Finding Jakarta's Hidden Sex Tavern
There were two young female DJs in the middle of the nightclub. Pumping out electronic and house music for hours at an end, she was in the clubbing mood herself, completely ignoring the gaze of the massive crowds thronging around her DJ table and perhaps even forgetting the fact that they are in a mega-club in which the clientele did not really dance. Instead, a massive elevated performance platform, lighted from the bottom, surround the DJ table, showing female dancers at work. The mostly male clientele looks on as the dancers display energy and surprisingly good choreography.
Then, just as the DJs switch into another song for their set, the dozen girls doing their dance routines suddenly stop simultaneously...without the slightest hesitation, they remove the hot jean shorts and tight T-shirts that were their dance costumes, revealing the tiny bikinis, and full womanly figures beneath. Many in the male crowd nods approvingly, glowing with lusty smiles. But others in the crowd was already a bit too busy, having to repeatedly fend off unwanted solicitations from half-naked working girls walking about and demanding purchase of a few ladies' drinks.
And sometimes, the men just give in, exchanging the titillating touch of a beautiful professional for escalating numbers of not-so-alcoholic drinks (which, in essence, were a third-of-a-shot of some mysterious, watered down blue liquor at 6 USD a pop). The guys at the second floor, leaning against a balcony-like structure opening into a full view of the elevated dance platform and the clients sitting around it. The author was told by the barman that the top floor is for the upper class, opening bottles of expensive hard liquor and bringing high-class escorts while being amused by the scenes below.
It is almost like luxury boxes and the rowdy standing sections of a Shakespearean performance in the olden days. The lowly crowds' reaction to what unfolds on the stage is just as much of the joy for the rich as what happens on the stage. And out here in the elevated platform, the girls just stopped again as the song changes, and quickly the bikini tops came off without delay. The girls showed no embarrassment, just pure focus to get back into the routine, as the female DJs, still dancing away in their own little world, pumped up the tempo and the volume of the music.
When one think of so-called sexual destination in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is probably the last place many would consider to go for this sort of entertainment. While an endless flow of foreigners head to Thailand and Philippines to satisfy their libido without being ostracized, no one should expect the world's largest Muslim country, with a supposedly conservative culture, to have such venues. And indeed, compared to what the author has seen in Thailand or Philippines, this one in Jakarta is definitely bigger in size, with more, prettier girls, and energetic performances.
And perhaps given the lack of Indonesia's (and for that matter, all Muslim countries') reputation as a sex-tourism destination, the girls at the venue displays the sort of intense tenacity unseen in Thailand or Philippines in their effort to squeeze as much cash out of every guy working through its doors. Against the venue's overwhelmingly East Asian clientele, the girls do not take no for an answer. The author was solicited not less than ten times in a course of less than two hours, a few by the same cute girl who just cannot believe she is being rejected.
It is just so surreal to have all these nominally Muslim girls walking around half-naked and soliciting for hugs and bodily touches (and of course, even more if possible) when the news of the day mostly concern the extreme measures with which Islamic groups ensure their adherents are punished for such actions. Even if Indonesian Muslims may seem more accommodating of the liberal behaviors than their Malay counterparts, the complete opposite of modesty displayed in such places are should be un-Islamic in the eyes of the most moderate clerics.
Upon realizing this point, the author felt a sudden sense of connection with the two DJ girls, still dancing away in their only little DJ space while the girls on the platform around them stopped to peel off the last piece of their clothing - their tight little G-strings. The DJs cannot possibly feel comfortable having naked female bodies dangling around them all night long as they explore the cutting-edge of club music. Heck, in an atmosphere where the clients has just as little regard for the music being played as the girls on stage and on the floor have for their religion, it is perfectly understandable why they ignore the reality around them and simply stay in their own mental bubble.
Then, just as the DJs switch into another song for their set, the dozen girls doing their dance routines suddenly stop simultaneously...without the slightest hesitation, they remove the hot jean shorts and tight T-shirts that were their dance costumes, revealing the tiny bikinis, and full womanly figures beneath. Many in the male crowd nods approvingly, glowing with lusty smiles. But others in the crowd was already a bit too busy, having to repeatedly fend off unwanted solicitations from half-naked working girls walking about and demanding purchase of a few ladies' drinks.
And sometimes, the men just give in, exchanging the titillating touch of a beautiful professional for escalating numbers of not-so-alcoholic drinks (which, in essence, were a third-of-a-shot of some mysterious, watered down blue liquor at 6 USD a pop). The guys at the second floor, leaning against a balcony-like structure opening into a full view of the elevated dance platform and the clients sitting around it. The author was told by the barman that the top floor is for the upper class, opening bottles of expensive hard liquor and bringing high-class escorts while being amused by the scenes below.
It is almost like luxury boxes and the rowdy standing sections of a Shakespearean performance in the olden days. The lowly crowds' reaction to what unfolds on the stage is just as much of the joy for the rich as what happens on the stage. And out here in the elevated platform, the girls just stopped again as the song changes, and quickly the bikini tops came off without delay. The girls showed no embarrassment, just pure focus to get back into the routine, as the female DJs, still dancing away in their own little world, pumped up the tempo and the volume of the music.
When one think of so-called sexual destination in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is probably the last place many would consider to go for this sort of entertainment. While an endless flow of foreigners head to Thailand and Philippines to satisfy their libido without being ostracized, no one should expect the world's largest Muslim country, with a supposedly conservative culture, to have such venues. And indeed, compared to what the author has seen in Thailand or Philippines, this one in Jakarta is definitely bigger in size, with more, prettier girls, and energetic performances.
And perhaps given the lack of Indonesia's (and for that matter, all Muslim countries') reputation as a sex-tourism destination, the girls at the venue displays the sort of intense tenacity unseen in Thailand or Philippines in their effort to squeeze as much cash out of every guy working through its doors. Against the venue's overwhelmingly East Asian clientele, the girls do not take no for an answer. The author was solicited not less than ten times in a course of less than two hours, a few by the same cute girl who just cannot believe she is being rejected.
It is just so surreal to have all these nominally Muslim girls walking around half-naked and soliciting for hugs and bodily touches (and of course, even more if possible) when the news of the day mostly concern the extreme measures with which Islamic groups ensure their adherents are punished for such actions. Even if Indonesian Muslims may seem more accommodating of the liberal behaviors than their Malay counterparts, the complete opposite of modesty displayed in such places are should be un-Islamic in the eyes of the most moderate clerics.
Upon realizing this point, the author felt a sudden sense of connection with the two DJ girls, still dancing away in their only little DJ space while the girls on the platform around them stopped to peel off the last piece of their clothing - their tight little G-strings. The DJs cannot possibly feel comfortable having naked female bodies dangling around them all night long as they explore the cutting-edge of club music. Heck, in an atmosphere where the clients has just as little regard for the music being played as the girls on stage and on the floor have for their religion, it is perfectly understandable why they ignore the reality around them and simply stay in their own mental bubble.
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