Going to the movies, Premiere Style

Last week a friend invited me to join a group of ladies who were going to the British Women's Association Bazaar, to lunch, and then to a movie.

The bazaars are supported by the various women's associations in Jakarta and are held to raise money for the charities they support. There are special raffles to raise monies in addition to the fees paid by vendors. The raffled items are typically donated by association sponsors or bazaar vendors. I bought 2 raffle tickets and won two door prizes! They were calling out first names of winners and all they put on the ticket was my name and my hand phone (cell phone) number.  I went to find out if it was me. And it was! After all, there is at least one other person with the same name here. First, I had won a lovely white cotton blouse. Second, I received a large voucher for a salon that does cream baths (has something to do with a head massage with very good stuff for your hair but I've only heard about it, never done it), reflexology/head massages, manicures, pedicures in addition to haircuts, etc.  Not sure how I will use the vouchers. Might share with B if they let men in the door. He might like the reflexology/massage. Have to find out.

After the bazaar and lunch, my friend and I headed off to the movie theater. There is an option here called "Premiere." The weekday cost is only Rp 75,000 ( about $6 US).

Once you pay for your ticket, you select your special seat from a digital display on a screen while being helped by theater staff. There are only about 25 seats in this special theater. It is not a separate section but an entirely separate theater. From discussions I've had, many of the theaters here have this special type of theater.

Now about the seats:

They are plush, fully-reclining chairs. There is a table and a drawer between the seats in addition to a cup holder. In the drawer is a clean, sealed blanket if you choose to use it. You can buy your own popcorn or a drink (there are a lot of options) outside the theater or you can order it and they bring it to you. There are two types of popcorn, sweet and salty or caramel. They do love sweet things here.  My friend ordered an iced cappuccino and a sweet and salty popcorn. I was too full from lunch to get anything.

Interestingly, there are no previews. The movie just starts at the start time. We had gone to see "Spy." I really hadn't gone for the movie, but for the experience. The movie, however, was better than I expected it to be.

There will hopefully be more weekday opportunities for movie-going through the summer. In this shot I've got my feet up, but I've not yet fully reclined.

The theater wasn't full (not unexpected since it was a Wednesday matinee). There was our group of 5 ladies and one couple.