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Media I've written for: The Jakarta Post (Newspaper), Jakarta Kini (Magazine), Djakarta!
(Magazine), Nirvana (Magazine), Garuda Inflight (Magazine), Balio (Magazine),
Free! (Magazine), PS (Magazine).
Articles that can be viewed online:
This is an article published in Djakarta Magazine last October. Got a lot of positive response.
October 2003 - Djakarta Magazine!
CONFESSION OF A GAY GUY
When I first stepped on the soil of
Jakarta, I didnt like it at all. It was crowded, polluted and the traffic was horrible. I stayed in Mangga Besar area
in Kota and was planning to continue
to a university here. Soon, I discovered beyond the heat, pollution and traffic there was an exciting life when the sun went
out. The city was covered with lights, dark shadows in the dark corner of an alley, where the music was turned out loud. This
is a red light district where everything started to be alive in the wee hours. It was in the mid 80s.
As a gay guy, I felt so lonely entering the university ground. When every boys
were talking about how hot a girl was, I felt completely an alien. There was a longing to share my attraction to boys to gay
people but I couldnt spot even one. I still didnt have that GAYdar sense yet. It was like a radar when you look in the eyes
of a man, you immediately know whether he is gay or not, said one gay friend a few years later. I started to isolate myself
and became so depressed. I was suicidal.
After a few months, I was determined to find out where my fellow hanging
out. Is it a discreet corner in an alley or is it a closeted community who had regular meetings every now and then? By plunging
into the swimming pool of Hotel Indonesia one afternoon that I found out the first encounter of other gay people. Every men
in the pool were exchanging glances, showing off their gear in the changing room and left the curtain half opened in the showers,
peeling off their latest Speedo swim trunks, and exposing their gym bodies. When you liked someone, you just went and chatted
him up. Who knows you might ended up in the shower together. From that minute on, I wasted no time to follow them around.
The usual schedule was swimming in
Hotel Indonesia after lunch, then went to Sarinah department store to check out the boys going up and down the escalators.
After that, the choices were either Tanamur Discotheque at the back section or the notorius Press Club. For those who have
cars, a drive through Lapangan Banteng after clubbing was compulsory. This was where the male prostitutes selling themselves
under the dim street lights. I dont know why Lapangan Banteng was the place but when I looked up at the statue, I understood.
It was man who shouted liberation with both arms wide opened and freed from the chains. Very symbolic indeed. To go down market,
there was a cinema in Senen for a jerk off session with other audience, or across the streets, the busy activities in the
toilets of Segitiga Senen. The young Chinese gay teenagers crowd opted for Stardust Discotheque on Sunday afternoon. And the
more mature crowd preferred to dance away at Voila Discotheque in Patra Jasa Building in Jl. Gatot Subroto. The gay expats were more discreet
and held private parties in their houses in Kemang area and invited all young boys to
be the decoration of the parties. On a Sunday, after partying the whole weekend, people went to Ancol swimming pool under
the waterfall and touched each other under water. Those were the tiny happy moments for all of us.
When I first went to Press Club, I thought I might have made it mistaken to another
place. It was very quiet from outside. No signs at all. It was a journalists club by day time and the hangout place for gay
guys in the night. The I want to eat you alive looks from other guys, I felt hot on my body. The music was kampungan. It was
a blend of cha-cha-cha and dangdut. Some people were showing off their ballroom dance skills and the others were just staring.
As it was an exclusive gay club, every men in there were comfortable enough to make a move to the others without doubting
the sexual orientation like in Tanamur or other mixed crowds. Everybody was dreaming to get their Prince Charming and settled
down. Romance was high thick in the air.
Going to a private party the first time was
the strangest thing that ever happened to me. I got a phone number from a friend. I called that number, the voice from the
other end was friendly and invited me and told me the address of the party without knowing who I was. At that time, it was
common to exchange numbers of people that we had slept with. There were only a few people when I arrived in that big house
in Kemang. The owner of the house was a 40 something year old Dutch guy. Everybody was staring and their eyes seemed to strip
me off. After a few minutes, some Indonesians started to make a conversations and after a few drinks, I was relaxed and started
to laugh to jokes. There was an air of solidarity there. It was funny to realize how the same sexual orientation could tie
people from all very different background to stick together and had a good laugh together.
It was also in the 80s when there was
a significant gay movement. It was started by Dede Oetomo, a lecturer in a university in East
Java who set up a gay magazine Gaya Nusantara and distributed it nationwide. It was really
a brave thing to do. Most of the gay guys subscribed to the magazine and rented a post box at the local post office to receive
the copy of the magazine as most of us were still in the closet. From the magazine we knew more about gay life in the world,
we shared experiences, we corresponded to each other by mails and promised to meet up. Gaya Nusantara also told us the gay
places to go to in every big towns across Indonesia and linked us to the local gay organizations.
Things were unchanged till mid 90s, but it
was a complete different situation rapidly. No more Sunday afternoon dance at Stardust Discotheque. Press Club were closed
down and Moonlight Discotheque were opened in Jalan Hayam Wuruk. Another similar seedy club opened was Klimaxx in Jalan Gajah
Mada to replace Stardust. The drag queen shows at Moonlight and Klimaxx were the most awaited event of the night. Tanamur
Discotheque had built up an upstairs (unintentionally) dedicated to gay guys. If a woman dared to appear upstairs, she would
be looked murderously. Those were the days when all the gay guys felt liberated and danced topless on a sort of catwalk platform
and showing off their erotic movement. Women were no longer the only creature who could be looked as a sex object, gay men
too!
I didnt have
to walk up and down tirelessly the escalators of Sarinah Department Store anymore. There were trendy cafes in Plaza Indonesia. Café Excellso, Café Oh La La were places to
hang out drinking coffee and people watching. Hotel Indonesia were going down market and the President Hotels swimming pool
was gaining fame. And not only the swimming pool. This was the time when the sauna became an alternative place to meet up
and soaking up some sweat with some half naked men in towels. Apart from President Hotels sauna, the now Millennium Hotels
one in Tanah Abang was the half boiled meat racks.
Another new emerging trend was public toilets.
Blok M Plazas toilets were notoriously famous for its action. A guy flashed off and stroked his thing and the other one would
looked and drooled over. Next step would be touching each others baggage and locked the door of the squatting toilet.
The newly opened McDonalds was the late night
desperate cruise after clubbing. I went there often (after an unsuccessful night cruise in the club) to get a Happy Meal,
that was consisting of a Big Mac, a Coke, a French Fries, and a guy ordering the same meal sitting on the next table.
With the opening of some posh shopping centres,
shopping became a big time hobby. Suddenly gay guys were aware about how they look. They trashed all those Hammer Polo Shirt,
torn jeans, Farenheit perfume, sport shoes and Hings white undies out of their closets to Levis 501, CK slick long sleeved
shirt, CK One or Davidoff Perfume, (fake) Italian leather shoes and Jockey jock straps. All were copied perfectly from the
latest magazines for men. I started to pierced my right ear and put a gold earring, bought some handkerchiefs to be put on
my back right pocket jeans. I was once refused to enter a class by a conservative professor just because I was wearing an
earring. Earrings are for girls, he said. I protested up to the Dean and said there was no written rule about that. I was
allowed to follow the class again but I didnt go to classes that semester. I only went for the mid and final term exams. The
gay life was so much fun at that time.
After a few times of wild sex, I became friends
with Jean, a French guy. It was quite a drama at the beginning. But most gay guys had a nervous breakdown at the same time.
Nobody found their Mr. Right yet so why not just having fun and had faceless, nameless sex with guys? Everybody was sleeping
with everybody. Sometimes Jean and I were exchanging phone numbers of guys that we had slept with just to score the highest.
I also started to explore the joy of threesomes. It was a new exciting thing in my life. Instead of hunting down a guy, I
looked for two and proposed the indecent act of sex. Private parties were becoming an orgy arena. No more giggling and chatting
time but went straight down to rooms or doing it in the pool.
The 90s saw the increasing use of drugs
like ecstasy, cocaine, speed and all those things that made you high. People were no longer satisfied with the alcohol and
wanted to party till the next day. They looked artificially happy but the after taste was deep depression and suicidal. It
was also the time of people to be aware of AIDS, a disease we never heard of before. While some people were half conscious
from drugs, the other half were dying of AIDS. I had more funerals to attend those days. (JB)
January 2003 - Djakarta! Magazine
Getuerkt German
Films with Turkish Style
Unlike the Chinese in Indonesia who run more than 80% of the economy, the Turkish people in Germany is regarded as the lowest of the low in the society. With these films, the Turkish descendents in Germany are about to change peoples point of view about
them, not only in Germany but everywhere in the world.
We are lucky that Goethe-Institut
Jakarta brings this exciting film program to Indonesia. The program comprises short, documentary and feature films. Getuerkt film program is astonishingly powerful.
Each film talks a complexity of problems faced by the Turkish people on a daily basis. From drug dealing, homosexuality and
transvestites, racism, refugees to poverty. Everything is well captured in a stylish lushful visual satisfaction. Most of
the these directors are born or raised up in Germany. Each has his own unique style in making films and has a distinctive story to tell.
Lets check out the films:
Getuerkt (Short film, dir. Fatih Akin) 12 minutes
Musa, a young Turkish guy from
Hamburg is spending a holiday
with his mother. Soon he got bored and tried to find the fun of the nightlife. He got involved in a rollercoaster adventure
by telling his new friends about the grass that he is planting in his garden.
Dealer (Feature, dir. Thomas Arslan) 80 minutes
Can has been a drug dealer for a
while. He always think that he can have a better life and hes expecting his boss to give him a legal job. He got a wife and
a 3 year old daughter. Things arent changing and Can got into more troubles as he befriends with a policeman.
Director Thomas Arslan succeeded
in bringing the alienation life into films. Although the story is slightly depressing but it is filled with modern colourful
visual to ease the dark story. The morality of the story is captured easily by the audience.
Die Liebenden vom Hotel Osman (Short film, dir. Idil Üner) 14 minutes
A sweet film about a couple
from two different cultural background. The man is Turkish and the girl is German. They go to Istanbul for a holiday and to find out that there is no hotels will
accept two lovers who are not married. The lovers have to play a trick in order not to ruin their love trip.
Wir haben vergessen zurueckzukehren (Documentary film, dir. Fatih
Akin) 59 minutes
After a big success in the
film industry, director Fatih Akin returns to his root by making a documentary film about his family. Akins parents came to
Germany for
a better living. Its not easy as they were treated as a second class citizens.
Fatih Akin also tells a story
on his uncle who decided to go back to Turkey after years of living in Germany, how they have to adapt back in Turkey and it was difficult to be accepted again. Akin also tells about a blend of different cultures that he was growing
up with from the Turkish to the German and to the pop culture.
Deutsche Polizisten (Documentary film, dir. Aysun Bademsoy) 60 minutes
Director Aysun Bademsoy faithfully
followed the German police on their daily patrol. Surprising enough, there are a lot of Turkish, Slovakian, Yugoslavian police
in the group. Some of them even hasnt got the citizenship.
Bademsoy cleverly tells the ambiguity
of those policemen to bust their own fellow Turkish people. Sometimes they have to deal with their own family. Theres a cultural
clash that is being exposed. Refreshing idea with a deep reflective story, Bademsoy took us on a journey with a dynamic camera
work.
Die Auslandtournee (Feature film, dir. Ayse Polat) 85 minutes
A road movie
of two very different people in search of reconciliation. Zeki, a Turkish singer has been living in Europe for most of his
adult life. One day he got a phone call that a close friend had died. The friend left a daughter. Zeki has to find her mother
so he can get back to his life. It was a trip where they have to adjust to each other in a big way.
The daughter
isnt really an easy girl to deal with as she is very introvert. While Zeki, a gay guy in his 40s and still doesnt want to
admit that his career is over. Together, they embarked on an adventure to find the daughters mother. Die Auslandtournee is splashed with the hilarious jokes here and there.
Sevda heisst Liebe (Short film, dir. Sinan Akkus) 14 minutes
Two lovers
who are dating backstreet as the girls family is very strict with the old tradition. One day the girls brother found out about
the relationship and a gun is involved. Sevda heisst Liebe tells a story of how a Turkish family still follow old tradition
even they already live in Germany for a long time.
Lola und Billidikid (Feature film, dir. Kutlug Ataman) 91 minutes
Kutlug Ataman
mixes all the problems of the Turkish people in Germany with stories interwined to all different characters. There is Lola,
a transvestite who is having a relationship with a hustler. There is Lolas brother who is a stereotipical Turk who doesnt
want to mix up his culture with the Germans. There is a relationship between two gay men, one is a rich middle-aged German
and a poor Turkish guy. There is the gay bashers, a bunch of Germans who beat gay guys everywhere.
All in all,
the film is very rich in subplots and each of them stands out with powerful stories. Definitely a film not to be missed.
December 1, 2002 - The Jakarta Post
Sobering statistics on Indonesia in World AIDS Day commemoration
World AIDS Day is coming this Sunday. Once more we
are reminded of those who have died and those now living with HIV/AIDS.This is a condition that has no cure yet. Indonesia's government statistics say this is a country with a low number of AIDS
cases. Is that really the case?
A recent study conducted in May to July
2002 by Aksi Stop AIDS (ASA) reveals that we should start to worry.
ASA -- a part of Family Health International
and funded by USAID -- is a contractor in AIDS prevention programs here. They work in 10 provinces nationwide. ASA's research
is more focused on transvestites, male prostitutes and gay people. In a period of three months, ASA managed to get 800 blood
samples from respondents whose age ranged from 18 to 57 years old. The results were quite astonishing: 22 percent of transvestites,
3.7 percent of male prostitutes and 2.5 percent homosexual people are HIV positive.
"These numbers may look insignificant,
but the problem is, most of the infected men didn't even have a clue that they were carrying it," said ASA's senior technical
officer Elizabeth Pizani. Perhaps even more astonishing was that of those tested, only 15 percent of the transvestites, 33
percent of the male prostitutes and 52 percent of the homosexuals wanted to know the result of their own test. "It means those
who had their blood tested, do not even want know the results. Imagine if they go around and have unsafe sex with multiple
partners, then the numbers of HIV positive cases will increase tremendously in two to three years time," Pizani said.
Besides the blood tests, ASA also did
further studies of the lifestyles and sexual attitudes and patterns of the people and tried to come up with solutions. Out
of the 800 people, ASA succeeded in convincing 75 to have further in-depth interviews. "Not only that these three groups have
unprotected sex but also they use ecstasy pills and share needles while taking drugs in regular private orgy parties. There
is also an interesting fact uncovered: Most male prostitutes are actually heterosexuals. They become sex workers for economic
reasons," Pizani said. The most horrific truth that emerged from the interviews was that 62 percent of transvestites and 53
percent of gays had unsafe sex within the last six months.
Conducting research like this is not
easy at all. ASA started in a discreet way by giving cards to transvestites, male prostitutes and gay people with an address
and a phone number where they could have their blood tested. This method failed immediately. They then recruited some transvestites,
male prostitutes and gay people to help with the research. They were given two weeks of training before being deployed. This
approach was quite successful because in such communities, they trust their own.
ASA researchers then went around to
discotheques, swimming pools, parks and other hangout places to take blood samples. They sometimes even built a small tent
in the corner of a park, in restrooms of a club and played hide-and-seek along with the transvestites during the frequent
police raids.
Why do these people continue to have
unprotected sex even when they know the risks behind it?
The main reason is the embarrassment
to buy condoms. The second excuse is that they just did not have any at times when they have sex. "To solve this, first of
all, we need strong support from the government, which still does not consider the AIDS epidemic a priority. The distributions
of condoms have to be really spread out to all corners of the city. Can you believe that the most popular area for gay people
-- Senen -- doesn't even have a pharmacy around that sells condoms? HIV blood test results should also be confidential," Pizani
said.
ASA is now establishing a health clinic
catering to transvestites to deal with their health needs, as most transvestites do not know where to put themselves in a
public hospital (should I be a man or a woman?). "So, if you change sex partners or use drugs from time to time, do it safely.
We don't want to walk with a lit candle on World AIDS Day grieving over a friend's death. We don't want the whole new generation
collapsed just because of an irresponsible act," she said.
For further information, suggestions
or participation on AIDS prevention program or Aksi Stop AIDS (ASA), email: info@fhi.or.id
July 2002 - Djakarta! Magazine
Exotic Millennium Art Festival 2002
The annual
Art Festival organised by Eksotika Karmawibhangga Indonesia is entering its 6th year of celebration. Held in the
beautiful complex of a Buddhist temple in Megamendung, Bogor, the festival will run for three days on different stages. Definitely
an alternative space for performing arts.
While most
of other arts festival are focusing on qualities, the Exotic Millennium Art Festival is the medium for emerging artists, despite
of their lack of arts experiences. The concept is much more into the variety of performance types and the serious will of
each performing artists. Well done, Gentlemen! We absolutely need this kind of festival to look for new bright interesting
artists. So dont be surprised all different kinds of arts here. From musical bands who play in cafes, contemporary music,
world music to classical delight. From dance to film screenings. Everything is there to fulfill everybodys needs in arts.
Lets have
a peep of the line-up artists. Jamaica Café acapella group is one of its kind. This bunch of guys perform regularly at Pisa
Kafe. They used to be the Neri Per Caso clone and sang their songs but now they are going further. They are cloning almost
everybody. They can even sing Kopi Dangdut without any musical instrument. From the music dish, there are also Dian Indonesia
Band, the heboh Naif band, Keroncong Toegoe, Chinese string instruments and all different sorts of percussion from
Sunda, Malay, Bali, and Makassar.
On the
dance scene, the glitzy circus troop of EKI Dance Company is always fun to watch. Becoming one of the most active dance company
in Jakarta, EKI Dance Company seems never get tired with their tight schedule. Then, there is Eko Supriyanto, a (potential)
choreographer and a dancer. Eko Supriyanto suddenly reached the Hall of Fame in Indonesia after being recruited as one of
the dancers touring with Madonnas Drowned World Tour throughout Europe and America. With his bag of overseas experiences,
we will definitely expecting something exciting and refreshing. Back to traditional root, Nandini, the Indian traditional
dance teacher at the Jawaharlal Nehru (The Indian Cultural Center), will also give some sparks to the festival. Based on Katak
dance from India, Nandini recently performed for JakArt Festival and grabbed rave reviews.
Eksotika
Karmawibhangga Indonesia (EKI) has been here for a while. Though for the past two years they are really working hard to be
famous. Now, it is the time to harvest. They are not only doing performing arts but also they are artists management. Some
famous name like Sujiwo Tedjo, Jamaica Café acapella group, Dian Hadipranowo Band, Slamet Gundono Wayang Suket Company are
all under EKIs management belt. With the switched-on people like Aiko Senosoenoto as the director and Rusdi Rukmarata and
Sujiwo Tedjo as the artistic directors, EKI seems to be ready to launch themselves as an alternative medium in the arts scene.
For more
information on Exotic Millennium Art Festival 2002, contact Iwan at 831 2377 or 0815 891 6938.
December 2002 - Djakarta Magazine!
Super Fast, Super
Kitchen
Jalan Pecenongan in Pasar Baru area is always crowded for food lovers. All along
the street is packed with jungle of restaurants, permanent and semi-permanent stalls take over the street. The new comer in
this street is Super Kitchen.
Looking from the outside, the restaurant looks very bright with its bright
neon sign and tacky Chinese décor with its fake Chinese roof in neon. People who are used to the simple and not too clean
warungs would feel intimidated by the cleanliness of the restaurant that can be seen from its glass doors and big windows.
Entering the premise, youll be greeted by a nice lady in that bright red Chi
Pao Shanghai dress who will usher you to the table depending on how many of you. Most of the big number groups of people
will be mostly seated upstairs with its round marble movable table deck for dishes. Painted in soft orange and dodgy Chinese
style of ornament décor, this restaurant have bright yellow light, at least (instead of those really piercing, annoying-that-make-you-blind
white neons).
Super Kitchen is popular for its barbecued dish. All are delicious. They
have roasted and crispy duck and chicken, fabulous and tender roasted pork and red pork, plus the succulent Hainanese Chicken
rice. You can order a combination of two or three meat in one plate. The Sapo dishes (vegetables and meat cooked in a claypot)
are dangerously worth drooling over. Try their specialty of Sapo with goat and lamb meat, its guaranteed that you will be
craving about it. Unlike other places, Super Kitchen knows how to cook their goat meat and gets rid of the strong smell. Once
you placed your order, they will come all within a few winks of the eyes.
Instead of having the plain boring steamed white rice, opt for the fragrant Hainanese
rice. The smell of the ginger in the rice is so subtle but also in a perfect dose. Super Kitchen also has super kinds of scallops.
All are very recommended. The vegetable dishes are in a complete range from Pok Chay, Baby Kailan, to Kangkung, all can be
cooked to your own preference. With garlic sauce, tauco or belacan or just steamed. If you prefer some steam dishes, they
have mini steamboat for two persons to cook by yourself on the table. But its better to leave the cooking business to their
professional chefs rather than try your own clumsy "Mari masak-memasak" skill.
The desserts are the usual stuff found in Chinese restaurants. From mango
or almond pudding to some fresh fruit. The service is incredibly efficient and super fast. Attentive but not annoying. You
can never empty your Chinese tea as the waiters come right away to fill it in again and again.
If you are craving for some Chinese food with super fast service, and at a
very reasonable price then Super Kitchen is the place to go. You dont have to get down and dirty in the streets to enjoy the
authentic Chinese cuisine. Err...one more Hainanese rice, please!
Super Kitchen Restaurant
Jl. Pecenongan no. 76A, Jakarta 10120
Tel. 351 9983, 351 9984
Fax. 351 9985
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