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
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
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) .
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
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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