Everyone seems made their way to once a year Eid pilgrimage, left Jakarta half empty, and we don't feel like wasting the opportunity to enjoy every corner of Jakarta. Best traffic ever -85km/h on Jalan Sudirman, anyone? - ; and we decided it's time to visit Museum in Jakarta, stay away from usual tourism crowd on recreation parks surrounding Jakarta.
Only took us 15 minutes from our place in South Jakarta to get to Fatahillah Square, the old city of Jakarta, located in West Jakarta. Tempted with my son intriguing stories about its beauty and great displays of Museums surrounding it –yes, my son visited this place before us, on his school excursion, and come back with a very long uninterrupted story- we greeted with very impressive view.
The Old City Hall radiance its glory, it built by Dutch Colonial Government around 1707. Apart from water fountain located right on its front yard, there was a Portuguese cannon well known as Meriam Si Jagur. The ambience was rather busy though, many local tourist –just like us- biking around on its front yard. Apparently the old-style bikes are one of major attraction, completed with Dutch-style woman hat attached; it is not something to be missed.
It's a shame that we come to visit in the wrong day, all three Museums –Puppet museum, Art Museum & Jakarta history museum- they all closed on Monday.
(I wonder why I didn't do any research before coming, something I never done before when it come to museum visit, and somehow I remember my husband said he could not find any information about it on the net. Strange. I do have Museums Guide Book though, published by Indonesian Heritage Society, and I misplaced it. Perfect, huh?)
10 minutes and Rp.40.000, - later; we up to pedaling two bikes, biking around the square like others. It was fun, my daughter complained a lot every time I want to take a mini break, and she enjoyed this fun game a lot. On one of the square corner we could see a view of Stasiun Jakarta Kota – Old Train Station- without any building blocked this view. The only downside is this corner occupied with many street vendors –as we could see on every single corners here-. The sun was quite hot; we started to get sunburn when we decided to stop.
Oh, did I ever telling you that I love Post Office?
Weird, I know, but I have my own history with this particular office, anywhere in the world. First place I always look into on my travel was always Post Office or Street Post Boxes. Don't ask me why, but I more like a kid than my kids when I saw a sturdy –ok, look bit rusty but I know it's quite sturdy- Street Post Box in front of –even better!- Fatahillah Square Post Office. I managed to drag my husband and my kids into it, thought the view hampered inside this Post Office was rather disappointing –it's dark, smell and dirty- and get my kids to bought some stamps just to gave them the experience. Doesn't really worked, my daughter wanted to run out of this place, left me no choice but follow her.
Almost midday when we decided to stop and have a nibble on Batavia Café, a café situated next to Post Office, on an old two storey building. My daughter bit unease, she so cranky –I guess the ambience just doesn't fit children- and we opt only for drink as we found this Café have no separate area for smokers. Oh, and no kids menu but great choice of wines.
We left Fatahillah Square to get our lunch on other place, promise ourselves to come back next time with better plan. And our own lunch and picnic mats. Sounds good.
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