It was one slow Sunday afternoon and I was seated comfortably in my room at the Aston Rasuna Residence Jakarta switching movie channels on cable TV.  I was taking advantage of my free coffee sachets and nibbling on my favorite crunchy Kuzuka cassava chips.  I just came from my short walk on the hotel grounds and decided to go back to my room to rest for a bit.  But as always, I couldn’t stay long in one place and the day was just too beautiful to spend indoors.  I grabbed my Indonesia map and tried to look for an interesting place to explore for the rest of the afternoon.  I chanced upon a short yet informative feature on Taman Mini Indonesia Indah and my curiosity immediately got the best of me.  I grabbed my purse and immediately left my hotel to catch a cab.

Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) or Beautiful Indonesia Miniature Park is an extraordinary park that is located in Southeast part of the city.  From the city center of Jakarta, TMII is located about twenty five (25) kilometers away and travel time can last anywhere from thirty minutes to almost an hour depending on traffic conditions.  But if you’ll be coming from the Perdana Kusuma airport, it is a mere five (5) kilometers away.  You can reach the park by taking various means of transportation like a private rented car, the public bus, metro mini or the ever dependable Blue Bird taxi cabs.

It all started with an almost out-of-this-world idea of building a park where all of Indonesia’s twenty seven provinces will be represented in full scale form all in one place.  The idea became a reality and the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah was opened to the public in a formal inauguration ceremony in April 1975 after about four years from the time of inception by Ibu Tien Soeharto, the late First Lady of Indonesia.  The park became an impressive landmark that was built on about 100 hectare land and turned out to be one of Indonesia’s most visited attractions over the years.

This park is perfect for any tourist in Indonesia who is traveling only with limited time. In just one afternoon, each visitor can have the opportunity to take a trip around Indonesia and be acquainted with Indonesia’s twenty seven provinces and be introduced to Indonesia’s rich culture and abundant natural resources.   The distinct characteristics of each province including the unique architecture, customs, indigenous dances, clothing, jewelry, handicrafts etc are showcased in different sections in the entire park.

But the favorite of almost all visitors are the life-sized replicas of the native houses or pavilions from all over Indonesia.  These pavilions are arranged around the lagoon, the park’s centerpiece, where you can also find a miniature map of the entire Indonesia archipelago. You are free to go inside these show houses of the different provinces and explore the furniture, décor, and souvenir items that are being sold.  From your visits to these  pavilions, you will get to understand how people from different provinces of Indonesia live.  Some of the notable examples of the unique traditional houses are the “Tongkongan” houses from Tana Toraja of South Sulawesi, the “Joglo” house from Central Java, the “Bolon” house from North Sumatra, and the “Lamin” from East Kalimantan.  Visitors can view these pavilions either by riding a boat by the lagoon or by enjoying a delightful trip in any of the colorful cable cars.

At this point, you haven’t seen everything yet.  You can check out the Taman Among Putro which is a children’s amusement park, the Istana Anak-Anak Indonesia or Indonesia Children Castle where fairy tale paintings from all over the world are displayed, or the Panggung Parkir Utara which is a cultural performance stage located next to the Pancasila Flame Monument Plaza.

Aside from these attractions, TMII also has a theater where you can watch Indonesian movies.  You can also visit different museums or enjoy the bird park and lush gardens with flowering plants.  Don’t forget to stop by a souvenir shop before you leave so that you can buy yourself some trinkets like shirts, postcards, magnets, etc that will help you remember the wonderful day that you’ve spent in TMII.

TMII is a perfect destination not only for tourists who wish to explore Indonesia but also for local families who would like to bond over the weekend.  If you don’t feel comfortable exploring the place alone, there are TMII tours offered by local travel agencies.

It is true when they say that some big things come in small packages.  All it took were little bites of the bigger pieces to make me fall in love with Indonesia even more.

HELPFUL INFORMATION:

Taman Mini Indonesia Indah Complex
Address:  Jalan Raya, Pondok Gede, Jakarta Timur 13560 Indonesia
Contact Number:  +6221 840 9214; +6221 8409210
Fax Number:  +6221 8400709
Operating Hours:  8:00 am – 5:00 pm (Tuesday to Sunday)
E-mail Address: info@tamanmini.com
Website:  http://www.tamanmini.com/

Posted in Attractions, Indonesia

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 6:42 pm and is filed under Attractions, Indonesia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.