If you're after a huge night out, head for Blok M , which has a wealth of bars and Irish- and English-style pubs. A good place to start a crawl is the Sportsman Bar & Grill, Jl Palatehan 6-8, which offers beers from around the world. There are plenty of bars nearby, including the King's Head, Jl Iskadarasyah I 9, and the Top Gun Bar, just opposite the Sportsman. You can round off your evening at the Prambors Cafe in Basement II of the Blok M shopping centre, which holds regular live-music evenings. The most interesting place to rave is the Tanamur Disco (Rp15,000), at Jl Tanah Abang Timur 14, where the music is a fairly mainstream mix of European and American house, and the clientele includes expats, pimps, prostitutes, ladyboys, junkies and the occasional traveller; up to 1500 revellers on Friday and Saturday nights. Next door is JJ's, a smaller and quieter disco which survives on the overspill (free from 2am until 5am closing).

Jakarta isn't great for indigenous cultural performances , and if you're heading off to Yogya and Solo you're better off waiting. If you're not, the Gedung Kesenian , at Jl Kesenian 1 (tel 021/3808283), just north of the GPO, stages classical music, ballet and wayang orang, and the Bharata Theatre at Jl Kalilio 15, Pasar Senen (bus #15 from Jalan Kebon Siri), holds traditional wayang orang and ketoprak performances every night at 8pm. If you're in Jakarta on a Sunday, check out the Wayang Museum on Fatahillah Square in Kota , which holds a free four-hour wayang kulit performance at 10am.