‘Great Place To Hang Out For Casualties!’

And there it was, there we were, on languorous Jakarta arvo on New Year’s Day, after much appreciating the company of my old pal, Johnny Walker, the night before.

Pondering what to do, I had my Facebook go-between check out which bars were open and lo, we found several.

One, in Puri Indah, had a variety of favourable comments by previous patrons, but one comment, that headlining my page, held my attention, like the glittering eye of the Ancient Mariner.

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‘Great place to hang out for casualties, no need shoes on…’

One assumes the young lady, whose commenter photo ( not the above pic of somebody else’s fancy feet) suggests she is cute, meant ‘those who dress casually!’

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But it conjured up an interesting image or two!

 

 

Life-Long Learning! So ‘Coach’ Is A Shop, NOT A Pub?

As mentioned now and then, one of my favourite pastimes is reading.

My constant to-ing and fro-ing around Jakarta, on the buses, meeting up with people I like to talk to, means I read a lot of books, two paperbacks per week, at least.

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Some of the stuff I read is gripping fiction, like Gerald Seymour’s ‘Traitor’s Kiss,’ a spy story set mostly in Kaliningrad, the Russian enclave on the Baltic…

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…which used to be East Prussia, whose capital, Königsberg, was one of the jewels of the imperial Hohenzollern dynasty.

Seymour does thorough research and I learned a lot about the place that I never knew before. It’s pleasing to savour a ripping yarn and find out fresh facts whilst doing so.

Some of my other reading is fairly undemanding, yet as long as there’s a coherent story-line, I persevere, because it can take four or more hours…

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…especially on a Friday arvo rush-hour, to get home on the TransJakarta Busway from the places I tend to hang out.

A good, or even a mediocre book is invaluable in such circumstances.

Even a novel I wade through slowly can help clear up questions I’ve often asked myself but never got round to answering.

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Like that cafe-bar at Bunderan H.I., which is visible from the busway route, a posh-looking sort of place, on the east side of the huge Grand Indonesia mall.

Or so I imagined it was – a cafe-bar, that is!

The sign certainly does nothing to disabuse passers-by of that assumption, suggesting as it does a haven for merry travellers seeking a hostelry!

Yet thanks to a crime story I read last month, I learned that ‘Coach’ is a shop!

It sells women’s bags and things like that.

WOW!

So now I know.

Funny name for a shop, I say, or you may say why did I imagine it was a cafe-bar?

Well, bars these days often have funny-peculiar names, not traditional ones like the Rover’s Return, or the Miller’s Arms.

Nor useful ones, like ‘The Doctor’s’ – named precisely so regulars could ring their wives and lie as to their whereabouts!

There’s one in Jakarta called ‘Immigrant.’ Despite its name, I’m told it’s a respectable watering-hole.

And there’s another called ‘Face Bar.’ Weird name, but a perfectly acceptable place – I was in there one time this year.

However, bar or shop, I won’t be darkening Coach’s doors.

Word is, it’s VERY expensive.

PS – Regarding Jakarta bars and their names, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention PUBLIK HOUSE , at Belora, just south of the Tosari Busway stop, which I haven’t ever entered but regularly admire from my buses.

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Such simplicity in choice of name is admirable, and not only do they have all-you-can-drink wine on Saturdays, 6pm till 10pm, for under Rp.300K – tel 021 3153527 to check this is still going on…

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….-but it’s also handy for the Puspita, an old traditional dangdut place, just round the corner!