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Saudi king brings 459 tons of luggage for visit to Indonesia

JAKARTA — Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud begins his nine-day visit to Indonesia on Wednesday (Mar 1), and he has certainly come prepared.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud. Photo: AFP

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud. Photo: AFP

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JAKARTA — Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud begins his nine-day visit to Indonesia on Wednesday (Mar 1), and he has certainly come prepared.

The 81-year-old is expected to bring 459 tons of cargo for the trip, and this includes two Mercedes-Benz S600 sedans and two electric elevators. Accompanying him is a 1,500-strong entourage that includes 10 ministers, 25 princes, and at least 100 security personnel, The Jakarta Post reported.

Because of the large size of the Saudi group, a total of seven aircraft – six Boeing airliners and a Hercules military transport plane – will be utilised. And to handle the cargo, an Indonesian airfreight company will deploy 572 workers.

During the visit, King Salman and his entourage will stay in four glitzy Jakarta hotels: The Westin Jakarta, Raffles Hotel Jakarta, Ritz-Carlton Jakarta Mega Kuningan and JW Marriott. Indeed, the Saudis have booked some 200 rooms in The Westin Jakarta, with rates starting from 2 million rupiah (SS$210) per night.

Such grandeur is not uncommon to Saudi royals. During his 2015 visit to Washington, King Salman booked the entire Four Seasons hotel, Washington Post reported. The five-star hotel has a total of 222 rooms.

That same year, the Saudi king received flak after his 1000-strong retinue forced a beach on the French Rivera to close for three days citing security and privacy reasons. There was also local outcry when the king’s retinue tried to build illegally a lift from his luxurious villa on the French Riviera to the beach so that “his feet never have to touch the sand”, Daily Mail reported.

King Salman’s official visit to Indonesia is slated to run from Wednesday to Friday (Mar 3). On Mar 4 to 9, the king will holiday in Bali. His visit marks the first time in 46 years that a Saudi king has visited Indonesia, and it comes amid increased ties between the two Muslim countries

The Indonesian visit is part of King Salman’s six-nation tour which kicked off in Malaysia on Sunday (Feb 26). After the Indonesian visit, he will travel to Japan, China, the Maldives, and Jordan. AGENCIES

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