Gearing up for another big party

Gearing up for another big party

Hendarsyah Tarmizi and Rita A. Widiadana, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta, Denpasar

Less than a month after all the year-end festivities,
partiers, gourmands and shopping maniacs will have another big
event to celebrate on Feb. 1, the day Chinese communities around
the world mark the Lunar New Year, known here as Imlek.

Although there is still one week to go before the Year of the
Ram, Chinese New Year fever has already hit shopping centers in
Jakarta and other cities. Red and gold-colored New Year's
greeting cards, lanterns and other Imlek-related items are on
sale in every major mall.

The festive atmosphere is also evident in hotels, cafes and
restaurants, which have hung colorful decorations and ornaments
displaying the Chinese lucky character "Fu".

For Indonesians, this year's Chinese New Year will not only
mark the coming of the Year of the Ram, the symbol of warmth,
understanding and creativity, but will also mark the first time
the Chinese New Year has been a public holiday.

Chinese-Indonesians, who comprise about 5 percent of the
population, were previously restrained from celebrating the Lunar
New Year publicly and with all the trimmings, such as traditional
lion and dragon dances.

Imlek was regarded as a family affair until former president
Abdurrahman Wahid removed restrictions placed on the celebration
of Chinese culture early in 2001. His successor, President
Megawati Soekarnoputri, declared the Chinese New Year a public
holiday earlier this year.

With the ethnic Chinese now free to celebrate the holiday with
no restrictions, it is natural that hotels and entertainment
centers alike are more serious than before in their preparations
for the celebration of the New Year.

"Besides offering a special room rate, we also are offering a
special Chinese menu before and after New Year's Eve," Mandarin
Hotel public relations manager Dhaneswari Retnowardhani told The
Jakarta Post. "This year, Imlek will be celebrated as cheerfully
as possible."

Two days before New Year's Eve, the hotel's lobby and
restaurants will be decorated with Chinese ornaments such as
lanterns, good luck characters and scrolls to give guests a taste
of Chinese culture, she said.

The Mandarin is not the only hotel in Jakarta that is doing up
the New Year with special events and menus.

The Crowne Plaza Jakarta, JW Marriott Jakarta, Jakarta Hilton
International and the Sari Pan Pacific will also be celebrating
the Lunar New Year with special programs.

"We are trying hard to make this year's Chinese New Year
celebration more lively and cheerful than before," Crowne Plaza
marketing services manager Tati Haryo said.

Although the Crowne Plaza will not have any special room
packages for the holiday, the hotel's Branda Cafe, Semanggi
Lounge and Cake Shop will offer a wide range of Chinese goodies
from Jan. 30 to Feb. 7, Tati said.

Crowne Plaza also will offer a Lucky Draw for diners in the
Banranda Cafe, with a grand prize of a trip to Hong Kong with
two nights accommodation at the Grand-Stanford Inter-Continental.

"The hotel's restaurant will also be giving away ang pau," she
said.

Other hotels and entertainment centers in other major cities
across the country, particularly on the tourist island of Bali,
will also be celebrating the Chinese New Year.

A number of hotels and resorts on Bali will offer special
Chinese New Year packages in an attempt to lure Chinese-
Indonesians to the island.

However, some hotels are pessimistic that these packages will
be enough to lure visitors to the island, which has suffered from
a major tourist slump since the deadly bombings in October.

"Honestly, this year's celebration of the Chinese New Year in
Bali will be quieter than previous years because of the bombings
and the upcoming trials of the bombing suspects," said a public
relations manager at a star-rated hotel in Bali.

However, Deddy Sasmita, the Hard Rock Hotel Bali's marketing
and communications manager, expected his hotel would be fully
booked during Imlek.

"We offer a very special and unique Chinese New Year package
that we call the 'Like China' package," Deddy said.

The package will give guests a number of exclusive privileges,
including a special rate of about Rp 750,000 for a minimum of a
two-night stay. The package also includes daily breakfast for
adults and two children.

The "Like China" package provides other benefits such as free
entrance to the hotel's swimming pool and beach club, free use of
the fitness center and access to the L1 Rock Kids Camp.

"What's more important, guests will receive two fashionable
Hard Rock Hotel Classic T-shirts and a book of shopping
vouchers."

The "Like China" package is valid from Jan. 30 to Feb. 3,
2003.

During the Chinese New Year celebration, the Hard Rock Hotel's
Gamelan Restaurant will serve a special Chinese New Year's buffet
dinner. A vast selection of delicious Eastern dishes will be
served for only Rp 125,000.

"We are expecting guests from Jakarta, Surabaya (East Java),
Semarang (Central Java) and other big cities in Indonesia,"
Elleanora, public relations manager from the Discovery Kartika
Plaza Hotel, said.

She said the hotel was offering a special Chinese New Year's
package for only Rp 1.37 million for a two-night stay.

"The package is very special for those who want to celebrate
the Chinese New Year in Bali," she said. The package, she said,
includes daily buffet breakfast for two people, dinner for two
people on New Year's Eve on Jan. 31, with a Legong dance
performance.

The Melia Bali Villas and Spa resort, situated in the
exclusive Nusa Dua enclave, has prepared various activities for
the month of February.

Anastasia Liyadi, the hotel's marketing and communications
manager, said to welcome the Year of Ram, the Melia Bali was
offering a very attractive special Chinese New Year's package.
The package costs only Rp 1.8 million for a four-day stay in a
superior room, including American breakfast for two adults and
one child below the age of 12 and one dinner buffet at the El
Patio Coffee Shop.

"This package is very competitive," she said.

The offer is valid from Jan. 30 to Feb. 10.

To add to the fun, on the Chinese New Year guests can enjoy a
Chinese New Year dinner buffet at the El Patio Coffee Shop for Rp
130,000 per person, plus a 50 percent discount for children below
12 years of age.

The Bali Intercontinental Resort in Jimbaran, Bali, is also
offering special rupiah packages -- Jimbaran Super Deal and
Jimbaran Luxury Deal -- for the Chinese New Year.

With such competitive and attractive packages, Bali's hotels
and resorts expect the Year of the Ram to bring prosperity to the
island's tourist industry.

All these special packages will undoubtedly liven up the
holiday, but the most important thing is that hopefully the
Chinese New Year celebrations will further cement the
relationship between Chinese-Indonesians and native Indonesians.
Gong Xi Fa Cai, or happy Imlek.