Thanks to the Eid Holiday at the end of July, Jakarta seemed like a ghost town…at least comparatively.  Which means it was the perfect time to take advantage of the sites around the city.

An amusement park called Taman Mini was high on the list.  Yes, this place has food, handicraft shopping, a water park area, theatres, bird parks and museums, but I really wanted to go because it also had full-scale models of traditional houses for each of the countries’ provinces.

I started the experience with a cable car ride from one side of the park to the other and back.  This allowed me to see what the park had to offer so I could decide where to focus my energy once I was back on the ground.  I was also able to appreciate the pond in the far corner of the park that had islands in the formation of the Indonesian map…very impressive.

Back on the ground, it was decided to hire a tram for about an hour and a half.  The driver would drive around and make requested stops to get the desired photo ops.  The different architectural styles were pretty amazing.  Many of the houses are built on stilts to deal with flooding in the rainy season, but apart from that, the styles, colors and decorations are very different.  It was really nice to see how the people of this country live and how the different designs suit their needs beautifully.

It was a great afternoon to spend outdoors, taking advantage of the quiet city and taking in so much of the widespread and varied Indonesian culture without leaving the area.

Jakarta should be very proud of this cultural resource.