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The Bukit Lawang Diaries: Entry #8
A Grand Night Out
Nightclubbing in a rural Sumatran village
Early December ~ Boston, Massachusetts ~ 20:00
There’s even a nightclub here that plays Mr. Brightside. That was perhaps the most intriguing piece of information revealed during the final interview for my current position at the Trust. I can usually close my eyes and picture, if even inaccurately, what something like that might look like — my mind drew a blank.
The clubs I used to frequent were cold, dingy stone basements in Edinburgh’s Cowgate: a nightlife district that was once the city’s sewer. In Mumbai, a city of 28 million, rooftop dance bars serving flashy cocktails to South Bombay’s new money. In San Francisco, Latin dance parties and gay clubs sporting men naked safe for thin jock straps and bull masks.
What could a club hidden in the Sumatran jungle have to offer?
18 January 2025 ~ Kayana, Bukit Lawang, Indonesia ~ 21:00
I sat on my peaceful riverbank and indulged in a nighttime cigarette — the first of many that night, I must remember to pace myself when I’m out drinking — while singing softly to music. Were there to be karaoke, I wanted to come prepared; it…
