Red Light Districts

[Goodguy1 179]

Greater Jakarta is a place where one can find a considerable potential for escort services and prostitution hotspots. Jakarta has a number of un-marketed red-light districts that are popular among the expat communities.

[Guest Jakarta Red Light Areas]

Here are some places where one can find prostitutes in Jakarta.

 

There are many places with ‘red light activities’ in Jakarta. Clubs, cafes and ‘Ayam’ bars are hotspots pursued by the 20,000 of hookers in Jakarta. Well known visited places for partying in South Jakarta include Blok M, Kemang, Senayan, Gatot Subroto, Rasuna Said and Sudirman Street (Gold Triangle). Areas in Central Jakarta include Menteng, Sarinah and Plaza Indonesia.

 

Jalan Falatehan in Blok M area is mostly visited by older American and British men. Quite near to Blok M is an area called ‘Little Tokyo’, a larger red light district that caters more specifically to Koreans and Japanese. Clubs that are popular in Blok M include Top Gun, Oscar, My Bar, Highway to Elle, and Bar M.

 

In North Jakarta, there are some red light districts, including Pecenongan, Kota, Lokasari, Gajah Mada, Ancol, and Hayam Wuruk. North Jakarta caters to locals and expats alike and may even be referred as the biggest red light district in the world. Most clubs located in North Jakarta have escorts who are readily available.

 

Kota, an old Jakarta city center, has a nightlife that brings a wide array of entertainment options under the same roof but it is known for another reason as well. Some say that the top hookers or the most beautiful ones can be found here, in places like the Golden Crown, Sun City, Alexis, and Malioboro. These places even have ‘imported prostitutes’ and have prostitutes of different nationalities.

 

Ancol and Bongkaran are other red light district in Jakarta known for cheap prostitution. Owing to the low cost of places to live in, Bongkaran has about 300 hookers living in the area and enjoys an influx of customers each day. Other areas can include Pluit, Taman Anggrek and Permata Hijau.

[Guest sex work Jakarta]

Pasar Rumput is a great place to visit during the day if you are a tourist or an expat. It is close from the city center, and only 5 minutes away from Jalan Sudirman or Jalan Rasuna Said.

 

It is one of the biggest traditional markets in the center of Jakarta, and I don't think it will be long before new towers and buildings replace it. It is a bit dark, but still, you can see some very colourful stalls and people will be quite amused to see you wandering in its alleys. Great place to take photos as well:

 

Surprisingly, it is also a famous area for low-end nightlife, along with nearby Pasar Manggis and the Manggarai Railroad. You will never see an expat in there, nor a colleague, but maybe your ojek driver or your gardener. In Pasar Rumput, you will find everything there can be, just like in Kota's biggest one stop entertainment (except for the spa): Massage Parlours, Karaoke, Discos, Bars, etc.. Prices are extremely low: Rp. 50,000 for a massage, Rp 25,000 for a large beer. I had the chance to meet with the security guards of this night club called Pantura Bar, a venue for dancing and listening to dangdut. It has opened only a few months ago and it is the biggest in Pasar Rumput. It is very basic but not that dirty. I'm sure any night out starting out ending here will be great fun...

 

One floor under is where dozens of massage parlours and beauty salon can be found. Apparently most of the tenants are gays and/or ladyboys, which is not surprising since Pasar Rumput is very close for Jakarta's "bencong" district (ladyboy) in Taman Lawang. I don't know what kind of service is provided in the little massage room, but judging from the look of the masseuse I talked to, I would say it is most likely a plus-plus..

Source jakarta100bars.com

[Guest Jakarta red light district]

Some information I found from thejakartapost.com. Quite interesting to read. Some of the things kind of freaked me out.

 

Prostitution has been in Cipinang since as early as 1993, centering in a park near the Jatinegara station. 

 

“There used to be only transgendered prostitutes here,” recalled Ukim, a street vendor operating near the station. 

 

But public order officers had driven them out four years ago, he said. 

 

“Such measures eventually failed to deter the business, as the transvestites, along with female prostitutes, moved to sidewalks to net customers,” said Ukim. 

 

Every night, from around 8 p.m. until around 3 a.m., girls, dressed in alluring outfits, lined the sidewalks to lure customers.

 

Most of the prostitutes are from Indramayu, a coastal city in northern West Java. 

 

The prostitutes charge customers around Rp 50,000 (US$5) for a short time in a small tent beside the railways near the Jatinegara station, or Rp 250,000 (US$25) in nearby lodges. 

 

Another infamous red-light district is Bongkaran in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta — only few meters from the Tanah railway station, the iconic Tanah Abang traditional market, the Jakarta textile museum and a police post. The area is also two kilometers away from the headquarters of notorious hard-line group the Islam Defender Front (FPI) on Jl. Pejompongan. The FPI has regularly used violence to crack down on places they deemed against Islamic values such as bars, clubs and karaoke parlors.

 

Sexual transactions at Bongkaran take place day and night in shabby shacks along the railway or in cheap hotels nearby. The area has existed since the 1960s, and attracts high-income people as well. When The Jakarta Post was recently on site, a black Toyota Alphard was seen picking up a prostitute and taking her to a nearby hotel.

 

Unlike Cipinang, where nearly all of the prostitutes are from outside Jakarta, Bongkaran pools many prostitutes who live nearby.

 

Customers are usually charged between Rp 50,000 (US$5) and Rp 150,000 (US$15) for a short time.

 

In 2000, prostitution in Bongkaran was only centered in the vicinity of the Tanah Abang bridge and the railway below it. Today, it has expanded by a radius of around 50 meters, stretching nearer to the Tanah Abang railway station.

 

Prostitution in Bongkaran, however, is prohibited every Thursday night due to an instruction from local leaders — who are of Betawi ethnicity — to respect Islam’s holy day of Friday.

 

Urban experts have repeatedly blamed weak law enforcement and a lack of coordination among government agencies for the mushrooming prostitution.

 

“The local administration should treat the prostitution problem as an emergency, considering it’s the tip of the iceberg of all the other social ills,” said Nirwono Yoga, an urban analyst at Trisakti University. 

 

“It’s nearly impossible to eradicate prostitution. It’s about time to create special clusters for prostitutes so that the city administration can easily control their health, and limit the practices.” 

 

According to prostitutes operating in Cipinang and Bongkaran, the last time they received a health inspection by the local administration to detect AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases was in 2004.

 

There are no official figures on the number of prostitutes in Jakarta which would allow the scale of the industry to be gauged. But the Bongkaran area alone is estimated to have at least 700 escorts.

 

The Kalijodo red-light district, as another example, holds the livelihoods of at least 5,000 people — from hoodlums to sex workers, brothel owners to waiters, and cigarette and food vendors to local residents, according to West Jakarta administration officials.

 

As formal employment is hard to get, most low-income people are getting profoundly tied to the continued existence of such a district.