antiques market on Jl Surabaya,
Pasar Cikini, one block west of Cikini Station in Jakarta's
Menteng district, and a textile market at Tanah Abang, a
few blocks west of Sarinah - the oldest wholesale market
in Indonesia (dating from 1735) and the largest of its kind
in Southeast Asia.
Souvenirs The fourth and fifth floors of the Sarinah
department store on Jl Kh Wahid Hasyim are given over to
souvenirs, with wayang kulit and wayang golek puppets,
leather bags and woodcarvings. Batik fabrics are sold on the
fourth floor. For a similarly wide range and slightly better
prices, head to the giant Mangga Dua complex near Kota.

NIGHTLIFE AND ENTERTAINMENT
Jakarta has hundreds of nightclubs and a wide range of
entertainment, but most travellers passing through don't
leave Jl Jaksa in the evening, preferring to hang out in one
of the low-key bars along the road.
Aphrodite Bar & Restaurant Jl HR Rasuna Said Kav 22
W aphroditebar.com; map p.178. Featuring cold beer,
finger foods, a couple of pool tables and a slew of
flatscreen TVs, this sports bar near the Australian embassy
draws a mixed crowd of locals and expats. Mon-Thurs
6am-2am, Fri & Sat 6am-3am, Sun 6am-12.30am.
Cazbar Jl Mega Kuningan W thecazbar.com; map p.178.
Very popular with expats, Cazbar has a sports bar upstairs
with a pool table, darts and screenings of English premier
league football, as well as occasional live music downstairs
(check website for schedule). Free wi-fi. Daily 7am-2am.
Cocktail n Friends Jl Jaksa 10; map p.180. The most
inviting spot on Jaksa, recently renovated with indoor and
outdoor seating - the inside is a favourite for lighting up
the sheesha pipes. A good selection of cheap cocktails
(Rp30,000) and dancing till late. Daily 3pm-4am.
Dyna Pub Jl KH Wahid Hasyim 116; map p.180. One of
Jakarta's most characterful venues, this old backstreet
bar and pub is just a short walk from Jaksa. Kitsch to the
extreme, every centimetre is covered in mismatched decor.
Plenty of drinks (Bintang Rp35,000) and popcorn served.
Daily 6pm-2am.
Stadium Jl Hayam Wuruk 111 W stadiumjakarta.com;
map p.178. The wildest spot in Jakarta, this is a huge, dark,
four-storey nightclub where you can share the dancefloor
with thousands at weekends. They've hosted plenty of
renowned DJs, playing mostly techno, progressive and
house beats. However, it's also known to be rife with drugs,
prostitution and pickpockets. Thurs-Mon 24hr.

DIRECTORY
Banks and exchange Banks with ATMs are available
throughout the city. Cimb Niaga, near the northern end of Jl
Jaksa on Jl Kebon Siri, offers the best exchange rates in town.
Embassies and consulates Australia, Jl H Rasuna Said
Kav 15-16 ( T 021 2550 5555); Canada, World Trade
Centre, 6th Floor, Jl Jend Sudirman Kav 29 ( T 021 2550
7800); Malaysia, Jl Rasuna Said Kav 1-3, Kuningan ( T 021
522 4947); New Zealand, 10th Floor, Jl Asia Afrika 8 ( T 021
2995 5800); Singapore, Jl Rasuna Said 2, Kuningan ( T 021
2995 0400); South Africa, Wisma GKBI, 7th Floor, Jl Jend
Sudirman Kav 28 ( T 021 2991 2500); Thailand, Jl Imam
Bonjol 74 ( T 021 390 4055); UK, Jl Patra Kuningan Raya
Blok L5-6 ( T 021 2356 5200); US, Jl Medan Merdeka
Selatan 5 ( T 021 3435 9000).
Hospitals and clinics The best in town are the MMC
hospital on Jl Rasuna Said ( T 021 520 3435) and the SOS
Medika Klinik ( T 021 5794 8600) on Jl Lingkar Mega, both
in Kuningan. Any Praktek Umum (public clinic) will treat
foreigners cheaply. Dial T 118 for an ambulance.
Internet There are cheap internet cafés along Jl Jaksa,
among them Greenet (daily 24hr; Rp6000/hr), just north
of Tator. Many restaurants have free wi-fi.

4

MERAK AND FERRIES TO
SUMATRA
Near the northwestern tip of Java, Merak is
the port for ferries across the Sunda Straits
to Bakauheni on Sumatra. Regular ferries
to Sumatra leave every thirty minutes
throughout the day and less frequently at
night (2hr 30min; Rp13,000), while fast
ferries depart every thirty minutes from
7.40am to 5pm (40min; Rp30,000). Crowds
of buses connect with the ferries to take
you on to Bandar Lampung (1hr 30min;
Rp30,000), Palembang or destinations
further north in Sumatra.

SHOPPING
While Jakarta has no particular indigenous craft of its own,
the capital isn't a bad place to go souvenir shopping.
Books There are a couple of places in the basement of the
smart Indonesia Plaza, including a branch of the excellent