Pontianak
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.
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 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.
Popular attractions in Pontianak:
| Pontianak Popular Attractions | |
|---|---|
|
• Equator Monument |
• Kadriyah Palace |
undo Indonesia Popular Destinations