Pontianak Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
A pontianak or kuntilanak (as known in Indonesia) is a type of vampire in Malay folklore. The pontianak is usually a woman who died during childbirth and becomes undead, seeking revenge and terrorizing villages. She often appears as a beautiful woman and there will be a strong scent of frangipani. Men who are not wary will be killed when she morphs into a ugly vampire, she will also eat babies and harm pregnant women. People believe that having a sharp object like a nail helps them fend of potential attacks by pontianaks, the nail being used to plug a hole in the back of the pontianak's neck.It is believed that when a nail is plunged into the back of a pontianak's neck, she will turn into a beautiful woman, until the nail is pulled off again.
Pontianak is also a medium size industrial city in Indonesia. Its 107.82 km² land size is populated by more than half a million residences. It is the capital of the Province of West Kalimantan in the Indonesian side of Borneo island. Notable primarily for being located precisely on the Equator and at the delta of Kapuas river, the longest in Indonesia. Pontianak is also famous for its Aloe Vera drink. Pontianak is about an hour flight from both Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, and Batam an island neighbouring Singapore and Johor, 40 minutes flight or 8 hours bus from Kuching in Sarawak, East Malaysia. The city is also connected by air to Balikpapan in East Kalimantan, Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, Pangkalanbun and Sampit in Central Kalimantan, Yogyakarta Special Administrative Region, and Surabaya in East Java
Hotels in Pontianak include:
- Hotel Peony at Jalan Gajahmada in the CBD area
- Hotel Santika three-star boutique hotel, located at Jalan Diponegoro in the CBD area catering for business people
- Hotel Kini(***) opened in early 2004 to cater for the tourists and business people
- Hotel Kapuas Palace(***) a resort style hotel
- Hotel Gajahmada located next to Hotel Peony at Jalan Gajahmada
Restaurants available include KFC fast food chain with 3 outlets, Pizza Hut at Mal Gajahmada, Texas Fried Chicken, California Fried Chicken, American Restaurant next to Hotel Gajahmada and 200 metres from Hotel Santika, Italian Steak House & Hawaii Restaurant across the street from Hotel Kini, Sari Bento Japanese and Indonesian food & Gajahmada Restaurant at Teuku Umar Shop House Complex, and Istana Buah Restaurant at Jalan Gajahmada.
Supermarkets and Departemental Stores include Matahari (Mal Matahari), Hero & Lotus (Mal Gajahmada), Ramayana (Mal Ramayana), Ligo Mitra, Kaisar, Harum Manis, Mitra Anda, Garuda Mitra and Mitra Mart.
Places of interest include the Equator monument which mark the virtual line of equator which divided our planet into Northern hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere and Kapuas River the longest river in Indonesia.
The best time to visit Pontianak is at the end of the moslem's fasting month of Ramadhan and the chinese celebration of Cap Go Meh. On the final eve of Ramadhan or eve of Idul Fitri the moslem malay will play there traditional canons that produce noises that can be heard miles away. While on Cap Go Meh the Chinese community perform a street parade of dragon dance and lion dance, with the Malay and Dayak performing their own cultural dances in support of the Cap Go Meh event.
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