Exploring some pieces of Jakarta

Rain, flood, bad traffic,... are the trending topics for Jakartans for the last seven days.
That's the reality that we're facing now.
It'll continue for probably couple of weeks more.
To be honest, almost every morning and afternoon during the weekdays my heart beat is faster than usual, when I think about my children and husband, who are out there somewhere not at home.

So, what is your plan during this season? Probably staying at home is the best choice for Jakartans.
...sooner or later, won't you get bored? Go to the mall?...Travelling?
Serious?

I do like travelling, so do my family. But we have to deal with all of our family members' schedule. We can't go at anytime we want. For me, travelling is not only a consumption for adults. Bringing along my children to enjoy and see new places, introducing them with new different cultures, different traditions are big happiness for us. I believe my children will gain lots of new experiences from the adventures.

Deal with the schedule, deal with the season, deal with the budget...
Exploring the city is the best choice for now.
There were some places that we chose to be explored about 2 months ago, during a long weekend. For sure, all of them are kids friendly places.
Maybe this can inspire you to bring your children to explore your city.
I like to name this trip,"Blast from the Past".

Museum of Memorial Stone Park, Central Jakarta
Museum Taman Prasasti.
Museum Taman Prasasti Museum Taman Prasasti

Honestly, at the beginning I felt a bit doubt to upload this kind of museum trip into this blog. Why?
Because I started this blog as a food blog, that always related with something good for looking and tasting, and now... I put pictures of cemetery. oooh...
Ok, I'm trying to choose the nice angles and far from any spooky images.

"Taman Prasasti Museum or Museum of Memorial Stone Park is a museum located in Jakarta, Indonesia. The museum was formerly a cemetery, built by the Dutch colonial government in 1795 as a final resting place for noble Dutchmen. Several important person that was buried in the cemetery area are Olivie Mariamne Raffles - the first wife of British governor general Thomas Stamford Raffles - and Indonesian youth activist Soe Hok Gie".wikipedia

Located in Jl. Tanah Abang, Central of Jakarta, this open air museum is not hard to be found. It was quiet, no visitors at that time. ...and actually it was under renovation. The project is expected to create an arrangement of old and new memorials, a redesigned park and a drainage system to prevent flooding.

That's a very good news; the government is willing to spare a budget to preserve and renovate the relics of the past. Sadly to see some of the tombs are not in good condition, not well maintained and abandoned.

Kids @ Museum Taman Prasasti, Jakarta

Museum Taman Prasasti Museum Taman Prasasti Museum Taman Prasasti

Luckily, the museum was open for public during the renovation. So that morning we could walk around the 'park', a place that can't be found easily in this metropolitan city.
Beautiful tombstones, sculptures, statues, with the unique shapes are very interesting for us. Our children liked to read the names and poems that were written on the tombs, then I do like to see their eyes open bigger when they realized the years written were so long ago.
On some of the tombs were written the person's cause of the death.

IMG_9996tamanPrasasti

Museum Taman Prasasti

So if you are interested to visit this place, I suggest you to visit it after the renovation done. The information I got that it should be finishing on December but I think it takes about 2-3 more months. It'll become an interesting and nice place to visit.
To learn more about the history of this museum, you can check this link.

Sion 'Portuguese' Church, North Jakarta
Sion 'Portuguese' Church, Jakarta

It's not hard to find this old church. Located on Jl. Pangeran Jayakarta, just a walking distance from the famous Jakarta City Train Station a.k.a Stasiun Jakarta Kota/Beos.
It was built in 1693 and completed two years later. This is the oldest remaining church in Jakarta. So...it's clear now, what the reason was we visited this church; to see one of the heritage buildings in this city.

Sion 'Portuguese' Church, Jakarta IMG_0075orgel Sion 'Portuguese' Church, North Jakarta

Formerly known as De Nieuwe Potugeesche ("The New Portuguese Church"); referring to its location and also known as Belkita, then later the church name changed into Portuguese Church. It was closed for two years during Japanese occupation in Indonesia, and later on, during the government transition, the ownership of the church was transfered by the Dutch government to the Protestant Churches of Western Indonesia body (GPIB - Gereja Protestan Indonesia Bagian Barat).
Now, we recognize this church as GPIB Jemaat Sion.

Sion 'Portuguese' Church, Jakarta Sion 'Portuguese' Church, Jakarta Sion 'Portuguese' Church, North Jakarta

It's very interesting to know that this church was built above the foundation of 1000 logs and measures 24x32 meters. The church has a plain facade, ward-like appearance and domed windows.

We walked and explored interior of the church... it's amazing to see that everything is in the good condition, very well-maintained; the heavy wooden chairs, copper chandeliers, baroque-style ebony pulpit, and also the original pipe organ.
Interesting!

Sion 'Portuguese' Church, Jakarta Sion 'Portuguese' Church, Jakarta

On the outside of the church, there are few tombs remain.
That's part that I really didn't want to glance.

Tanjung Priok Station, North Jakarta
StTjPriok1

In the middle of the hustle bustle traffic around Tanjung Priok Bus Terminal, a white massive art deco-style facade welcoming our visit to this old train station.
Looking from the building entrance size, I estimated that this station wasn't too big.

Entering the building, we passed the high ceiling lobby with thick brick walls, two rows of ticket counters on the left and right side of the lobby. A magnificent interior.

IMG_0192priok

TjPriok3

It was not many people at that time. Too quiet for a train station.
And... we're surprised when entering the main station...it is big, huge station with EIGHT platforms, which is as large as the main station, Jakarta City Station (Stasiun Jakarta Kota/Beos). I didn't imagine it's that big!

Tanjung Priok Station

IMG_0208priok

The station was built in 1914 to connect Tanjung Priuk Harbor with Batavia (later on became Jakarta) on the South. In its construction not less than 1,700 workers were employed and about 130 were from Europe.
It was built on a 46,930 m2 site and the glorious and luxurious building was 3,768 m2. At that time it was not only used as a station but it also provided lodging for passengers who wanted to wait for ship arrival to continue their journey. The rooms were on the left wing of the building especially built for the Dutch and European passengers. The rooms were supplemented with underground rooms functioned as logistic shed.
Awesome!

Tanjung Priok Station, North Jakarta Tanjung Priok Station, North Jakarta

This station was ceased operating for about 10 years, started at 1999, because state train company decided to concentrate its services in other areas with higher passenger number,...the result...this station was on a bad condition.

Luckily, renovation was done not only for the public transportation, but also to preserve the station as a heritage building. The renovation restored the authenticity of the building, including the train dispatcher, the signal house and the underground rooms.
In 2009, this station opened again as a public passengers station.

Note: please check the picture here to see the whole original building.

IMG_0229priuk

StTjPriok2

For the ending of this long story, here a little tips to bring your children exploring your city:
*Make an effective plan; where to go, how long the trip is scheduled, and how to get there. Make sure it'll be comfortable and safe for everyone.
*I let my children to carry small digital camera, and let them taking pictures, rather than waiting for us busy with our cameras.
*Don't let the children get bored and hungry. Entertain them (talking to them, tell the story about the place that they'll visit), bring enough snacks and water. On our last trip, I brought a jar of homemade gingerbread cookies.

IMG_0286signal

Have a Blessed Sunday!

Comments

Unknown said…
Van, same problem here, mindy's deli gw lebur sama blog jalan², jadinya suka galau kalau mau posting hihii

Thank you ide jalan²nya. Next time gw pulkam harus direalisasikan kopdarnya qta.
Ira Rodrigues said…
Beautiful captured van...
You have shown me the other perspective of Jakarta, Thank you!

Aku suka banget foto stasiun sama Gereja

Nisa-mom said…
don't worry about things you posting here mba, I will always like to visit :) - at least some part of the story you bring a foods stories too LOL , just think about my blog, what a related between food and fabrics ? LOL
Anonymous said…
Wow, like you, I was amazed to see the size of the main station and the place is so clean! Is the station still in service?
Great story, I might want to explore Jakarta when I go home....thanks for Sharing..
Nely said…
jalan2nya seruu..makasih infonya mbak terutama soal stasiun keretanya, anakku seneng banget sama hal2 yang berhubungan dengan kereta jadi pengen ngajak dia kesana :)
Vania said…
Hi Mindy, toss...
Iya, ini dilebur karena gak ke handle pegang 2 blogs. AKhirnya yg satunya buat naruh family pictures yg lebih 'personal' ajah.
Iya, sayang kemaren itu kita gak jadi ke Baduy... suamiku ampe kuciwa :D.
Next time kita ketemuan ya Min. Si kecil pasti udah lebih gede dan cantik.

Ira, haaa...thank you.
Iya ini sisi lain Jakarta, yg lebih tenang :). Jadi...kapan berani mampir ke sini?? hihihi...

Mbak Fitri... thanks udah rajin mampir. Food dan jalan2 emang susah dipisahkan hihihi. Food and fabrics, ah don't worry Mbak, hubungannya erat kog, sama2 yg di'hobby'kan. ya gak??

Roossy, iya Ross, it's a huge station. Yup, still in service. Normally cukup ramai, kebetulan ini lagi public holiday, jadi gak byk yg lalulalang.

Nely, haii...
Kalo mampir, mungkin enakan pake kereta ke sininya Nel. Jadi lebih leluasa motret2. Aku masuk dari gerbang utama station, ama petugasnya gak boleh lewatin batas pintu peron. Agak saklek petugasnya :(
Esef said…
I'm amazed at the architectures! It's definitely in my future itinary with my family to visit Indonesia as we haven't been to Indonesia before though living across the Straits! :-(
We don't have any Indoesian friends and am not sure the tour agencies will conduct programmes that are not touristy.

PS. Love your recipes and photography too! :-)
Beautiful captured...
You have shown me the other perspective of Jakarta, Thank you