Jakarta is made for nights. During the daylight hours, the city is a sweltering, chaotic mess where it can take hours to travel a few kilometers down a straight road. But at night, the Indonesian capital comes alive. The traffic is thinner, the air is cooler, and the bars are (thankfully) open super late.

But Jakarta is a hard city to crack. Newcomers are often overwhelmed—unsure where to go in a city where everyone has an opinion about where, and when, to go out. Do you brave the traffic and head out early enough to catch happy hour? Or do you wait, grab some food close to home and head out after 11 pm? Do you head to South Jakarta to chill with the diverse crowds sipping (pricey) drinks in Kemang? Or do you head to Central Jakarta where the nightlife is more diverse (and divisive)?

The choice is yours—and the reality is that, on a good night, you'll probably hit multiple neighborhoods as the party moves from the bars, to the dance floor, to the late-night club or restaurant before wrapping up close to dawn.

Jakarta can be a hard city to love. But for anyone willing to relax, go with the flow, and embrace a sense that anything can happen, the city is unlike anywhere else in Southeast Asia.

Note: We're going to break these down into colloquial neighborhoods, not official names and designations. Why? Because the subdistrict level (kecamatan) is way too big, and administrative villages (kelurahan) are way too imprecise.

Senopati
This the home of VICE Indonesia, and our go-to neighborhood for after-work dinner and drinks. The options can skew more than a bit fancy—like the see and be seen scene at The Gunawarman's Sofia—but there is also plenty of affordable food and great spots to dance all night. Be sure to stop by Santa 68 Seafood for delicious fish (but sadly no beer) and Bornga for amazing Korean barbecue (and soju). The basement bar LOLA is an often-crowded, but good place to dance, and H Gourmet & Vibes has some of the best DJ nights in the neighborhood.

SCBD
After dark, the Sudirman Central Business District is about everything but business. SCBD is a long oval that connects Senopati with Senayan—and crams in a million bars, restaurants, and one nightclub along the way. We're partial to the food at The GOODS Diner, the giant beers at Beer Garden SCBD, and the dancing at Hide & Seek Swillhouse. But there's also Japanese at Kinokawa, Manado at Restoran Beautika, and more than 80 restaurants and bars in Pacific Place.

Kemang
The traffic in Kemang is pretty terrible at night. But there's a reason it's so bad. Kemang has, in all likelihood, the city's highest concentration of bars and restaurants. So many, in fact, that it's hard to pick a favorite. Queens Head is a good place for a drink. And Pizza Barboni still makes one of the best pizzas in town. But if you're looking to dance, then Parc19 is the place to be.

Cikini
This neighborhood is a bit sleepy, and a bit out of the way. But great bars like Camden keep pulling us back. Camden's inside is a pretty decent approximation of an American dive, and its outside is spacious enough to pack-in a bunch of friends. And Iguana Cafe Dangdut & Karaoke—one of the city's best dangdut bars—is right around the corner if you want to hang somewhere a bit darker. There's also a great row of late-night food in front of Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM)—a cultural center and skater hangout.

Tebet
Tebet isn't the first place that comes to mind for a night out. But it makes the list because of Warteg Warmo . Where else can you get a massive plate of amazing Indonesian food at 4 am? We like it so much, we wrote an entire article about it.

Wahid Hasyim
This long street in Central Jakarta is home to some of the city's most diverse nightlife. There's great Middle Eastern food on Jalan H. Agus Salim, good Italian at the Morrissey, and plenty of places to drink beers. Jalan Jaksa is the city's backpacker street, so expect dives with lots of reggae. And both Beer Garden Menteng, and Melly's Garden are great places to drink with friends. But our favorite, hands down, is Jaya Pub, the oldest bar in town. Be sure to check out SUPERBAD!, a monthly indie night that always brings a great mix of local and foreign bands to Jaya Pub's tiny stage.

Kota Tua
This is the city's old town, a rundown neighborhood of crumbling colonial era buildings and all night street food. But it's also the home of Colosseum, a massive nightclub that's open super late. The club's laser light show alone is worth the visit.

Warteg Warmo
It's a warteg, so don't expect anything all that fancy. But it's open 24 hours a day (they don't even have doors) and it a wide variety of amazing Indonesian food. All you need to do is tell the taxi Warmo. Everyone in town knows where it is.

Meradelima
This place serves peranakan—old-school Chinese—food. It's a bit pricey, but the decor is perfect, the portions sizable, and the food amazing. Be sure to try the sapo tahu.

Taman Menteng
It's one of the few parks in town, and the street nearby is lined with kaki lima offering all kinds of food. It's a good place to grab some spicy tahu gejrot and a fresh kelapa muda to wash it down.

Kaca Mata
One of the best places in town for a late night pork and noodle fix. It's in Dharmawangsa and has a deep menu of Chinese favorites like bubur, nasi Hainan, and, of course, plenty of pork.

Pao Pao Liquor Bar & Dimsum
Sure, Pao Pao is a dim sum restaurant, but it's also a great bar with fun DJ nights and spot-on decor. The place can get pretty packed so arrive early if you want to grab a table in the back.

Bau-Haus 1933
This basement bar is the best place to grab a drink in Mega Kuningan. The bar is a bit small, the crowd a bit posh, and the drinks more than a bit expensive, but the soundtrack of classic hip-hop and R&B always makes for a fun night.

the SAFEHOUSE
Another Mega Kuningan bar with house in the name. This spot is a way too hip for the neighborhood, but that's sorta what makes it great. The DJs play hip-hop, post-punk, and everything in between.

Jaya Pub
A bar so great it gets on the list twice. Where else can you squeeze a bicycle horn hanging from the ceiling every time the cover band finishes a song you love? The beers are cheap, the staff is always friendly, and you can even get on stage and join the band if you're brave (or drunk) enough.

Rossi Musik
This is the city's best DIY venue. It's the perfect place to see international and local punk, hardcore, and indie bands. Sure the room is like 40 degrees, and it's sorta far from everything else, but the stage is the perfect height for stagedives. Go see Philadelphia shoegaze titans Nothing perform on Jan. 21, 2017.

Gudang Sarinah Ekosistem
This arts space cum music venue is basically a collection of semi-abandoned warehouses that have been repurposed into the city's coolest—and largest—independent place to see live music. There's always something going on, so be sure to check the Facebook often.

Borneo Beerhouse
It's a total dive and a near-perfect place to see live music in Kemang. The bar offers a pretty wide-range of music, from punk and hardcore shows to drum and bass nights. Be sure to check the Instagram for the latest schedule.