Surviving Idul Fitri without your servants
By Prapti Widinugraheni
JAKARTA (JP): Idul Fitri is just around the corner. For most people who will be staying at home during the holiday, it is the time of the year when they must roll up their sleeves and get household chores done without the help of their faithful pembantu.
But is surviving a few days, or weeks, without a house keeper, maid, or pembantu really that tough?
Rae Sita Supit, a businesswoman, celebrity, and mother of four, says the days when her family must do things for themselves are never seen as a burden.
"Actually it's quite fun and we look forward to it," says Rae Sita.
Her 10-year-old son who is now the only one living at home -- the others are away studying -- is perhaps the most eager to welcome these days. "It is an opportunity for him to experiment with his cooking," she explains.
Other than that, the family relies on catered food, ordered from a good friend "whose hobby is cooking our favorite Manado dishes", while family members take turns with house cleaning and washing.
But Rae Sita's household is never really without a pembantu because her three maids return to their hometowns at different times. Two of them, who live near Jakarta, leave before Idul Fitri and return a couple of days after the holiday, while the other, who lives in East Java, goes home several days after Idul Fitri, which this year falls on Feb. 9 and Feb. 10.
Even if her pembantu stay in Jakarta during Idul Fitri, Rae Sita claims it is practically a holiday for them, "because they are only responsible for keeping the bathrooms clean".
"I tell them to go out and see more of Jakarta on those days," she says.
It may be a bit more difficult for astronomer and researcher Karlina Leksono, who not only has no pembantu, but must also travel with her family during the two days of Idul Fitri. At Karlina's own suggestion, her servants take a three-week leave of absence.
"All travel plans, both for the family and for the pembantu, must be made far ahead of schedule," she says.
On the first day of Idul Fitri, the family drives south to Bandung to meet Karlina's parents and on the second day, they fly east to Semarang to meet her in-laws.
During these days, she says, the family relies on their driver, who lives in the same neighborhood, to take care of the house when they are out of town.
When it comes to household chores, Karlina says she is lucky that her kids "suddenly become more hardworking and responsible when the pembantu are away".
The kids take turns washing and cleaning, Karlina herself does the cooking and her husband does the shopping.
And to make doing the laundry easier she reminds her kids not to change too often or do activities which are "too sweaty".
But some families may choose to do it the easy way and opt for the hassle-free, practical solution of spending a few days at a hotel.
For families like these, Le Meridien is offering special room rates from Feb. 7 to Feb. 16. According to Ira, a public relations staff member, the hotel is offering delux rooms for US$100 per night, with the choice of being upgraded to a suite for an extra $60.
The Shangri-La is also offering special room rates from Feb. 7 to Feb. 10. Here, standard rooms are priced at $139 and an additional night costs $110.
The Regent Hotel, according to public relations manager Hana Hoed, is offering guests, who come with their family members, an additional children's room plus breakfast at $195 during Feb. 1 to Feb. 16. For couples, the hotel has rooms specially rated at $120.
Sri Sekartadji of the Sahid Jaya Hotel says that during the Ramadhan month, starting Jan. 10 until Feb. 8, the hotel is offering rooms specially rated at Rp 235,000 (around $100). For Feb. 9 and Feb. 10, both single and double-occupancy rooms are priced at Rp 250,000 a night.
The Grand Hyatt's Lebaran package, offered only to Indonesian residents and KIMS cardholders during Jan. 31 to Feb. 16, consists of single and double rooms and breakfast priced at $169. KIMS are documents issued by the immigration office for expatriates who work and stay temporarily in Indonesia.
The Jakarta Hilton is offering rooms in its main tower at the special price of $145 and in its lagoon and garden towers at $160 a night. The prices also include breakfast and dinner for two.
But the most attractive and, presumably, most unusual package comes from the Dai-Ichi Hotel.
Public relations manager Lira Dahlan says that apart from rooms specially rated at $70 to $80 during Feb. 7 to Feb. 15, the hotel is offering an additional "security guarantee" for the homes of hotel guests living in Jakarta.
"For an additional $30 a day, we will provide a satpam, or security guard, for our guests' homes while they stay in our hotel," she said.
She quickly adds, however, that the offer is limited to the first 100 guests who request the service, "because we have a limited number of satpam to offer". The price for the satpam, she says, is inclusive of fire and burglary insurance.
If staying in a hotel is not quite your thing but you feel you can't cope without your pembantu, there is always the option of getting a temporary pembantu and babysitter, if you need one, from several agencies in town.
The Bhakti Mitra Ibu foundation receives orders until Feb. 4 for those in need of maids and babysitters. The foundation's address is Kompleks Taman Asri Blok E4/7, Gg. Caplin, Jl. Ciledug Raya, Kebayoran Lama (phone: 731-1604).
The Bulan Purnama foundation said it may still have babysitters available for the holiday. Its address is Jl. Kelurahan Lama No. 19, Cililitan, East Jakarta (phone: 801-5278).
The Dharma Asih foundation is accepting orders for babysitters until Feb. 7. The foundation is located at Jl. Kramat Bunder Raya No. 7A, Central Jakarta (phone: 391-2830).