Daytripper : Monumen Nasional

It's always high and low on our holiday life. Especially when it's come with outdoor location here –in Indonesia- and children are involve.

Like this one, a day trip to Museum Nasional – well known as Monas- in Central Jakarta. Armed with one of Now Jakarta edition that has review on it's, we started 9am sharp from home –such a new record for our Saturday venture-. Took us less than 30 minutes to arrived there, and with knowledge from the magazine we cleverly –I'm so proud of myself for finding such this information beforehand- park our car on Masjid Istiqlal side of the gate, so we don't have to walk quite far from ticket booth.

It wasn't even 10am but its lack of the trees along pathway to underground ticket booth –all cements and pavements walks- just draining. We manage to stop for couples of tourist-style photos shoot (we are tourist anyway…) and admiring how beautiful Jakarta's skies when Jakartans flooding out of the city for long weekend.

Walk down to ticket booth underground we greeted by some T-shirt vendors tried to grab my children attention with their Monas-printed-t-shirts. Knowing –again from the magazine- that ticket jumpers aka queue jumpers so ready to grab your line, I was so alert and proved its true. A young lovebird deliberately jumped in front of my face and I asked them to move behind me hence the queue but they just wasn't listening –or ignore me, precisely-.

From the tickets booth, we walk along underground tunnel –approx 50meters, I guess- with Air Conditioner blowing like a fan –it's good anyway, we were so hot- and we came up on the feet of this tall building. What really grabbed my attention once we walk out from the tunnel was a kind of relic-diorama of Indonesia history, and I saw one of the relics is Patih Gadjah Mada with rather chubby cheek. But this place is unexpectedly clean. My son was happy to see the tower from near, but what draw his attention most is he could see Gambir Train Station and some of trains passing bay on distance. Oh Boy!

We went up to the bottom of the building, approaching a ticket booth to get another ticket for riding the lift upstairs to the top of this tower –if I may call it-. The lady behind this booth kind of nice lady who inform us that the queue for the lift is quite long, but we decide to give it a go anyway.

When we came to the other side of this building, Voila!

The queue was so long we couldn't even find the end of it. We joined on the very back. My children look so exhausted this time. Some information about lift capacity, numbers of people and quick math got me thinking. It will take us at least another hour just to reach the lift, not to mention dealing with queue jumpers. So, we call it off. I and Z can't stand the heat; the queue and little miss R looked exhausted.

Big R was almost cry when we told him we have to come back next time, promise him to come earlier –like 8 am perhaps- to kick out the crowd -hoping everyone not thinking the same- ; and console him with snacks and juice to wrapped our journey.

I will be back with more comprehensive reports and photos next time. I promise.