Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(Jl Pahlawan 41; crab 75,000Rp; 6-10pm)
A unique local institution, these streetside
outdoor benches are generally packed with people digging into some delicious crab. Wear
your bib.
Sari Pacific Restaurant $
(Jl Panglima Batur; mains 33,000Rp; 9am-10pm)
Plush dining, with a menu featuring
tenderloin and T-bone steaks as well as beef burgers. Perfect for a carb injection before
the basic fare up the Mahakam, although portions are small. Live music daily.
INTERNATIONAL
Hero Supermarket $
(Mesra Indah Mall)
Good place to stock up on snacks before heading upriver.
SUPERMARKET
Drinking
Déjà Vu Bar
(Jl Panglima Batur; 10pm-2am)
This complex contains a booming nightclub (admis-
sion 75,000Rp) with cocktail tables and lots of security and a separate, very classy dinner
restaurant frequented by a hip and dressy crowd. The menu includes international cuisine
plus a spectrum of cocktails. Yikes: a bottle of tequila is $150.
BAR
PROSTITUTION
Prostitution is integrated into Kalimantan society to a degree perhaps unmatched anywhere else in the world, and
for reasons that have nothing to do with foreign tourists. Most hotel spas, massage centres, karaoke bars (with
private rooms), nightclubs and pubs offer 'the extras'. In some cases the scale of these operations is truly auda-
cious, with bars, karaoke and dance clubs united in huge multilevel entertainment complexes attached to five-star
hotels. Apart from a growing focus on HIV, Kalimantan society as a whole turns a huge blind eye on this booming
enterprise. Indeed, many Muslim-run hotels still demand that couples produce a marriage licence.
