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Pontianak
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Kota Pontianak is the
capital of the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, founded by
Syarif Abdurrahman Alkadrie as a capital of Sultanate of Kadriyah
( Kesultanan Kadriyah ) in 23 Oktober 1771. Pontianak as a trading
port on the island of Borneo. The city center is actually less
than 3 kilometres (2 mi) south of the equator.
The cultural diversity
in Pontianak presents various events throughout the Year. The
Chinese celebrates Lunar New Year, Cap Go Meh (Lantern Festival,
which falls on the fifteenth day of the first month of lunar
calendar), and Cheng Beng (Tomb Sweeping Festival, on first day of
the fifth solar term of lunar calendar).
The Malay celebrates
Idul Fitri, Idul Adha, Maulidur Rasul and The Dayak People
celebrates harvest or locally known as Gawai Dayak. These events
are usually marked with extravagant cultural parades around the
city.
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The equatorial line
passing Pontianak is marked by an Equatorial Monument north of the
city center. Between March 21 - 23 (spring solstice) and September
21 - 23 (autumn solstice), solar culmination can be observed near
the Equatorial Monument, where the declination of the Sun will be
exactly at 0° at noon (12:00), causing shadow of the Monument and
everything nearby to disappear for a few seconds.
The most popular mode
of transport is motorbike. Public transport includes minivans
(local: opelet), GoJek service[5] and human-powered becaks
(three-wheel pedicabs). There are some city buses serving certain
routes only. Intercity buses take passengers to other nearby
cities (2, 3, to 10 or more hours of travel), and even to Kuching,
a city in Malaysia. Road transportation to Malaysia and Brunei is
possible via Jalan Trans-Kalimantan(Jalan Lintas Kalimantan) to
Tebedu in Sarawak.
The nearest
international airport is
Supadio International
Airport, located about 25 km from the center of
the city of Pontianak and is located 24 kilometers from the
Southeast of Terminal Bus Antar Negara (ALBN). To make arrangements for a taxi from Airport to city
centre, contact one the taxi operators or travel agents that have
counter in the Airport.
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