Perokok Yang Suka Bohem? Jangan Ke Sevel!
Wow, a Herculean struggle to get my act together after last night’s revelry downtown, but now it’s time to – figuratively – stumble down the stairs to meet the day!
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What to write about this beautiful cloudless morning? Oh, yeah, I remember.
I used to like those 7 -Elevens, usually with some tables and chairs outside, a place you could buy a cold beer and savour it slowly in the sun.
That small pleasure is now dened us, not through any fault of the company that runs them, but due to the government’s childish prohibition of beer sales in mini-marts.
‘Creeping Shariah,’ Warns Prof. Muhammed, As Jakarta Dims!
But I still drop in from time to time, to buy cigarettes. Sometimes I shop for smokes at Alfamart, or Indomaret, or Circle K, but just as often to Sevel, as it’s known here in Jakarta.
Not any more.
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- Every little store sells Bohem, my current fave brand, for around Rp.15,000 a pack.
- Certainly under 16K.
- So, previously, did Sevel.
But last Sunday, at their recently opened branch at Ratu Plaza, I was charged TWENTY THOUSAND!
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I should pause here to advise readers that I like to publish brief shoppers’ guides like this, partly because I’m public-spirited, but also because these little warnings of unreasonable pricing almost invariably provoke an abusive pinko stuck-up to make abusive comments, which, alas, don’t get published because the poor wee thing’s too shy to use his real name.
- He’s a troubled soul, whose entirely predictable rants tend to include, in roughly equal measure, loathing for – my blog, English teachers, foreigners who mix with non-rich Indonesians and, incredibly, sleeveless jackets.
Like I say, a right wacko!
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- Back to Ratu….
- Outraged, I thought maybe it was a fluke, a one-off excess, but no, because, with time on my hands before the party I was attending, I wandered off to another Sevel, near Senayan City, that posh shopping mall, and was displeased – they too had upped the price.
Perhaps, it occurred to me, all minimarts had raised their prices since my last purchase the day before. A round of price-hikes? It happens.
So off I went again. I knew there was an Indomaret near Binus University, just across the street from Senayan City, so another brief toddle took me there.
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viewed from Mcdonalds, STC, the place discussed is at the right of the photo
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The minimart is part of a gas station.
- And lo and behold, there were plenty of packs of Bohem, at under Rp.16,000 – YES!
There was, moreover, a spin-off benefit to my quest, because I found that, above the shop and the petrol station, there’s a very pleasant area for smokers, an open terrace with a nice view of the posh mall opposite!
So I settled down with my cigarettes and a paperback (always take reading material if you’re using public transport in Jakarta traffic!) and whiled away the remaining time before moving on to the party.
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I don’t get down that way too often, so am happy to share its location with readers who share my taste for open-air venues where prices compare most favourably with anything you’ll find in Senayan City!
rossrightangle 
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