The Icon of Jakarta (Monas, National Museum, Istiqlal, Cathedral)

Well, another bucket list completed with this Jakarta city tour trip. So happy and satisfy haha. And here is my journey. 

Finally after 6 years come back to Jakarta I enter Monas aka Monumen Nasional aka National Monument. It is the icon of Jakarta that my mom said it was the place that when people from outside Jakarta come will come to visit at the first time in the 80s. But I believe many of Jakarta citizen haven't enter Monas just like me haha. First, its hot, secondly, people feel nothing to enjoy here --- I think this relate to the habit of Indonesian, not much people like to visit museum or some educational place.

How to get to Monas? Transjakarta - Monas Station or online transportation. Defenitely not by driving car since you will park your car not inside Monas area, its somewhere out there. 

This 80 ha of Monas is really really big and hot, you should come earlier, it open at 8 in the morning. 

What you can visit in Monas? Monas underground history museum, cawan, observation deck. 

This is the underground museum, very detail dio-namic here

The stairs also meaningful, the right one have 17 steps and left one have 8 steps (17 Aug is Indonesia independence day)

This is the view from the cawan

Jakarta from cawan

How to buy the ticket? Directly on the ticket window, you should buy the Jakcard (it can be use later for public transportation) - 1 Jackcard can be use for 1 group, to enter the underground museum IDR 5k//person, so if you come by 6 person = 1 Jakcard IDR 25K + 30K = 55K is the total entrance fee you need to pay. 

I dont know why for ladies toilet you need to take off shoes to enter, so not convenience so better you go toilet not in Monas. 

To go to cawan, actually it enter from the same entrance as if you want to take lift to the observation deck. Nah but when we come at 8.45, the queue for the observation deck if we buy the ticket is already 12.30, so this time we don't go there. 

Next, is National Museum, it just across the Monas, a beautiful white architecture. Entrance fee is IDR 10K, you can purchase online to avoid queue. 

It's quiet spacious to see the literature here. 

Then we take "delman" to Juanda as its already lunch time. You should try delman, it was my first time also. 80K for 1 delman for 4-5 person from National Museum to Juanda. Pricy than took Transjakarta, but it kind of experience that you should try once. 

In Juanda there are many local restaurant & cafe you can choose one to have lunch then continue to Istiqlal Mosque, its the largest mosque in Southeast Asia. Its so crowded here especially during the moslem praying time, nah you also can enter inside to see and take off your shoes, but sad thing was my friend shoes disappear when he come out and being changed to sandal, so better you have a plastic to bring your shoes with you. 

Just cross by the road you can enter Jakarta Cathedral Church, and there is Cathedral Museum inside that not big but you can see many oldies things there also there is theatre that playing Fatima movie at that time haha. 

Cathedral from Istiqlal POV

Unluckily when we come there is wedding so we can't enter the building but from outside you already can feel the classic of it. 

Prayer cave

Inside Cathedral Museum

Well, after all sweat, you worth to have an ice cream. Go to Ragusa by 10 mins walking distance from Cathedral. Its an old Italian ice cream shop that very famous or already become Jakarta iconic ice cream shop. 

Sadly on weekend only take away no dine in

This is the spaghetti one, its vanilla ice cream with some topping - IDR 40K

Overall for this trip is all in walking distance and in one area, wear comfort & polite outfit as to go to museum & religious point they required it. Also prepare some petty cash to buy drink. Just use public transport because its so crowded and hard to park your car and move it from one to another point.