If you were to come to Jakarta and ask me to show you around, I would be very confused about where to take you. As I've said in the intro thread, Jakarta is the place to go if you want to see thousands of malls (no, really, we have one around every corner) and be among our most modern part of civilization, but there's not much to see here sightseeing-wise (because they keep building all those malls instead).

We do have a couple things, though, which I would like to cover before we get to the prettier sights in other cities.

Here is our National Monument ("Monumen Nasional" in Indonesian, better known as "Monas" because we abbreviate everything)


It's a 132 m (433 ft) tall monument that was built to commemorate our fight for independence. It has a flame on top that is covered with gold foil. It's also a museum. The place was opened in 1975 and built per the instruction of our first ever president.

I haven't actually been there myself, which is true for most people who were born here. The thing is... the elevator is kind of tiny and claustrophobic, so I've never made it up to the observation deck (it can only hold 11 people).

The National History Museum is below, which has dioramas showing scenes of Indonesian history. There is also the Hall of Independence where the original text of the Proclamation of Independence is stored in a glass case. We used to have our original flag, too, the one raised on our independence day, but as it has become fragile, it is no longer displayed.

I have never been to these places either, nor has my school arranged a study trip here in all twelve years I attended. I have no idea why.

For our collection of museums and culture-based recreation, the mandatory place to visit for all school study groups is Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (literally translated, "Beautiful Indonesia Miniature Park"). The park is like a synopsis of Indonesian culture, with various aspects of Indonesia's provinces encapsulated in separate pavilions with the collections of Indonesian architecture, clothing, dances and traditions. It's a place that shows off Indonesia in a small scale.


Since each province has their own unique type of houses, all the buildings are very varied. Within the complex there is also a lake with a miniature archipelago, cable cars, museums, an IMAX cinema, a bird park, an aquarium, a water park, and a theater among other things.

There are fourteen museums at this place, some technological museums (electricity & new energy, telecommunication, transportation), some animal ones (insects museum, komodo zoological museum & reptile park), sports museum, heirloom museum, stamp museum, and soldier museum, and many more.

Next stop is our huge amusement park, Fantasy World (Or "Dunia Fantasi" in Indonesian, better known as "Dufan". Did I mention we abbreviate everything?)


It's our version of Disneyland. Only it's not really themed or anything. We have the regulars; roller-coasters, ferris wheel, carousel, and some of the more thrilling rides. We also have our own version of Disney's It's A Small World ride. It's pretty good as far as amusement parks go and can be enjoyed by both adults and children.

The amusement park is located in a complex called Dreamland, which is our largest tourism area. It's a resort destination located along the city waterfront. Aside from Fantasy World, there we also have Sea World, Atlantis Water Adventure (a water park), Ocean Dream Samudra (a place to see animal shows with a 4D theater), an Art Market, the beaches, a golf course, a bowling alley, and of course, hotels.

Now let's venture elsewhere!


If foreigners think about Indonesia, the first place they think of is probably Bali. It's our number one tourist destination and people from all over the world love it. The beautiful beaches, the local culture, and the completely different atmosphere from Jakarta probably has a lot to do with it. The prevalent religion in this island is Hindu, and the place is renowned for its highly developed arts, including traditional and modern dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking, and music. It's been known as the "tourist haven".

Expensive hotels and beach resorts can be found all over the island, offering various water sports activities like diving, surfing, and jet skiing, and the local seafood places are always full with people as well, both native and foreigners. Unlike Jakarta, the water of the ocean is still clear blue and there's much less pollution all around.




Another one of our most important landmarks is the Borobudur Temple, located in Central Java. This was considered one of the Great Seven Wonders of the World. It was built in the 9th century during the Sailendra Dynasty and is a Buddhist temple. The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path around the monument and ascends to the top through three levels symbolic of Buddhist cosmology: Kāmadhātu (the world of desire), Rupadhatu (the world of forms) and Arupadhatu (the world of formlessness). The monument guides pilgrims through an extensive system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the walls and the balustrades. Borobudur has the largest and most complete ensemble of Buddhist reliefs in the world. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.



The other UNESCO World Heritage Site in this area is the Prambanan Temple, which was also built in the 9th century. If Borobudur is a Buddhist temple, then Prambanan is a Hindu temple. It is dedicated to the Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the Preserver (Vishnu) and the Destroyer (Shiva). It's the largest Hindu temple site in Indonesia and one of the biggest in Southeast Asia.


Both temples are used as a site for contemporary religious events, especially during religious holidays. In Prambanan there is a stage for the Ramayana ballet (one of the Hindu epic tales), which is performed every full moon night since the 1960s.

We still have so many other highlights and natural beauty all over our islands, which I myself have yet to explore. I've probably only seen a small part of our entire country, and there are more wonders and places to see in the other islands. If you ever come to visit, make sure not to come only to our capital city, as the true beauties lay elsewhere.

The temples are breathtaking!

Wow! So fascinating. My very favorite, and a place I would now really love to go visit, is the Borobudur  Temple. <3

A few months ago me and a friend attended a tea taste testing seminar called the "Teas of Asia". There was a very knowledgeable woman who spoke a lot about Java and other places in Indonesia where tea is grown, and how the altitude and humidity affect the leaves etc... This thread helped me sort of imagine it in my mind and put it together.

All of these places are beautiful! I would really like to go to Jakarta to see these malls and Bali to see the beautiful ocean <3

*begins pricing plane tickets to Indonesia* ...>.>...<.<...

I love the National Monument’s architecture and colors. =) Goodness, I’d like to travel to Bali to see that amazing ocean. And those temples, they are gorgeous.

I loooove your landmarks, I loooove your cities and I loooooove how your architecture differs so much from ours! It looks so interesting and has a nice atmosphere and I totally want to visit Indonesia now xD