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Home Page > Travelogues > Indonesia > Jakarta > Taman Mini II Other Chapters in the Jakarta
section:
It is ordinarily not like me to devote an entire travelogue or
subchapter to what is essentially a single attraction in a city. But the
Taman Mini Indonesia Indah is not an ordinary attraction. It is, in fact,
an attraction designed to show off the It was an attraction perfectly suited for such a capital city. After all, most visitors to Indonesia tend to concentrate on the single island of Bali, beyond that the quantity of foreign tourists drop significantly. Since island hopping is difficult to do, this is a great alternative. I found that the best way to start a visit to the Taman Mini was
to start with the skylift, a cable car that crosses over most of the park.
From above, I found that there were about thirty or so different (and I mean
completely different) cultures represented. Each culture (island or part
of island) was given its own little block which contained one or two structures
and gardens in the represented The eastern Javanese city of Yogyakarta, a major Javanese attraction with Buddhist and Hindu temples alongside old Muslim mosques, earned its very own exhibit. Part of it is the Borobudur exhibit, shown in the second photo. Borobudur is a famous Buddhist temple from the 8th Century that is popular due its interesting octogonal shape and its elaborate artwork. The exhibit is a very simplistic version compared to the real thing. Yogyakarta (called "Joeg-jah" by the locals) is high on my list of places to hit in future trips, the pages I've encountered on the web describe other ruins and sites to visit, plus it is described as Java's cultural center. The exhibits representing sites further from The third photo was taken on the drive after the skylift ride,
time unfortunately There were three other sights from the skylift definitely worth mentioning. The first is shown in the fourth photo, a kilometer-long pool that contains a reproduction of the major islands. I have annotated this photograph to help you get your bearings (perhaps reviewing the Indonesia map will help, too?). This is the western half. Second was the Children's Castle, located at the distant end of the park. This is a huge red-brick castle with playgrounds and activities. While impressive, I couldn't grasp what architecture if any it was designed to replicate. Third were religious structures, which used a very odd shade of olive green -- these were a mosque, a Catholic church, and a Protestant church side by side. These were not monuments, they were still very much in use, and represented the country's religious tolerance. The Taman Mini was much, much more than just the miniature
Indonesia exhibit. I already mentioned the skylift and the My only complaint about the Taman Mini would be that it did seem to be falling into a state of disrepair. The exhibits themselves were fabulous, however much of the infrastructure looked the worse for wear after some twenty or twenty-five years. In a way, this was surprising, given the popularity of the park -- especially among the children who congregated at the children's castle and the IMAX theater, and this was on a weekday. Aside from that, the Taman Mini was absolutely worth the visit. If you are going to Jakarta and want a quickie-tour of the whole country without the pain of added travel, I highly recommend it. Other Chapters in the Jakarta
section: Trip taken 29 December 2002 through 03 January 2003 -- Page last updated 28 October 2006 -- (C) 2002 Tom Galvin Useful Links:
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incredible
diversity of culture and architecture available amongst Indonesia's 1,700 or so
islands.
architecture.
For example, the first photo shows the exhibit for Central Java (region
containing the popular city of Bandung, for example). I learned that the
island of Java was very diverse, with the Western, Central, and Eastern Java
exhibits being very different. 
Java were even more interesting and ornate. For example, take a look at
the flambouyant style of the West Sumatra exhibit in the third photo.
Sumatera is Indonesia's largest island, adjacent to Java to the northwest, and
itself a multicultural experience (North Sumatera, West Sumatera, South
Sumatera, and the remote province of Aceh were represented). Much of their
architecture made elaborate use of straw and ornate, colorful patterns.
Other major islands, like Sulawesi (also known as Celebes) and Irian Jaya (also
known as Papua), showed examples of even more flambouyant architecure and
brighter colors (gold was particularly common, but also bright blood reds and
royal blues). Of course, the Balinese exhibit (with its signature orange
stone Hindu architecture) was the easiest for me to spot. The Museum
Indonesia, the national history museum, also used Balinese architecture.
did
not permit the opportunity to visit each exhibit, but believe me I would have
loved to.
Museum Indonesia. The fifth photo shows the "snail", which is an
IMAX theater. There were other museums, and a miniature version of the
Monas (see the 
