Wayfarers from Sulawesi

Ayauw, now 62, has witnessed Kalijodo changing from one era to another. He was just eight when he moved from Jalan Gajah Mada to his grandfather's home in Angke, near Kalijodo. People began moving into this deserted area after Tjong Hwie Ping, a Chinese man from the Hakka (Khek) ethnic group, opened a nightclub in a two-story stilt house a few years later.

"The second floor was for drinking. Most of the people who went there were older Chinese men who were served by masseuses," Ayauw told Tempo. That drinking establishment was open from sundown to midnight.

February 23, 2016