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History

The word pontianak — probably from bunting anak, "pregnant with child" — means the undead vampire of a woman who died while during childbirth. Disguised as a beautiful woman, the pontianak goes around murdering unwary men, harming pregnant woman and eating babies, but they can be controlled by plunging a nail into a hole in the back of their neck.

Legend said at the first time of Abdurrahman Alqadrie group arrival in the uninhabited area of Pontianak, it was haunted by pontianaks/kuntilanaks, which deterred many of his companions by their scary voices at nights. To sweep these ghosts away, Alqadrie ordered his men to fire their cannons to the forest which was believed to be their base. Afterwards, no more pontianaks' voice were heard ever.

In 1771, Abdurrahman Alqadrie cut down the forest which was at the crossing between Kapuas and Landak river, then settled there. He was awarded the title Sultan. Under his leadership, he succeeded to attract many traders, most of which are ethnic Malay, as well as some Dayaks from the upstream of Kapuas river.

Following the civil war and widespread poverty in China at the end of 19th century, many Chinese migrated to Indonesia, which also targeted Pontianak due to its strategic location for trading, main occupation of the Chinese. This later added Chinese culture to history of Pontianak. Chinese sub-ethnics in Pontianak are mainly Teochew, Hakka, and some Cantonese--dominant Chinese citizens in Hong Kong.

In the early of 19th century, the Dutch occupied Pontianak and the rest of West Kalimantan cities as part of its colonial campaign. Pontianak is occupied to become its trading post to gain rich natural resources, mainly rubber and wood, from the upstream of Kapuas river. Resistances committed by both ethnic Malay and Dayak occur sporadically, which forced the Dutch colonial armed forces to request for reinforcement from Batavia/Jakarta frequently.

Dutch occupation ended in 1941 during the World War 2 when Japanese imperial forces overrun their bases from the north, which were not deployed by reasonable amount of soldiers in order to defend strategic Java island. During Japanese occupation, they massacred tens of thousands of civilians and intellectuals, mainly those who refused to recognise the emperor of Japan.

When the Japanese retreated, the Dutch under the Allied Forces umbrella re-entered West Kalimantan. Their colonial government over Pontianak ended few years later after series of diplomatic missions and local resistances which have also freed the other Indonesian territories at the same time.

People

You may find that Pontians of each ethnic tend to live homogenously. For example, areas along Jalan Gajahmada are overwhelmingly Chinese whereas Sungai Jawi in the suburb are settled mostly by ethnic Malays. Intermarriage is not common, especially between ethnic Chinese and the indigenous people (Dayaks, Malays, Javanese, Madurese, etc.). But that's not to say these people like to fight against each other. Visit a restaurant somewhere in the middle of Pontianak and you might find a Chinese and a Dayak chat hilariously.

The locals of Pontians are mostly easygoing, at least compared to those of other metropolitan cities such as Jakarta and Surabaya. Their tone of speaking may not as soft as the Jogjanese, but if you try to blend yourself with them you will almost definitely be reciprocated.

Sungai Kapuas (Kapuas River) devided Pontianak to two different sides. Get a boat ride along the river about 5-6pm local time and you will see amazing view along this river. The locals who live along this river taking a bath in this river during these hours throughout the year. A very unique tradition that should not be missed.

  • Kebun Binatang Pontianak (Pontianak Zoo), Jl. Adi Sucipto, a reconditioned zoo with a reasonable variety of animals from the jungles of Borneo and from some parts of Indonesia. Some of the collection, including some orangutans, were said to had been freed from illegal ownership by an Italian lumber mill owner.
  • Tugu Khatulistiwa (Equatorial Obelisk), built directly under the 0 degrees equator line. It is only 11km from the city center and is comparably easy and fast reachable by public buses (IDR2,000). There you can learn lots of interesting facts about the equator and to see how unique is Pontianak, one of the few cities in the world situated exactly on the equator line. There are friendly English speaking staff and sоuvenir shop, actually maybe the only one in Pontianak.

By bus

Bus trip to Pontianak can be arranged from Kuching in neighboring Malaysia. A trip from Kuching to Pontianak or vice versa will spend at least 8 hours which will pass the border area of Entikong. Some of the bus providers serving this route are Damri, SJS and Biramas (www.mybus.com.my). The fares for the trip ranges from RM45 to RM75. Click Pontianak_to_Kuching for travel Itenerary on this route.

By plane

This is the most recommended transportation mean to reach Pontianak. Other than Jakarta, the main hub of Indonesian cities, Pontianak is reachable by plane served by most national carriers from Batam (accessible from Singapore by ferry), Medan, Balikpapan, Jogjakarta, Semarang, as well as Kuching, Malaysia. Most tourists visiting Pontianak choose the first option, which will take approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. The name of the local airport is Supadio.

Airlines serving the city include Garuda Airlines [1], Batavia Air [2], Lion Air [3], Sriwijaya Air [4], Adam Air [5], Trigana Air, Deraya Air, Dirgantara Air.

From the airport to Pontianak city the only mean of transportation is by taxi (coupons at fixed price IDR60,000 are sold).

By boat

While being the cheapest inter-island transportation mean, it is recommended only for travellers to board on a ship to Pontianak. Tourists would do better to fly instead. The tide in Java Sea is unstable, which may make you feel sick on board, if you are not used to high tide. A trip will spend 12-18 hours to/from Jakarta. Contact nearest travel agent to conduct your trip.

By car

Pontianak can be reached by car from Kuching in 6-8 hours, although the road is not in very good shape. See Pontianak to Kuching for a detailed itinerary.

The most convenient way to explore Pontianak is either by taxi or rented car. The entire Pontianak is integrated by road link, parts of which are not well maintained. There are also plenty of cheap (IDR2,000) public buses but sometimes it can be kind of adventure to use them since the buses are not good marked, drivers and most of the locals do not speak English and the orientation is difficult. Also there are boats crossing the river and this is in general the most convenient and the cheapest (IDR1,000) way to get in to the other side.

Equatorial souvenirs from the Equatorial Obelisk sоuvenir shop, as well as, cheap textile and many craftwork items as everywhere in Indonesia.

Pontianak is quite popular among domestic tourists due to its wide range of food with strong cultural touch, most notably the Chinese. There are plenty of eating options for the culinary adventurers, from street hawker food to local restaurant culinary to internationally franchised fast food.

1. Street Hawker Food, where you can taste the local delicacy such as Beef Rice Noodle & Beehoon (Fried, With soup, Dried), Seafood Noodle (With soup & Dried), Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice with Chicken, Beef), Nasi Uduk, Kwe Kia Theng (Teochew phrase, Rice Noodle in Soya Sauce Soup with Pork and intestines (optional), Bakso (Fish or Beef Ball Soup), Sate (Chicken or Beef Satay), Kari Peng (Teochew phrace meaning Curry Rice), Koi Peng (Teochew phrase literary "Chicken Rice", but content also include pork, cucumber, etc. also known as "Nasi Campur" or Mixed Riced), Martabak, Kue Terang Bulan, Otak-otak, Pempek, Tui Jiu He (Teochew phrase literary "Beaten Cuttlefish", dried cuttlefish are beaten until tender and flossy, woodfired until cooked, then served with belacan sauce, best to have it with friends and beer), Sio Bi (also known as Siomay, made of pork served in soya sauce with the options of chilli and mustard), Siomay Bandung (Fish cake, beancurd, potato, vegetable, egg served in peanut sauce, with the option of chilli and tomato), and many more.

These Street Hawkers are usually found from dusk until 10pm - 12am, depending or business, but some operated from dawn to dusk or midnight. They are usually clustered around busy commercial streets such as the CBD: Jalan (Jl.) Gajahmada, Jl. Hijas, Jl. Setia Budi, Jl. Agus Salim, Jl. Diponegoro, Jl. Patimura, Jl. Nusa Indah 1, Jl. Tanjung Pura, or around the suburban such as Jawi (Jl. Merdeka, Jl. Hassanudin, Jl. Wahid Hasyim), Kotabaru (Jl. St. Abdurrahman), Purnama, Siantan, Sungai Raya Dalam and Sungai Raya.

Price per meal ranging from IDR 5000 to about IDR 25000 (USD 0.55 - 2.77 at IDR 9000 exchange rate).

2. Local Restaurants include Chinese Food such as Restoran Gajahmada (Jl. Gajahmada), Restoran Star (Jl. Gajahmada), and Restoran Hawaii (Jl. Nusa Indah 3), Malay Food such as Dangau (Jl. Arteri Supadio), Western & Japanese Food such as Italian Steak House (Jl. Nusa Indah 3), Sari Bento (at Museum, Jl. Ahmad Yani).

3. Fast Food if you think you have had to much of local culinary and prefer the good ol' Fast Food then you can have it at KFC (Ayani Mega Mal, Jl. Gajahmada, and Ramayana Mal), Pizza Hut (Ayani Mega Mal), CFC (Ramayana Mal, Matahari Mal), Texas Fried Chicken (Matahari Mal, Mega Mal), etc.