[JKT #2] Museum Taman Prasasti (Inscription Park Museum) - USEFUL INFO

Panoramic view of the tombs (and the angels) in Museum Taman Prasasti

Interested in visiting Museum Taman Prasasti? Here are a few info that will be useful in planning your trip:

Where is it?

• Address: Jalan Tanah Abang I No. 1, Kelurahan Petojo Selatan, Kecamatan Gambir, Central Jakarta
• Nearest Transjakarta (busway) stop: MONAS (corridor 1: Blok M-Kota, or corridor 2: Harmoni-Pulo Gadung), or PETOJO (corridor 8: Lebak Bulus-Harmoni).

The location of Museum Taman Prasasti & its nearest busway stops: Monas (left map) & Petojo (right map)

When is it open?

• Opening days: Tuesdays-Sundays (except on public holiday)
• Opening hours: 09.00-15.00

How much is the entrance fee?

• IDR 5000 (adults), kids & college students get cheaper rates.

Can we take photos/videos?

• YES.

Are there any guided tours?

• Nothing official, but you can ask a museum staff to give you a tour. As long as he's not busy, he'd be happy to guide you.

Anything else for consideration?

• Although it's a cemetery, it wasn't scary at all. When I visited it, I was literally the only visitor around... There was a cat and 3 museum staff, and that was it. But I survived and enjoyed it very much.
• So if you heard any not-so-positive rumors about this place... Don't take it seriously and please, reserve your judgments until after you've visited the place.

If there's anything else you'd like to know, post it on the comment box or tweet me at @redpacker101. I'll help in any way I can.

Enjoy the trip to the oldest cemetery park in Indonesia! :)

-redPacker

[JKT #2] Museum Taman Prasasti (Inscription Park Museum) - PART 2

...For the 'park' assumption, I was right - it was totally outdoor with the form of a memorial park.

As for the 'prasasti' assumption...

• Don't even think to find a prasasti like Mulawarman, Talang Tuo, or Tugu - like the ones in Museum Gajah. Museum Taman Prasasti is actually a cemetery.
• And not just a regular cemetery - it's a Dutch colonial era-cemetery that's been around since more than 200 years ago.
• AND it's one of the oldest modern cemeteries in the world (if not the oldest), on par with those (more) well-known old cemetery parks in France or USA.

Say what now?!

So it really does have the Angels and Demons-slash-Ravenswood vibe...

Flash-forward to until after I recovered from a moment of awe, I bought the ticket (worth IDR 5000, by the way) and chatted with the museum staff.

And more knowledge to come:

• The cemetery was officially opened in 1797 - hence the title of 'one of the oldest modern cemeteries in the world'. Some even say that it's the oldest modern cemetery in the world.
• It was originally established to bury Dutch noblemen and high-ranking officials in Batavia (the Dutch colonial name for Jakarta), but along with time it was also used to bury other foreigners (e.g. Olivie Raffles - the wife of the famous Stamford Raffles) and even Indonesians (e.g. the famous activist who died young - Soe Hok Gie).
• The cemetery was closed in 1975, and was officially opened as a museum in 1977.

So what sets this cemetery apart, that made the government feel the needs to make it a museum?

Here are some photos and you can see (and judge) for yourself...

Angels guarding the tombs

The tomb of Indonesian activist Soe Hok Gie (at the rightmost of the photo)

A beautiful statue-tomb of a Batavian pastor

There's even a Japanese tomb - it's of the soldiers who died fighting the Allies during World War 2

Panoramic view of the tombs (and the angels) in Museum Taman Prasasti

Where else in Jakarta can you find a cemetery as beautiful as this? Hell, I thought I could only find cemeteries like this in Europe or America. But there's one right here in the middle of the city!

So come explore and enjoy it to the max :)

-redPacker

[JKT #2] Museum Taman Prasasti (Inscription Park Museum) - PART 1

The clock was showing 10.30 in the morning - until less than half an hour ago it had been raining - luckily when I got out of Museum Gajah, it had almost stopped. And when I arrived in front of Museum Taman Prasasti, the sun had been shining again.

If you see a white building in this shape...

Museum Taman Prasasti as seen from Jalan Tanah Abang 1

...that means you've reached the museum too!

Different from Museum Gajah or Monas, I've never previously been to Museum Taman Prasasti, and in fact I wasn't familiar with this museum at all - apart from its name and its location.

I assumed I know what's inside it: as the museum's name uses the word 'prasasti' (meaning 'writings in stone', or kind of), I assumed the museum contains a lot of prasasti like in Museum Gajah, but perhaps the collection is more varied as it focuses on prasasti only (as opposed to Museum Gajah which contains a wide variety of artifacts - not only prasasti).

Aand my second assumption is that the museum would be more outdoor-sy, as it uses the word 'taman' (meaning 'park').

Fueled with these two (shallow) assumptions, I walked closer towards the museum...

...and when I entered the front yard, I saw this on my right side:

A Dutch colonial cannon in the front yard of Museum Taman Prasasti

But when I turned to the left...

The museum sign in the front yard of Museum Taman Prasasti

...I thought "Ha? Why these statues have the whole Angels and Demons-slash-Ravenswood vibe in them?" They totally didn't fit the 'prasasti' stereotype that I had in mind.

A bit confused, but I continued anyway to the main door, and got a glimpse of what's actually inside the museum.

And guess what it is?

-redPacker

[JKT #1] Museum Nasional / Museum Gajah (National Museum of Indonesia) - USEFUL INFO

Panoramic view of arca park in the middle of the original building of Museum Nasional / Museum Gajah

Interested in visiting Museum Nasional / Museum Gajah? Here are a few info that will be useful in planning your trip:

Where is it?

• Address: Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat No. 12, Kelurahan Gambir, Kecamatan Gambir, Central Jakarta
• Nearest Transjakarta (busway) stop: MONAS (corridor 1: Blok M-Kota, or corridor 2: Harmoni-Pulo Gadung). The museum is right next to the busway stop.

The location of Museum Nasional / Museum Gajah & its nearest busway stop (Monas)

When is it open?

• Opening days: Tuesdays-Sundays (except on public holiday)
• Opening hours: 08.00-16.00 (Tuesdays-Thursdays & Sundays), 08.00-11.30 & 13.00-16.00 (Fridays), 08.00-17.00 (Saturdays)

How much is the entrance fee?

• Indonesians: IDR 5000 (adults), IDR 2000 (kids)
• Foreigners: IDR 10.000 (adults & kids)

Can we take photos/videos?

• YES, except on the 4th floor of Gedung Arca (the new/additional building).

Are there any guided tours?

• YES (as we can see on the photo below), and it's free!
• The scheduled guided tours are available in 4 languages.
• Tours in other schedule and/or languages are available on request.

The free guided tours schedule of Museum Nasional / Museum Gajah

If there's anything else you'd like to know, post it on the comment box or tweet me at @redpacker101. I'll help in any way I can.

Enjoy the trip to the National Museum of Indonesia! :)

-redPacker

[JKT #1] Museum Nasional / Museum Gajah (National Museum of Indonesia) - PART 2

Done exploring the front side of Museum Gajah, it was around 8.30am... (and still) thinking: "The museum's not open yet." But hey, I'll go to the front counter anyway to make sure the museum's gonna be open today (just in case).

So I went to the front counter (which is located behind the elephant statue, inside the original building), and there was a staff standing by there. I asked him "The museum's gonna be open today, right?" and then he grinned and replied proudly "We're already open, Miss."

And cue to a signboard behind him...

The opening hours & entrance fee details of Museum Nasional / Museum Gajah

Not much I could say really, other than "Oooooow." #enlightenedmoment

Turns out the museum opens at 8am. Well, what's better than a bit of positive surprise, right? Hehehe. But still, #willdoresearchmorethoroughlynexttime

So I bought a ticket, worth IDR 5000. It's less than a dollar! Only about USD 50 cent, give or take. Although for foreigners it's IDR 10.000, or around a dollar... Still, very VERY cheap compared to most museum entrance fees in other countries, right? (foreigners who happen to read this post will mostly agree with me, hehe)

Already got the ticket, already got the museum brochure... so the next thing I wanted to know was "Can we take photos inside the museum?"

...and the staff said yes!*

Yeah, now let's go explore the inside of Museum Gajah!

Actually I've been to Museum Gajah before, but it was waaay back when I was a kid, perhaps around 15 years ago. Gedung Arca didn't exist yet, and all that I remember from the original building was that there were a lot (and I really mean a lot) of arca (stone statues/sculptures) in the museum.

But hey, Museum Gajah is not only about arca. They have a bunch of other artifacts and the most comprehensive collection of Indonesian history and heritage - which is why if you want to learn all about Indonesia in one place, this is one of the most important places to visit. They're not called the National Museum for nothing, guys.

So how many areas can we explore inside the museum?

In the original building, we have the whole floor that covers things like:

• Indonesian ethnography (showcasing the diverse and rich heritage of Indonesian ethnic groups like the Javanese, the Bataks, the Balinese, the Asmats, etc).
• Foreign ceramics that were found in Indonesia.
• Countless arca (some original, some replica) in the outdoor area in the middle of the building.

In Gedung Arca, there are 4 floors that we can explore, which cover things like:

• 1st floor: Man & environment (pithecantropus erectus & other cavemen found in Indonesia, etc).
• 2nd floor: Science & technology (prasasti/stone writings, law system, astronomy, etc).
• 3rd floor: Social organization (social life in Indonesia, etc).
• 4th floor: Gold & ceramic collection (from kingdoms in Indonesia, sunken ships, etc).

Basically almost everything about Indonesian history & heritage is covered here, so take your pick and explore this museum away!

-redPacker

*except the 4th floor of Gedung Arca

[JKT #1] Museum Nasional / Museum Gajah (National Museum of Indonesia) - PART 1

So after a short walk from Markas Paspampres, I reached the end of Jalan Tanah Abang 2 and saw Monas from across the street! Okay, now let's find a zebra cross...

...or maybe not. Yet.

At the end of Jalan Tanah Abang 2, on my right is the glorious Museum Nasional (National Museum of Indonesia), or as most Indonesians (including me) also like to call it Museum Gajah (Elephant Museum), due to the presence of an elephant statue in front of the museum, that serves as its icon.

I was planning to go there after Monas, as it was still 8am and I thought Museum Gajah wasn't open yet at that time (I thought it was open at 9am). But hey, let's take some photos of the front side of the building first before crossing the street to Monas...

Gedung Arca, the additional building of Museum Nasional / Museum Gajah

Museum Gajah consists of 2 main buildings:

1. The original one is an old Dutch-style colonial building, which was erected in 1862 and established by the Dutch colonials to hold research and collection of Dutch Indies (the future Indonesia) history and heritage. It was officially open for public in 1868.
2. The new one (as we see on the photo above) is called Gedung Arca (Statue/Sculpture Building) and was added at the beginning of the 21st century. This is the building that is right at the end of Jalan Tanah Abang 2.

The original building of Museum Nasional / Museum Gajah

And here's the original building, which is already more than 150 years old and still keeps most of its original form intact. Too bad its front side is currently on renovation... but of course hopefully when it's done it will look even more gorgeous than before.

Yep that's the cute little elephant in front of the building, the one I mentioned previously. Let's take a closer look at it, shall we?

The 4 sides of the elephant statue in front of Museum Nasional / Museum Gajah

Right, this cute little elephant has been standing here since 1871 (wow, I bet its feet must've been stiff from all that standing... hehe) as a gift from the then-Thai king, Rama V, who visited the museum that year.

If we see closely below the elephant (click on the photo above to view it in full size), there's a writing on each side with different languages:

1. The front side is in Dutch (the language of the colonial government who ruled Indonesia at that time), written: Geschenk van... bla bla bla.
2. The right side is in Thai (the native language of the government who generously gave this gift to the museum).
3. The left side is in Arabic (a well-known language in Dutch Indies, as there were a lot of merchants from the Arab world, and obviously the majority of Indonesian people are also Muslims).
4. Aand the back side (AKA the butt side) is in Indonesian, written: Hadiah dari Yang Mulia (A Gift from His Majesty)... bla bla bla.

Really, the butt side? Such a way to show who was in charge and who was the oppressed at that time.

So basically we can also see a glimpse of history by looking closely at this cute elephant.

-redPacker