Yogyakarta Nightlife: Bars, Clubs, Karaokes and Spas
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Jakarta100bars
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I was disappointed with Yogyakarta nightlife. As a city famous for attracting students and tourists, I was expecting a fun party atmosphere with busy bars and nightclubs. On the contrary, Yogyakarta is quite conservative: Most girls wear the jilbab and you can see all over the city some aggressive banners against gays or Shia Muslims. I've read also about some incidents against a feminist group just a few days ago. This gave me the impression to be in Saudi Arabia more than in "tolerant" Indonesia. In spite of this, I still had fun but I had to try quite many venues before figuring out which ones were crowded and which ones were boring. The objective of this guide is to save you some time and give you the best tips to enjoy Yogyakarta nightlife if you are a single traveler there. If new bars and clubs open, please mention them in the comments to help me keep this review up-to-date. Last update: September 2018. Girl-Friendly Hotels in Yogyakarta:
I've been living in Tangerang for over a month now and I've had a few occasions to visit the bars and nightclubs there. This review will give you a short overview of the nightlife in Tangerang and more precisely in the new cities Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) and Gading Serpong. Note : If you need a hotel, please check Serpong Hotel Deals and Tangerang Hotel Deals (I make a small commission on every booking but the price does not change for you and it helps me maintain Jakarta100bars). Overview of Tangerang Enigma Nightclub in Gading Serpong
Malang is one of the nicest cities I've been to in Java. It is a mid-sized mountain town just 2 hours from Surabaya, relatively clean (for Indonesia standards) and with a pleasant weather. As you would expect, Malang nightlife is not the most happening. The current hotspot is actually the brand-new Starbucks, in front of which you may surprisingly see a couple of Ferraris. If you want to party, you have a few good bars and nightclubs though, enough to keep you busy for a weekend. Most bars are laid-back beer houses or live music cafés with a student crowd. They are not so sophisticated and their prices are as low as it can get. Clubs are more diversified. The best ones are modern, with a rich crowd, sexy girls and decent entertainment (DJs, bands, dancers). On the other end of the spectrum, you also have more underground joints with prostitutes and drugs easily available.
Small in size but touristy, Solo (or Surakarta) is often considered the little sister of Yogyakarta. I was in the city to visit a French friend who lived there for 8 years. He showed me the nightlife on a Friday and a Saturday night. Guest-Friendly Hotels in Solo The city is home to plenty of hotels, but beware as many are conservative and may not accept if you stay with a girl you aren't married to. As a rule of thumb, avoid small family guest-houses and any hotel with the name "syariah" on it (obviously).
I have always enjoyed Surabaya nightlife even though the options for nightclubs and bars are limited and somewhat provincial. 3 million people live there, making it the second largest city in Indonesia. Compared to Jakarta, it still feels laid-back and unsophisticated. The streets are rather clean, you can walk on the sidewalks and the traffic is not horrible. There are several modern malls, but none of them as chic as Plaza Indonesia or even Grand Indonesia. Few expats live in Surabaya and even fewer tourists visit it. As a result, you may get more attention than usual from the people. If you are a single guy, it is nice to see girls smiling at you in the streets or in the malls. On Tinder and other dating apps , expect to become quite popular. Meeting a normal girl is fairly easy in certain clubs and bars like Desperados, Jimmy's, Eclectic or Colors Pub. In other venues, you may have either a lot of "lady companions" or just younger girls who are part
Osmosis is a live music bar and nightclub located in Cirebon, about 3 hours by train from Jakarta. It is inside the Aston Hotel and Convention Center on Jalan Brigjen Dharsono. I was surprised to see that there are several clubbing options in the city: You also have Rockstar Mixology or Mithas Pub for instance. None of these is as happening as what you would find in Jakarta, but at least they provide decent entertainment. Osmosis is a clean, modern and intimate space with live bands and DJs every night. They have a different theme every day (though they may change it from time to time): Monday is a student night, Tuesday is for old school music, Wednesday is for special event/open format, Thursday is for classic rock, Friday is for hip-hop/Rn'B/trap. On Saturday, they'll often have a more famous live band or DJ, sometime from Jakarta.
Jember nightlife is very quiet as you could imagine. The only decent nightclub I could find is E-Club which is located about 1,5km from the city center (I was staying in Aston Jember ). It is a small venue with a 200 pax capacity. Nothing luxurious there, just the walls, a stage, a bar and high tables on the dance floor. Entry was free but some busy nights it can reach Rp50,000. The crowd was mostly made of guys, not particularly dressed up for the occasion. There were less than 10 girls. A band was playing a mix of Indonesian and famous English songs. After midnight, it stopped and was replaced by a DJ (house music).
Kowloon International Palace is a one-stop entertainment complex in Surabaya. It features C-bar (live music), Kowloon (nightclub) and a Chinese restaurant. They also do weddings and concerts in their function hall. It is located on the 5th floor of the mid-class mall Plaza Surabaya. The first time I went there, the taxi dropped me off at the lobby, but there is no lift so I had to walk through the parking to get there. Make sure you get dropped on the 5th floor.