Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, Jakarta

want to see all 27 provinces and 13,000 islands of indonesia in one day? come over to the highly extensive grounds of the ‘taman mini indonesia indah’ in jakarta. it’s kinda like our ‘taman mini malaysia’ in melaka, but i am sure this place is way bigger; with so many museums, a couple of theater halls, a huge lake in the middle, cable car ride, and even a castle!

and because it’s so extensive, you can actually drive your car inside the park – which i think is not necessarily the best way to enjoy the park, unless you have someone whose job is to JUST drive! yela, susah le nak keluar masuk kereta bila nak tengok 3-4 rumah yang bersebelahan.

other mode of visiting the park :

• if you can take a car in, you can certainly ride a bike around the park. also a good choice
• you can even rent a motorcycle or bicycle at the main entrance of the park
• there’s a mini van going around picking up people all around the park – like a feeder bus inside the park – but you have to pay RM1-2 each time you go on one
• you can also rent a mini van with a driver if you’re visiting in groups – however it’s about RM30 for only an hour – and i’m telling you it’s NOT enough to even visit one museum and one ‘house’!

 

though it seemed quite impossible at first, but us 3 ladies with 3 toddlers decided to see the park on foot – yes, by WALKING! it was a very tiring but enriching experience. plus, i’m sure we lost a few pounds that day walking around under the hot sun!

 

 

(utk yang tak tau, mr. khairul had to forgo this jakarta trip at the last minute because of work commitment. he had to be in saudi and flew a day before we were due to fly to jakarta. so it was just me and my boys, along with my sisters-in-law tina and teh. sad that we’re missing our captain, but we managed!)

what are my boys wearing?

just the day before, my sisters-in-law and i went shopping at thamrin city and bought the boys these matching outfits – hand-made batik with colors so vibrant, i just had to get them just so they could wear it to visit the *whole* of indonesia at this park.

*batik is the traditonal fabric of indonesia.

 

kahfi my yellow sunshine, khaleef the cool dude in white & kazim in bright red

 

just look at the map below. see, taman mini indonesia indah is freaking HUGE! we took this map after spending the whole day at the park, and we were barely halfway through!

sadly, when we went there the hand-held maps were all out, so we only have these boards to guide us. no worries though, it’s easily available by the roads as you walk past.

 

 

there are probably more than 10 museums all over the taman mini indonesia (told you the place is HUGE!) so we chose to go into only one; the museum indonesia. the entrance fee to these museums are not included in the main entrance fee, so you have to pay to visit these museums. no fret – it’s just about RM1 to enter!

museum indonesia, as expected housed myriads of exhibits depicting the rich indonesian culture. from traditional clothings to musical instruments and small models of different types of houses used for different purposes.

 

my sisters-in-law tina and teh with their favorite nephew khaleef

 

my favorite exhibit in that museum had to be the mannequins dressed in traditional wedding attire from the many, many provinces of indonesia – sulawesi, jawa, sumatra, maluku – the list seemed endless. i was in awe looking at the unique beauty of each clothings; thinking how one country can have so many styles that are so different from one another. one had an elaborate headgear, while another had a sparkling sash across the chest. one groom was even topless, and another sported a wedding attire similar to malay wedding attire. it was amazing to see.

the long line of mannequins were displayed in couples; wearing the traditional wedding attire. my sis-in-law had fun choosing which ‘style’ she wanted to have for her own wedding! haha.

no pictures? well, turns out we had to PAY to take pictures in the museum! so takpe lah. terima kasih, kami tengok je lah! hihi.

 

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to write about each and every single ‘house’ we visited would be a difficult task for me – there were so many, and so vibrant in their uniqueness, that in trying to describe each one, i would probably be lost for words. they’re all so beautiful, with distinct identity.

the carvings on the doors and windows, the color scheme, the flooring, the shape of the roof, the height of the pillars that support the house – each one unique from the other.

if you’ve been to taman mini malaysia in melaka, you’ll know what i mean. and we have 13 states – while the indonesians have no less then 27 provinces and thousands of islands!

 

tina & khaleef at the big lake in the park. it had ‘mini islands’ in the water made to look like the islands of indonesia!

 

 

wah, wasn’t expecting a 4D theater in this taman mini indonesia indah!

when i found it while googling, i knew that we should just head on to this among other things and activities they have in the taman mini indonesia. at least we’d be sitting down with the restless boys, watch a fun cartoon, inside an air-conditioned hall!

we were greeted by a huge poster, ‘ayo nonton 4D. filmnya seru banget!’ haha.

the first time i saw a 4D movie was just few days before at universal studios singapore (USS). this one in jakarta is no less entertaining. with bubbles effect, water sprays and occasional burst of cool wind, the animation about a fish looking for a present for his grandma was every bit as enjoyable as ‘shrek’ which we watched at USS.

foreigners be warned though – it’s completely in indonesian language!

 

 

stalls selling souvenirs are located at various spots; by some of the houses, by the roadside, and in the theaters. you can buy local products like woven bags, masks, wayang kulit puppets, batik-based items, and the usual souvenirs like key-chains, magnets and t-shirts.

 

 

…and THIS is the castle that i mentioned previously! it’s a beautiful terracotta-colored castle, huge and it’s called, ‘istana anak-anak indonesia’ or ‘the castle of indonesian children’. we didn’t go in because by the time we reach here we were all drained out and ready to go home. i think it’s a small water-playground. again, entrance fee to this was not included in the main entrance fee.

overall, it was a feast of the rich indonesian culture all in one place. some of the houses were locked for some reason, which is a waste but we still had fun. when you’re in jakarta and are done with batik shopping, head on to taman mini indonesia indah!