Would you believe that in my seven months of living in Jakarta (READ: First-time in Jakarta and 10 Things to See in Jakarta) I haven’t set foot in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah? I’ve spent most of my time in the central and northern part of the city and missed out a lot on the southern, eastern and western parts of it. Taman Mini Indonesia Indah or TMII, which literally means Beautiful Indonesia Miniature Park, is located at Jalan Raya Taman Mini in Jakarta Timur or East Jakarta.
A day was not enough to see everything in the 250-acre Taman Mini. But it is a better alternative if you cannot see all of Indonesia, plus it’s a cheap travel alternative. We got a GoCar through the GoJek app from Sarinah to Taman Mini. We braved the traffic and we got there at about 30 minutes or so. We paid IDR10,000 (app PHP37.55 or USD0.75) per head at the gate, including the driver. We dropped off at the parking area and we spotted an open shuttle that goes around the park. Surprisingly, there were many ojek or motorcycle drivers trailing after us and offering us that they take us around. We declined and went instead to the information center, which is a bit hidden as it is tucked at a less conspicuous area near the parking area.
From there, we got a map of the entire park, which you will find below. But to give you an overview, here are what you will find inside the park:
- Regional Pavilions – the pavilions represent the heritage homes per region. Each pavilion displays the traditional clothing, products and materials that come from that region.
- Museums – from archaeological finds to traditional items to artworks to natural attractions (such as the Komodo dragon) that can be seen in Indonesia, you will be able to find them in the different museums around the park.
- Main buildings – there are major landmarks around the park that you can visit and view.
- Gardens – there are nature spots and cultural parks and gardens throughout Taman Mini where you can sit down and relax.
- Rides and Theaters – if you want to enjoy the park through the rides, experiences and performances, you can do these in the various activities inside Taman Mini.
- Facilities – banks, restaurants, clinic, terminals, police station and other amenities are also available inside the complex.
- Houses of Worship – while Indonesia is the largest Islamic country in the world, it also has various religions throughout the archipelago. You will find the different houses of worship inside the park, too.
There is no single ticket inside the park. Once you pay the entrance fee, you have the choice which attractions you want to visit and fees to the individual attractions vary from one structure to another. With limited time and budget, we only selected those that we would visit.
Indonesian Museum
We paid IDR15,000 at the museum entrance, plus IDR5,000 for our camera. The museum’s entrance and the main building has a Balinese design. As we got inside the museum compound and entered the building, a man trailed after us and started telling us about the display. There were masks available, shadow puppetry, musical instruments and wedding dresses per region. Honestly, I enjoyed looking at the displays and everything there was really very informative and educational. But the man was just giving me some creeps that it quite annoyed me as we were going around inside the museum. We’ve told him we can go on our own but he kept talking.
As we went up the upper floors, the man kept leading us and talking about the exhibits there. While it was most helpful as we thought he was a guide, we were just surprised when after the tour, he asked us to pay him a fee that is higher than the museum entrance fee. In fact, he was asking somewhere around IDR50,000 to 100,000. We gave him a tip for his services but we asked the entrance booth regarding the fee and we were informed that we weren’t supposed to pay anything inside. It was a tourist trap.
Regional Pavilions
We stopped by a souvenir shop near the Cultural Park Aeromovel Station before we went to the regional pavilions. The West Sumatra Pavilion really got our attention with its colorful and artistic façade and structure. We were just halfway through the block of pavilions on one side but the sun was already setting and we were already tired of walking. We were not able to check the other side of the Archipelago Lake, where more attractions are to be found.
It was dark when we finished our self-tour so we had dinner there in Taman Mini. There were more to see and we only probably saw 20% of everything in there. But we also started late, so if you’re planning a day adventure to Taman Mini, start early.
Information:
Fees – http://www.tamanmini.com/pesona_indonesia/tiket.php
Opening Hours – Taman Mini is open daily from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm while rides are open daily from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.
Getting there – taking a bus to get there is a challenge so I suggest you take a car through the online apps GoJek or Grab as it is cheaper, safer and more convenient than taking a cab.
Contact – (Tel) +62 21 2937 8593 to 8595 or +62 21 8779 2078; (E-mail) [email protected] or [email protected]
This is part of my 12 Days in Indonesia journey that took me to four cities within this Asian country.