Surviving Idul Fitri without your servants

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).