Seaside escape comes with pretty ghost<\/p>\n
Peter Janssen, Deutche Presse-Agentur, Pelabuhanratu, West Java<\/p>\n
Few public relations officers would deem a ghost with a
\nfondness for green bathing suits as a great selling point for a
\nbeach resort, but don't tell that to the hoteliers of
\nPelabuhanratu - one of Jakarta's favorite getaways.<\/p>\n
Pelabuhanratu, a picturesque seaside resort 90 kilometers
\nsouth of Jakarta as the crow flies but four hours drive as the
\nroad winds, is a popular weekend retreat from Indonesia's
\nbustling capital that has remained remarkably underdeveloped over
\nthe decades.<\/p>\n
Sukarno, Indonesia's first president and an avid hotel
\nbuilder, between 1962-65 constructed the Samudra Beach Hotel -
\nnow part of the government's INNA Hotel Group - on the stretch of
\nblack sand beach that extends to the west of Pelabuhanratu town.<\/p>\n
Rumor has it he intended the 100-room establishment to become
\nIndonesia's first casino, a dream that was not to be.<\/p>\n
The hotel site is near one of the resort's chief tourist
\nattractions, the Karang Hawu cliff, an impressive lava flow
\nformation from which the legendary Nyai Loro Kidul (Princess of
\nthe South Sea) flung herself into the waves below in an effort to
\nrestore her beauty and end a run of bad luck.<\/p>\n
Under Sukarno's instructions, Room 308 at the Samudra Beach
\nHotel has always been left vacant for Nyai Loro Kidul.<\/p>\n
\"Our first president received a message when he was praying
\nthat it would be possible to build a hotel here, but please spare
\none room for the queen,\" explained Yayat Hidayat, marketing
\nmanager for Samudra Beach Hotel.<\/p>\n
The Nyai Loro Kidul legend runs deep in Pelabuhanratu, where
\nthe rough surf and strong undertow have claimed many unwary
\nvictims.<\/p>\n
Nyai Loro Kidul was the daughter of the West Javanese King
\nPrabu Siliwangi and his beautiful young wife Princess Kadita.<\/p>\n
As the legend goes, Siliwangi's other wives were jealous of
\nKadita and her equally beautiful daughter so they used black
\nmagic to bring down a horrible disease on the twosome that
\ndestroyed their good looks and made them stink.<\/p>\n
The stench forced the king to send the pair packing, and after
\nsome wondering and privations the mother died and Nyai Loro
\nKidul, harking to sirens in the waves below, took her famous
\nplunge.<\/p>\n
Instead of dying, she was transformed into the beautiful sea
\ngoddess who continues to haunt the bay, preying on fishermen and
\nsea bathers, especially those wearing green - her favorite
\ncolor.<\/p>\n
Over the years, the Samudra Beach Hotel has turned Room 308
\ninto a shrine to the Nyai Loro Kidul legend, which can be visited
\nby guests.<\/p>\n
The room is packed with lavish green furniture, a green
\nwardrobe in the closet and decorated with numerous portraits of
\nthe famous sea goddess along with one of Sukarno, not in green.<\/p>\n
If anything, the room adds to the hotel's rundown and slightly
\nspooky ambience.<\/p>\n
\"I've tried to change the room's image a bit, to advertise it
\nnot as a place for her to rest but as a place to remember the
\nlegend,\" said Hidayat. \"Some people were scared of the room. I'm
\ntrying to change our image as a hotel of mystery.\"<\/p>\n
That might be a good strategy for the entire resort, which now
\nboasts about 1,000 hotel rooms, and appears to be searching for a
\nmarket niche.<\/p>\n
New establishments at Pelabuhanratu (Queen's harbor) include
\nfairly upmarket resorts such as newcomers Ocean Queen and Kuda
\nLaut, which cater to Jakarta's expatriate and well-heeled
\nIndonesian crowd, especially those with their own vehicles.<\/p>\n
The resort is only reachable by road, and the poor condition
\nof the stretch between Bogor and Pelabuhanratu means the drive
\ntakes at least four hours, although the scenery is nice.<\/p>\n
Kuda Laut, run by Dutchman Rob DeLange, is attempting to push
\nthe resort as a energetic getaway by offering trekking tours to
\nthe nearby Sukabumi forest reserve, in which he has helped
\nestablish 15 different walking routes.<\/p>\n
\"There is no other organized trekking operation in Indonesia,\"
\nsaid DeLange, who is working on his soon-to-be-published book,
\naptly titled, \"Hiking in Sukabumi\".<\/p>\n
DeLange, who opened Kuda Laut in 2000 with a dozen tastefully
\nconstructed bungalows near the beach (no TV, no A\/C and no
\nphones) has devised his own practical way of dealing with the
\nNyai Loro Kidul sea goddess.<\/p>\n
\"We always tell our guests to watch the waves,\" he said. \"If
\nyou watch the waves, I think nothing can happen, but if you turn
\nyour back on them, anything can happen.\"<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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