Pelabuhan Ratu


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January 2nd 2011
Published: January 8th 2011
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Some view..
Happy new year, everyone !

The trip

My trip this time takes me to a “mystical” beach, known as Pelabuhan Ratu.. It’s NOT one of those beaches with mystical beauty, not at all. In fact, it is one of the dirtiest beaches I have ever been to. So why even bother going there?

Well, simply because it was a family trip. My uncle invited our family to stay at the Samudera Beach hotel for 1 night. I thought that it will be a perfect opportunity for my body to relax after some hectic job-related stuff that I had to finish before the year ended.

Pelabuhan Ratu is located at Sukabumi, which took us around 4-5 hours trip from Jakarta . The road that leads to Sukabumi area used to be filled with green sceneries, but now all I can see is housing developments everywhere. It is saddening, really. I choked at the air pollution, sighed at the number of cars lining up along the way and especially cursed at the number of houses built close to the mountain area.

Upon arrival, I felt a bit of disappointment towards the beach. The beach right in front of
Samudra Beach HotelSamudra Beach HotelSamudra Beach Hotel

The Samudra Beach Hotel from afar..
the hotel is quite clean—however, all you have to do is to look around a little and voila ! Around 40 meters from the hotel area, you can see trash coming from the food stalls. I could only imagine this beach on its past glorious days. Indonesia ’s 1st President, Soekarno was a frequent visitor here back on those times so it must be pretty good.

We stayed at Samudera Beach hotel, which was build around the 60s. It is the only hotel with a 4 star rate in this area. Please be reminded that the rate was given when it was newly build—so it really didn’t meet the expectation. Soekarno loved to stay at this hotel, not only for its beach view rooms but for some other “mystical” reason I will elaborate later.

While waiting for check in, we decided to go to the local market to buy their fresh produce. Ow, it is definitely paradise for a seafood monster like me. The goods were fresh and quite cheap. 10 pieces of HUGE shrimps cost around Rp 150,000 ( US$15) – 2 kilos of squid is around Rp 120,000 ( US$ 12), among many others ( those
The beach ( view from the hotel )The beach ( view from the hotel )The beach ( view from the hotel )

The beach ( view from the hotel )
are my favorites so I remembered, ha ha ha)

Then we went back to the hotel and started grilling the yummy food. It was definitely delicious. Then the day was spent with playing at the beach. Swimming is NOT allowed ( I am NOT kidding), however surfing seems to be the very common thing to do here (how can someone surf without swimming? Well?). The waves were quite big, so it is quite fun to have a splash at the seaside. Then, there is nothing else to do besides strolling along the coast line. But still, due to those garbage and insanely numerous food stalls, it is not as enjoyable as it should be.

Dinner provided by the hotel was blah (read : not yummy at all). The hotel was even in a brown out condition for a while. We ate with candles and decided to go directly to sleep.

The next day was spent pretty much the same with one exception, a visit to Nyi Roro Kidul’s room. Nyi Roro Kidul is a very famous legendary female that is believed to be the queen of the ocean (sort of like Neptune's counterpart-- the female version) .
Yummy crabYummy crabYummy crab

Sea food
Most Javanese believe or at least respected this folklore. Strange occurrences often happen at the beaches where Nyi Roro Kidul is said to be reigning. Numerous people drown at the ocean, which is said to be caused by her adding more companions to her kingdom. She loves to "kidnap" people of whom she likes. She is usually charmed by color green, so it is NOT advisable to wear green when visiting this beach area.

The Samudera Beach hotel shared its legend to another level. Soekarno asked the hotel management to make a room within the hotel especially for Nyi Roro Kidul. This room is situated at the 3rd floor (room 308) . Upon entering the room, I didn’t feel any strange sensation; however the incest smell is quite overwhelming, it gave me quite a headache. The room consisted of furniture which is covered by green items. There are several Nyi Roro Kidul’s paintings which depicted her as a beautiful Javanese girl. My favorite painting must be the one created by Indonesia ’s artist, Abdullah.

After that visit, we headed back to Jakarta . The trip was a long one since it was the last day of the holiday
Nyi Roro KidulNyi Roro KidulNyi Roro Kidul

Nyi Roro Kidul
season which meant traffic all the way back.

How to get there

I have noticed several transportation coming in and out Pelabuhan Ratu, either by bus or by angkot ( Indonesia ’s public transportation). There is a bus and angkot from Bogor to Sukabumi, and from Sukabumi you can take an angkot to Pelabuhan Ratu. I am not sure about the fare or safety – but it looks like it’s a common tourist destination , at least for the locals

What to buy

Besides from sea food, other goodies to bring home will be varieties of fruit ( depending on the season). During my visit, soursop and banana is the most common thing to see.

Conclusion

I don’t recommend people to go here. The beach is not pretty, the waves are OK for surfing, but since I don’t surf it is not an enjoyable place to visit. And really, there is not much to do. I guess, the old charm of Pelabuhan Ratu will only remains as a history from the past.






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The beach
Some scenesSome scenes
Some scenes

The beach scenes..
Playing aroundPlaying around
Playing around

Small waves..
Nyi Roro Kidul's bedroomNyi Roro Kidul's bedroom
Nyi Roro Kidul's bedroom

Nyi Roro Kidul's bedroom
The beachThe beach
The beach

Kinda spooky..
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Rocks

Rocks
The viewThe view
The view

The view


6th May 2011

Pelabuhan Ratu
Pelabuhan Ratu - Queen of Ports. The Local Govt. little escapist, about road, transportation, the potential tourist places, the food stalls here and there at sea beaches etc. etc., but never forget collecting hefty entrance fee, parking fee etc. etc. It was a time, we could reach Pelabuhan Ratu in 2 and half hours from Jakarta. But now, oh my God to reach there, that may take 6 if your luck is good enough. Starting from Exit Ciwai the pain starts. So horrible so horrible I am sure the women going to give delivery a baby may be ... (not to describe). Heavy Aqua trucks, heavy sand trucks, careless angkots and some reckless small vans operating Bogor - Sukabumi - Bogor, and above all big big unexpected holes on road, factory exists full of karyawan/karyawati (Labors) and a que of Angkots (Small Vans) shall make you exhaust and give up before even you reach to Cibadak. The road condition is so bad, as if there is no father or mother to the natives. After you take a right hand side after Cibadak, the road is bad enough till Pelabuhan Ratu. If you are strong enough and at your young age, and got some brave may be you can enjoy the journey. But, if you are over middle age, Old Age better avoid this risk as sudden heart attacks may happen at any time! Specially woman under pregnancy, small children keep avoid this road starting from Ciwai till Pelabuhan Ratu. Once you cross Hotel Bayu amrata, suddenly you will see some batik wearing people trying to stop your vehicles to collect the fees for entering a tourist place. If you have guests, avoid Going to 4 star hotel over there standing high tall big but inside so bad carpets unwashed, all furniture gone not only old (Pity to see), Interior got brown/yellow, Toilets (Better not to bath) but tariff is more than Bali. Possibly no visitors, so no maintain. Go to any beach you have to pay per person tariff and then for your car parking fee minimum Rp.5000.00. Remember, avoid eating in seaside food stalls or if you like to eat ask first the price fast. Neither, surely you will be a looser. I remember one of my friend had to pay Rs. 80,000 just for a bottle of beer. I think more better and safe is Affordite, Rasuna club. Buy one, one free just for 20,000 Rp., There is a Cipanas Hotwater, and now the naturalness of the location is gone. Enter, you have to again start paying Pemdak. But, no maintenance of the River. Just I have a question, when the administration will open their eyes? If we go back to First president Seokarno time, he so much liked the place he usually give a visit to Pelabuhan Ratu, Stay in Samudera Beach to give homage to legendaries mystic queen Ny Ro Ro Kidul. The days are gone!! The beautifulness is gone! Only remain the memories of ours who had been visited there 10-12 years ago or before. I love Pelabuhan Ratu, Respect the legendary queen and a lots of appreciation to nature loving, well patience, beautiful Sundanese people and their tradition. Pelabuhan Ratu ofcourse a paradise but the guys false promise during Elections now make others compare Pelabuhan Ratu not less than a Hell!! Guys Come On... when we can do, let's do it...
6th June 2011

sadly, i have to agree on this..
thanks for commenting on my trip to Pelabuhan Ratu. Hate to admit, but yeah..you are right. That place has lost its charm and like i said on my entry, it's glory remains in the past. If it's not for a family trip , i wouldn't want to be there.

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