Bird Park in TMII

I had wanted to go to Taman Mini's Bird Park for quite some time, so when my cousins came to Jakarta, I gladly suggested that we went there.

Because of Indonesia's geographical position, it has a unique blend of fauna. Western Indonesia's fauna is related to Asiatic species while Eastern Indonesia is more influenced by Australasian. The Wallace line separates these two regions.

The bird park in Taman Mini is arranged by this concept. There are two main domes in the park : the West dome (where you can see birds from Sumatera, Java, Bali and Kalimantan) and the East dome (where there are birds from Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua). Between the two domes, there is a small pond which serves as the imaginary Wallace line.

Left : Say Cheese...actually I'm shivering inside, hoping the kakatua doesn't bite me!

Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII)

Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (Taman Mini for short) if literally translated means Beautiful Indonesia Miniature Park.

It is located a bit out of the centre of Jakarta, in East Jakarta, which is much needed because it stretches over 250 acres. The main focus of the park is to get a glimpse of Indonesia's 26 provinces (at the time of building there were 26, now there are 33 provinces), which all have their own unique cultural identity.

All 26 provinces have a separate pavilion where you can see the province's traditional house, clothing, instrument etc. Even though the park's name uses the word "Mini", the houses are actually not small (it is not like Madurodam in the Netherlands). The houses are a life-size replica with some of them open to the public so you can actually go inside. Some province's pavilion also has scheduled performances of its traditional dances.

Besides the houses, there are also a lot of gardens, museums and an Imax Theatre which besides occasionally screens blockbuster movies, also has a movie on Indonesia's landscape called "Beautiful Indonesia". There is also a cable car you can ride on to get a bird's-eye view of the park.

Photo Source : http://www.flickr.com/photos/9549670@N05/tags/tamanminiindonesiaindah/

I recently visited Taman Mini, and the shame thing is that it could use some fresh paint...but nevertheless, it is a nice place to get acquainted to Indonesia's rich culture without leaving Jakarta. But if you want to experience the genuine culture, of course, nothing beats going to the actual provinces.

If you do plan to explore the whole park, you might think of freeing your agenda for a whole day and also, bring a car!

Borobudur Temple - One of the Wonders of the World

During my vacation, I went to the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. It was magnificent. No wonder it is one of New7Wonders finalists and it's on UNESCO's World Heritage List. Just a few pics of the Alhambra (from inside the Nasrid palace) :

Indonesia also has a couple of sites on UNESCO's list. One of them is the Borobudur temple and is often referred to as one of the world's wonders because it is the largest buddhist monument in the world. It was built in the 9th century and consists of 2,672 relief panels and 504 statues.

Pic from : http://mepow.wordpress.com/2009/03/13/candi-borobudur-bukan-sekedar-tumpukan-batu/

Personally, I haven't been to Borobodur yet, so going there is one of the top things on my Must Do list. If you are free this month, then it would be a good time to go because the Borobudur International Festival will be held on 25 - 29 June 2009. The festival includes cultural performances, trade exhibitions and seminars.

Also in commemoration of Vesak (a Buddhist holiday), a spectacular show of traditional Javanese dances with the Borobudur as a back-drop will be performed at the compound.


Want to visit Borobudur? Check its website for latest events : http://www.borobudurpark.co.id/

Monas - Jakarta's Landmark

It has been 1 month since my last entry. Mainly, it's because I was on a 2-week vacation. One of the places I went to was :

It is amazing how recognizable the Eiffel tower is that eventhough the picture is a bit blur, I bet you immediately know I was in Paris. Even if I say "France", the Eiffel tower would probably be one of the things that come to mind.

For Jakarta, its landmark is Monas, an abbreviation for Monumen Nasional, which means the National Monument.

Source : http://fahrurozi.wordpress.com/2009/01/

From the outside, the monument may not be as fantastic as for example the Empire state building in New York. However, Monas is rich in meaning. It was built as a symbol of Indonesia's spirit in fighting for its independence, thus the "eternal" flame on top (coated in gold).

It was also designed with Indonesia's independence date in mind : 17-08-'45. (17 metres is the height of the flame, 8 metres is the height of the room inside the monument which houses the National History Museum, and 45 is the width of the base. See pic, source : http://jakartathecity.blogspot.com/2008/12/monas-icon-of-jakarta.html).

Monas is open to the public. You can go to the top and get a bird's eye view of Jakarta or go to the basement where the National History museum has dioramas depicting Indonesia's history.

When local tourists come to Jakarta, they would most likely put Monas on their list of things to visit. However, for foreigners, maybe less so. I think it is the lack of marketing programme which doesn't make Monas a firm symbol of Jakarta as the Eiffel is for Paris.

Lawang Sewu

Address : Jl. Pemuda (in front of Tugu Muda), Semarang

Lawang Sewu is a 2-storey building in Semarang built by the Dutch as their railway company’s headquarters. (When I googled for info on when exactly it was built, there was conflicting information, some websites say 1863, some say 1903) This building has many doors thus its name “Lawang Sewu” which is a Javanese word meaning “A thousand doors” (although there are probably less than 1000 in reality).

Lawang Sewu : Then (photo on the left) and Now (photo on the right)

Source of black & white photos : Semarang official website

Source of "Lawang Sewu Now" photo : http://areefudeen.multiply.com/journal/item/1

During the Japanese occupation of Indonesia in the 1940s, the building was used by the Japanese as a prison, a place where Indonesian “rebels” were interrogated and killed. It is because of this, many ghost stories arisen and now the younger generation knows Lawang Sewu more because it has been used in the reality show “Dunia Lain (Uji Nyali)” (a show where people are dared to stay overnight in spooky places) and also in the Indonesian horror movie appropriately titled “Lawang Sewu”.

Having heard about the ghost stories and knowing Indonesia doesn’t prioritize the maintenance of old buildings, when eventually arriving at Lawang Sewu in mid January ’09, I wasn’t surprised to see the overall neglected condition of the building. What I was surprised about upon entering the main door was the hallway, which had a staircase with a beautiful stained glass window, which left me imagining how stunning the building must have been when first built.

Left : stairs to the stained-glass windows, Right : in Detail

The main windows from outside

I found this AMAZING photo of the main hallway on Flickr. My "amateur-skilled digital camera" photo is of course no comparison.

It is best to take a guide when looking around the building because there are many rooms, you may get lost without one. My guide was particularly keen to encourage me to take the night tours (around midnight) when the “ghosts appear”. However, I am not that brave, I even skipped the underground tunnel tour and underground prison. It is said that many prisoners died because of shortage of oxygen. No wonder all the horror stories!

Another historical importance of the building is because it was the location of a heavy battle between Indonesia’s AMKA (Angkatan Muda Kereta Api) group and Japan’s Kempeitai and Kidobutai troops during the famous 5-day battle in Semarang (14 October – 19 October 1945).
That is why in front of Lawang Sewu, you can also see another famous icon of Semarang, which is the Tugu Muda monument. This monument was built to commemorate the battle.

Recently, I read in a newspaper that Indonesia’s railway company, which is the owner of Lawang Sewu, has started renovations of the building and will eventually use it as a mini museum and office.

The guide asked me to photograph this hallway, and then pointed out to me the white circles on the photo. He said they are the spirits of the ghosts haunting the place.

A beautiful staircase

View of Tugu Muda from Lawang Sewu