During the day, we crossed walkways with people selling gun replicas (I think they were replicas) knives and other weapons with very sharp notches that would do as much damage coming out as they would going in.
That night we went to Jakarta’s red light district, a network of badly lit roads and underpasses lined with pimps and hos. It was dark and rainy and thoughts of rapists, drug addicts, psychotics, muggers and gangs went through my mind. I even thought of Freddy Krueger. We asked someone for directions, which we followed, off the road and down a muddy embankment, then right under an unlit bridge.
There was noise ahead of us, which we nervously followed. With some surprise, we came across a makeshift stage with a dozen very large speakers covered with tarps blasting jaipong music. On stage were the Jaipong dancers.
Jaipong is a performance where the girls wear sexy outfits and dance in a suggestive manner. The ones we had come to see let men hold their hands in return for tips. However, although the stage was there, the girls were out of costume because of the rain, and the seats were empty. We discussed for a minute what to do, then left to find the nearest taxi. On our retreat, I took this video.