5 Cultural Tourism in Jakarta That Makes You Love Indonesia
Indonesia is rich in culture. As foreign tourists, studying the culture of other countries that we visit will make us discover values that may not be found in our own country. One way is to do cultural tourism. Likewise, although the city of Jakarta is famous for being full of skyscrapers — kind of a hustle capital, but behind all that, the City of Jakarta still has places that inherit Jakarta’s culture. Here are the most popular cultural places.
1. Museum Nasional Indonesia
The first place is the National Museum or Monas, which is no doubt very familiar to the ear. For those who are interested in ancient objects, you really must come to the National Museum. This museum has 140 thousand collections of objects. The National Museum is divided into two sides. The Elephant Building on the left and the Arca Building on the right of the main entrance gate. In Gedung Gajah there is a hallway with various kinds of statues. Among them, the relics of the royal era in Indonesia.
2. Museum Bank Indonesia
Initially, this museum was the Indonesia Bank and was called De Javasche Bank during the Dutch colonial period. However, because it was considered a historic building, The actual functioning Bank Indonesia eventually moved and this building is used as a museum till now. When you enter this museum, you will be greeted with a hallway that seems to take you to the old banking era. Every room in the hallway has a diorama and explanation so you do not need to be worried about how to understand the history. Visiting this place will give you some historical knowledge of world finance as well.
3. Kampung Betawi Setu Babakan
Cultural tourism in Jakarta will not be complete if you don’t go to Kampung Betawi Setu Babakan. In this village, you can see typical Betawi houses and visit the Betawi museum. This 2-storey museum will take you to see the Betawi culture in the past. If you continue the trip by strolling around the village of Setu Babakan, you can enjoy the most fun part which is tasting the local food, such as egg crust, ulam rice, pecak, and others. You can also try making your various Betawi snacks such as lunkhead, coconut root and pletok beer.
If you done fill your stomach, don’t miss watching the local show. Every Sunday, a Betawi art event is regularly held at Setu Babakan. There are dance, music, martial arts and comedy performances. All of them are typical Betawi and are staged in the amphitheater in the Setu Babakan area.
4. Museum Wayang
Just like the Bank Indonesia Museum, the Wayang Museum is still in the Old Town area. This museum is dedicated to Javanese people. Well, if you are curious about the origin and history of wayang and its puppetry, you can visit this Wayang Museum. As the name suggests, you can see various kinds of puppet collections. Starting from wayang kulit, wayang golek, puppet statues, wayang masks, wayang beber, glass puppets, a traditional instrument like gamelan, and wayang paintings. You can even buy some wayang souvenirs from here.
5. Old Town
Many do not know that the Kota Tua area covers several areas in North Jakarta and West Jakarta. Among them, Fatahillah Park and its surroundings, the Chinatown area in Glodok, Kali Besar to Sunda Kelapa Harbor. So far, Kota Tua is synonymous with Fatahillah Park. This place is always the center of the crowd every weekend. Because more than five museums are around Fatahillah Park. Around the park, there are also many food stalls and cafes. Those of you who want to try old-fashioned snacks can hunt for old-school Jakarta snacks such as egg crust and ice selendang mayang. For those of you who like photo hunting, you can find many photo spots here. Like the Kota Intan Bridge and the old Toko Merah building.
Vacation is more than just the scenery/food/accommodation, it’s about making long-lasting memories and learning others culture. Discover more adventures in Jakarta by visiting Wonderful Indonesia.
