[azulsombra]

Any forum members been to both manila and jakarta to compare?

[DirectDanger]

@Fisto has been to Bangkok then Jakarta then Manila. You can check out his thread it is full of great info.

[Vacancier Permanent]

I think Scotian too did spend time in all 3 BKK, Manila and Jakarta. Didn't you bud?

[Brodiaga]

(12-18-2013 11:53 PM)DirectDanger Wrote:  

@Brodiaga

Can you talk about some comparisons to other places in SEA you have been. How did you find the English level of the girls and just generally of the people you would meet like taxi drivers and people working in stores.

I didn't go to Bangkok this time, so I can only compare Jakarta against what BKK was a few years ago. I'll write a separate comparison post later, a little busy right now.

Girls' level of English varies, but I would say it's way above compared to BKK, Rio, Bogota, Paris, Prague... you name it, pretty much compared to any non-English speaking city I've been to except Amsterdam. English is my second language too as I'm sure you've already noticed. Some corporate/upper class girls speak English so well that I was humbled when I talked to them given that my English is not 100%.

Outside of the upper class circle, it becomes more difficult. Taxi drivers generally speak very little if any English, but Silverbird (more expensive, new Mercedes cars) drivers speak some English. Most drivers understand words like "meter", "how much" and numbers. Use your cell phone or a piece of paper and type/write the name of the place where you're going. Track the route using google maps and show the driver if he's lost - always a good idea regardless of how good/bad their English is. Use google translate if stuck.

One of the taxi drivers spoke excellent English because he used to be a cabbie in New York. Funny, but it wasn't even one the more expensive taxis, just a regular Bulebird. Use Bluebird, Silverbird (more expensive) and Express (a little cheaper, white cars). Taxi queues can be long during rush hour or when everybody leaves a night club, so plan accordingly. I've never tried it, but you can ask a taxi driver to wait for you for something like $3/hour.

Many store clerks in upscale malls speak some English. I daygamed a little, so I know, more on that later. Upscale restaurants/bars/clubs - no problem with English at all. Generally, outside of upscale/touristy places, retail/service clerks' English is poor or non-existent.

It helps that they use latin characters, though. At least you can type something on your phone and show them.

I'll write a little more about scams later, but basically if you go to Old Town (Kota), beware of guys who speak good English and initiate a conversation. No, I didn't get scammed, but there were a couple of attempts.

Don't trust random guys, local or foreign. Nothing bad happened to me, but I could have been fucked big time, big time if I wasn't lucky. More on that later.

Edited: errors, content.

[JayJuanGee]

(12-20-2013 04:27 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  

I'll write a little more about scams later, but basically if you go to Old Town (Kota), beware of guys who speak good English and initiate a conversation. No, I didn't get scammed, but there were a couple of attempts.

Don't trust random guys, local or foreign. Nothing bad happened to me, but I could have been fucked big time, big time if I wasn't lucky. More on that later.

I am interested in hearing part 2 to this story regarding guys getting scammed... or attempts at such... Need some street smarts, I suppose.

[GlobalCitizen]

I am in Jakarta for a couple of nights and I will post up my experiences. I will add additional info about venues building on Brodiaga's work.

I arrive on Friday midnight and just go straight to my airbnb apartment. The flight from London has worn me out and I decide to get some rest and save the clubbing for sat.

A few days before I left London, I decided to msg girls on CS. The talent on CS is poor and I send Roosh type messages to only two girls which look hot. I can't be bothered to message other girls as I figure I will have more quality through night game. One replies with detailed venue info but flakes when I ask to meet for a drink. No reply from the other girl.

Anyway I decide based on forum information (thanks to Brodiaga, Secret Internet Fattie) that I will start off at the Skye lounge and then head to Immigrant. These places are right next to each other. As luck would have the other CS girl replies on Sat afternoon and provides a phone number. This looks promising and with a little text game, get her out to meet me at Skye lounge.

Skye lounge is stylish open air lounge on the 52nd floor. To be honest, the view is ok as there is not much to see in the Jakarta skyline. The crowd is largely groups with decent talent. Not a place for pickup but good for a date. Another thing it is pricey (around £8-10 per drink) and drinks are weak.

The CS girl shows up is a short black dress with high heels. Looks really nice and I start building comfort with light kino. She is 35, looks mid twenties and runs her own business. Clearly well off and she insists on taking turns to buy rounds.

I suggest a venue change and she suggests we go to Potato Head Garage. We get down to the lobby and she whips out her phone to call her driver. Nice! Potato Head Garage is a high end bar/restaurant which wouldn't be out of place in London. It's got a long horseshoe shaped bar which is marginally cheaper than Skye lounge. Lots of mixed groups and I suspect not great for pickup. Still there is nice talent. I continue enjoying my time with her and slowly ramp up the kino. It's looking very promising and I decide we need to go dancing for me to seal the deal.

We do the final venue change to Lucy in the Sky which in the floor above Potato Head. This is an open air bar with a more normal crowd. I noticed a few two sets and this place could be good for pickup. It's got one big long bar and you could post up there to chat up girls. I spoke to a cute girl next to me and asked her what shots she was buying. She was in a mixed group and they ended up buying me and the CS girl shots. My impression is girls generally are polite and pleasant to talk too.

I get dancing with the CS girl and go in for the kiss. A light kiss first and I tease her saying that I am disappointed with the way Indonesian girls kiss. That works like a charm and she goes in for a long deep kiss. At this point, I up the kino and we have half an hour more of dirty dancing and making out. I suggest we go to her place for a drink and listen to music. She calls her driver and we go to her very nice apartment. This girl is loaded! Little resistance at home and I get my Indonesian flag! Next morning she gets her driver to drop me off at my apartment...

A small note for day gamers. I really don't do day game but Plaza Indonesia and Grand Indonesia mall has some talent walking around. Plaza Indonesia is more high end talent and you can tell by the lamborghinis and bentleys parked outside. The problem is that it is very rare they will be on their own.

I am leaving for Ubud tomorrow and the story continues...

[JayJuanGee]

GC:

Thanks for the details. I take it that you are in your 30s or older b/c otherwise some guys may hesitate to hang out with a girl in her mid thirties. But on the other hand, as you suggested, her financial situation made it easy NOT to worry about transportation, for example. And, also a bird in hand is better than two in the bush.. he he he.. especially on the first or second night.

[Cyclone]

Quote:

A light kiss first and I tease her saying that I am disappointed with the way Indonesian girls kiss. That works like a charm and she goes in for a long deep kiss.

fucking love it
.

[Soma]

(12-22-2013 05:27 AM)GlobalCitizen Wrote:  

We get down to the lobby and she whips out her phone to call her driver. Nice!

...

Next morning she gets her driver to drop me off at my apartment...

FYI, in Jakarta, the salary for an Indonesian full-time male driver is $125/month. For a full-time female domestic worker, doing cooking, cleaning, etc., it's $75/month. I'm strongly considering getting both on my next trip back.

[Brodiaga]

(12-22-2013 06:17 AM)JayJuanGee Wrote:  

GC:

Thanks for the details. I take it that you are in your 30s or older b/c otherwise some guys may hesitate to hang out with a girl in her mid thirties. But on the other hand, as you suggested, her financial situation made it easy NOT to worry about transportation, for example. And, also a bird in hand is better than two in the bush.. he he he.. especially on the first or second night.

I hesitated to meet girls in late 20s and older in JKT, but I think it was a mistake. More of them are mature, know what they want and can take care of themselves. Being Asian, they also look younger. Next time around I'll definitely include them in my "target demographic".

[libertad1312]

I have been to all three cities and choose to live in Bangkok. Jakarta would be second, even though both cities do not even come close to Bangkok.

However just for a short trip with lots of girls Manila is number one and Jakarta second. Good girls are much easier and far more interesting in these cities.

And what is wrong with women in their early thirties? They can still look like 20-25, are able to hold a decent conversation, are independent and the sex is much better.

[iknowexactly]

(12-22-2013 12:19 PM)Soma Wrote:  

(12-22-2013 05:27 AM)GlobalCitizen Wrote:  

We get down to the lobby and she whips out her phone to call her driver. Nice!

...

Next morning she gets her driver to drop me off at my apartment...

FYI, in Jakarta, the salary for an Indonesian full-time male driver is $125/month. For a full-time female domestic worker, doing cooking, cleaning, etc., it's $75/month. I'm strongly considering getting both on my next trip back.

how does it work with the car? I guess you own and maintain the car and dude just drives?

[Soma]

(12-22-2013 01:22 PM)iknowexactly Wrote:  

(12-22-2013 12:19 PM)Soma Wrote:  

(12-22-2013 05:27 AM)GlobalCitizen Wrote:  

We get down to the lobby and she whips out her phone to call her driver. Nice!

...

Next morning she gets her driver to drop me off at my apartment...

FYI, in Jakarta, the salary for an Indonesian full-time male driver is $125/month. For a full-time female domestic worker, doing cooking, cleaning, etc., it's $75/month. I'm strongly considering getting both on my next trip back.

how does it work with the car? I guess you own and maintain the car and dude just drives?

You have to supply the vehicle: rent, lease, buy, borrow, etc. The driver should be able to handle the maintenance through local connections if you don't want to yourself.

[GlobalCitizen]

As luck would have it I arrive in Ubud during the rainy. It's so bad that the first night I get completely drenched even though I have an umbrella. As you can imagine the streets are empty and I decide to stay in.

Next morning it is still raining but I decide to brave the rain and head for a yoga class. Based on recommendations, I go to the Radiantly Active yoga center for a 11am yoga class. It's £7 for a drop in class and the facilities are world class. As I am waiting in the lounge the 9am class starts exiting the studio. My mood was given an immediate boost as there was some real talent in the class! Also the ratio was heavily skewed towards girls. Unfortunately my class had just five of us in it (no real cute girls) and I later find out from my instructor that the 9am class is the most popular. Later in the night, I would find out that this class is a potential goldmine to meet single girls. By the way, I have practiced Bikram yoga for a year but these classes are open to complete beginners

Based on Brodiaga's recommendation I head to Cafe Havana to celebrate Christmas Eve at 9pm. He was spot on with his recommendation as there plenty of girls with 2-3 high 8's. I posted up at the bar (it's a small bar and you may want to go early to get a place) and surveyed the crowd. While there were plenty of girls they were all in large groups or as a couple. Based on my experience in various countries, my first thought was this is going to be tough going. I chatted to the first cute girl that approached the bar and she was a high 8 from Czech. Friendly girl and took her dancing salsa after a brief chat. She told me that her large group really didn't know each other and consisted of all single travellers. They all met at 9am Radiantly Active yoga class! It was all the invitation I needed and I started approaching the large groups. Pretty much each group was really a collection of people who just met recently and as a result cockblocking was not an issue. While you will not meet local girls, I met girls from Czech, Singapore, Switzerland, Holland, Russia, Australia, Italy and yes, America. So it was like London except the girls are pleasant and friendly.

I was having a good time chatting and dancing with the girls but couldn't really make headway with any of the cute ones. I don't feel too bad as the other guys were also not getting anywhere. I don't think there was anything particularly off with my game and I chalk it down to one of those nights that every player goes through. I also have a second shot as I will hangout with a few of the yoga girls tomorrow. I am now part of the yoga group and we all decide to bounce to CP lounge at 12am. It's a huge place and as Brodiaga posted, you will find exactly the same crowd from Cafe Havana. By this time, it is sausage heavy with the remaining girls not interested in hooking up or too ugly to consider hooking up with. I call it a night with the view of making the 9am yoga class! While I didn't get laid, it was a thoroughly fun Christmas Eve.

[Brodiaga]

(12-18-2013 11:55 PM)JayJuanGee Wrote:  

Brodiaga:

Were you able to pick up girls during the day in Jakarta? And, if so, would that be in the malls?

I have read that the streets are NOT very hospitable... so I am assuming in the malls would be the best? What were your Jakarta experience regarding day game, if at all?

Day Game in Jakarta

As it was mentioned elsewhere in the forum, street game in Jakarta is pretty much out. The girls you want to meet don’t walk the streets. Hell, hardly anybody walks the streets except for the poorest people. I went to what are supposed to be the most popular outdoor tourist attractions in Jakarta (Monas and Kota/Old Town), but even there most of the people who visited were school kids on day trips and other foreign tourists.

Shopping mall game, however, is a different story. It was a big mistake on my part to not try it until I had a couple of days left in the city. Next time I’ll definitely be hitting the malls a lot more.

So, I only had a couple of days left and decided to try day game inspired by a conversation with my secret adviser. I bought a pen and post it notes and started walking around Grand Indonesia looking for “targets”. On that day, I had a pretty bad cold from the air conditioner, and my voice was so fucked that I was scared of hearing it. I also looked a bit like shit being sick, hung over and sleep deprived at the same time. My hands were shaking a little bit. If I were a girl, I wouldn’t even talk to me in that condition let alone giving my phone number.

I approached 4 girls in total. One of them worked at a clothing store. I asked her for advice on buying a blouse for a sister, then chatted a little and asked for her name and number. She politely answered that she had a fiancée.

The next one was a girl who helped me add money to my cell phone. She spoke almost no English, so I just typed the message in Google Translate, wrote down my name and number on a post it note and left. No reply.

Then I got kind of lazy and tried to avoid talking, so I approached a couple of girls in cell phone shops by pretending to be interested in the phones and then typing my messages in the phones they had on display. The messages were something like “Hi, my name is Brodiaga. I think you are cute. Let’s meet up. My number is …”. One of the two girls, a very cute one, texted me a few minutes later. We texted back and forth and she was clearly interested in meeting me. Unfortunately, her father was sick, so she only had time to meet me on my last night when she texted me and tried to call a couple of times. As you know from one of my previous posts, I was busy doing other things (or shall I say doing other girls?) on my last night, so sadly I didn’t get a chance to meet her. I still have her number though, so will try next time around.

Based on that very small sample, I got a 25% response rate which is definitely nothing to be proud of, but still pretty good given my condition, lack of experience, and the fact that wasn’t really trying that hard. From that little experiment, I am pretty sure that an hour or two of day gaming can lead to at least one date, perhaps more, and maybe some insta-dates. Compare this to a night club environment where you have to pay through the nose for drinks, deal with noise, cigarette smoke, bitch shields and all the usual crap with absolutely no guarantee of getting laid. Also, in a night club you kind of have to make a bet at some point by sticking with one girl for the rest of the night and hoping that you can take her home. Day game provides a lot more variety.

What is even more important is that I liked being rejected during the day and wanted to keep trying. Day game got me in a better mood regardless of the results. These girls are so sweet and feminine that even their rejection makes you feel like a real man. It’s hard to describe it, just try it and you’ll know what I mean.

[Brodiaga]

By the way, Merry Xmas to all of you guys.

GlobalCitizen, Ubud may not be the best place for getting laid, but It's a perfect place to just relax and take in the atmosphere. If you haven't done it yet, I can highly recommend walking to the rice fields, taking the downhill cycling tour, watching the Fire Dance Show in the evening, going the museums and temples, walking the streets, buying a few souvenirs, getting traditional Balinese massages, and just talking to the locals who are extremely nice and friendly.

[Brodiaga]

(12-20-2013 04:39 PM)JayJuanGee Wrote:  

I am interested in hearing part 2 to this story regarding guys getting scammed... or attempts at such... Need some street smarts, I suppose.

Jakarta: Dangers and Annоуances

This is a brief overview of things to watch out for. As I mentioned before, nothing bad happened to me, but I did put myself at risk. Learn from my mistakes and keep safe.

Malaysian “Friend”

First, a little disclaimer. I don’t hate Malaysians or people of any race/ethnicity for that matter. Other than this guy, all Malaysians I have met in my life are honest and nice people.

My buddies and I meet this guy at one of the clubs. He buys us drinks and is very friendly. I introduce him to a group of girls. None of us takes any of the girls home that night, but that’s beside the point. He is a young kid in his early 20s. According to him, his father owns a business and does pretty well, so he just travels and studies for now and will take over the business later at some point.

He stays at a hotel near my place. We meet the next day for dinner. He invites me to visit him in Malaysia, says that I can stay at his house, that the parties in KL are crazier than in JKT which I find hard to believe, but hey, it’s nice to talk to such a friendly guy.

Later that night, I invite him to my place for a couple of drinks to pre-game before going out to a club. We drink and talk about girls and stuff, then I go to the bathroom for a few minutes to floss my teeth. When I finish and open the door, I see the guy stand next to my clothing cabinet and going through my clothes. He steps away from the cabinet and mumbles something. I’m not sure what to make of it yet. He goes to the balcony to finish his drink.

I start checking if everything is in place. I have a PacSafe portable safe which I bring with me on all my trips. The safe has my passport, most credit cards, around $200 in cash and some important documents inside. I have attached the safe to the metal rod in the cabinet and (stupidly, as it turns out) attached the key to the keychain together with the apartment keys. The safe is not hidden, but it’s not very visible either. So, as I start checking my stuff, I see that the safe is on the cabinet floor, detached from the rod but not yet opened. The keys have been taken out of the inside of the apartment door and dropped next to the safe. I am still trying to process what’s going on. I’ve had a couple of drinks, still sleep deprived, so maybe this is me going crazy. I reach for the safe and check the contents. Everything is in place. I take a quick look around the apartment, everything looks ok to me.

Ok, so nothing seems to be stolen, but what do I do about the nice Malaysian guy on the balcony. It’s not my first time in Asia, so I understand the concept of saving face. Also, what if he is a Karate master or has a weapon? I decide to play it cool and tell him that a chick is coming over to my place in 10 minutes, so unfortunately I have to ask him to leave. He does.

Holy shit, that was close! If I had stayed in the bathroom for another 30 seconds, all my important documents and most credit cards could have been stolen. I would have been so fucked that getting laid would have been the last thing on my mind. Of course, never again will I keep the safe key visible. However, for a random person it was not easy to even understand in such a short period of time that the key was for the safe, and the safe was in the cabinet. This guy was clearly planning it and looking for shit to steal. As somebody said before, the more I know about people the more I like dogs.

Other Dangers and Annоуances

-After a night out at Dragonfly, my European buddy and I were trying to catch a taxi outside the club. A drunken Indonesian guy got too aggressive and started making moves like he was going to fight. The security told us to get in the closest taxi and leave immediately, which we did. The taxi’s meter was rigged though, so we got out and found a new one after a few minutes.
-I already mentioned the scammers in Kota who speak good English. I’ve been to many countries so it took me a few seconds to understand what they were up to. I was polite but firm.
-An Indonesian gay guy at Club Immigrant came out of the blue and offered to give me a massage and suck my dick. He was polite and non-threatening, though. I declined, in case you’re wondering.

[iknowexactly]

(12-25-2013 10:00 AM)Brodiaga Wrote:  

Day Game in Jakarta

As it was mentioned elsewhere in the forum, street game in Jakarta is ...
Shopping mall game, however, is a different story. It was a big mistake on my part to not try it until I had a couple of days left in the city. Next time I’ll definitely be hitting the malls a lot more.

On that day, I had a pretty bad cold from the air conditioner, and my voice was so fucked that I was scared of hearing it. I also looked a bit like shit being sick, hung over and sleep deprived at the same time. My hands were shaking a little bit. If I were a girl, I wouldn’t even talk to me in that condition let alone giving my phone number.

I approached 4 girls in total.

This is the shit Bro, odds against you and still fighting it out!!!
+1 rep real grit and real story.

[Brodiaga]

(12-25-2013 02:24 PM)iknowexactly Wrote:  

This is the shit Bro, odds against you and still fighting it out!!!
+1 rep real grit and real story.

Thanks man. The great thing about Indonesian girls is that it doesn't really feel like fighting. They appreciate your attention and make you feel like a real man regardless of whether or not they like you.

[Brodiaga]

Annоуances - Additional Info

Jet Lag

I was jet lagged and/or sleep deprived for the majority of my trip. Drinking and going out to clubs on most nights didn't help, either. I took over-the-counter sleeping pills with me, but they didn't seem to help much even when I increased the dose. I used to be able to handle the time zone difference much better when I was younger. Next time I'll consult with a doctor and maybe try supplements like Melatonin.

Traveler's Diarrhea

I would say I had it at least on 1/3 of the days. Medicine was available but didn't always help me. Next time I'll stock up on Imodium. I didn't find any correlation between the price of food and how likely it was to give me diarrhea. Normally, my stomach is pretty resistant to unfamiliar food including spicy dishes, food from street vendors, etc.

[Cyclone]

Just arrived in JKT - 10pm on a Friday night. Super excited, planning to hit Dragonfly ASAP

- Cyc

[calculus]

(01-03-2014 10:57 AM)Cyclone Wrote:  

Just arrived in JKT - 10pm on a Friday night. Super excited, planning to hit Dragonfly ASAP

- Cyc

Hey leave some girls for the rest of us, man. I arrive in JKT on the 11th. Are any of you planning to hit up other cities and towns? I expect to grow weary of the traffic and smog in short order, so I have my eyes on Bandung, Yogyakarta, Surabaya and so on. Any consensus on the best beach town in Java?

[Cyclone]

Aight, looks like I got back a lil early, have had no idea what time its been due to no phone (and flew in from Hong Kong) completely by ear. the only club I got into was Red Square across from X2, surprisingly the motortaxi drivers are unfamiliar with these plazas. And I feel like shit. I didnt do a SINGLE approach, despite girls were just sittin around lining up, there were so many old expats but most girls seemed young/real, it was a pretty wierd scene and not sure what to think of it..
I've been on campus so long i haven't had to do cold approach in forever.. especially solo..

Anyways I'm gonna gear up for Kemang tomorrow. calculus, i'm only in JKT for the weekend and will hit Bali afterwards.
.

[Brodiaga]

Cyclone,

The word is Red square is full of whores. X2 is good though.

On Saturday night, hit up any of the 3 major clubs on my list. They will probably all be crowded. Kemang should be good too, easier to bounce from one club to another, but I've only been there on weeknights. Check out the web site from my post about clubs to see what's on.

Arrive around 11 30 to avoid lines and get a good spot. Pregame or get bottle service, but don't drink too much. If you have approach anxiety like i do, drinking and being social helps overcome it.

The following nights until Wed night will be quieter. I would rely on daygame and online game on those days as opposed to night game. Because youre only in jkt for the weekend, clubs are your best bet.

Good luck.

[Cyclone]

(01-03-2014 04:27 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  

Cyclone,

The word is Red square is full of whores. X2 is good though.

I wouldn't be surprised, but at the same time a lotta the girls seemed young i.e. fresh-outta-college, none of them would approach the men in the club like hookers usually do. When i got back i read about it said most girls are legit, but then again it looks like that was written in 2009...

Stadium tonight, as i don't think i'm dressed for the other spots plus has a rep for girls on E. Lets see if i take my balls with me this time
.