Jakarta...my Jakarta - Kota Tua #1: Bank Mandiri Museum

Finally... after one and half year living in Lombok, now its time for me to go back to Jakarta. It’s certainly different.. moving back from a quiet and beautiful Lombok to a hustle bustle city of Jakarta. Now it’s time for me to get to know again with Jakarta and I think the best time to start wandering in Jakarta is the Kota Tua area, the old town area where many heritage building from Dutch colonial era could be found.

The last time I’ve been in Kota Tua for a serious trip was in 1993! I mean really exploring the Kota Tua part with visiting all the museums, taking a walk through the kampung (village) around Kota Tua and do some paddling with small boat or perahu at Sunda Kelapa port were at 1993! Couldn’t believe it myself... wow... that long! What a shame!

So, in a hot day....it is! At 9 am in the morning, it’s already 34°C! I brave myself to go to the old town in Jakarta. Using public transport like busway (trans Jakarta bus) only cost me IDR 3.500  and less traffic from home to Kota.

My first destination is Bank Mandiri museum located just accross the busway shelter in Kota. So when I entered the building, I completely forgot that this museum were located in a very crowded area, I couldn’t hear any sounds, no bajajs (tuktuk), no buses, no angkot sounds... so peaceful and  calm compared to the condition outside the building.  After bought the entrance ticket, which only IDR 2.000,  at the first floor I was greet by life size statue of the bank security from the old days or let say from the ancient time:D

It seems that I was the only visitor, from the time I enter the building until finished my exploration 1.5 hour later I only met the museum staff and people who do the building renovation. Is it because museums still not a popular destination or just because I came during working days/hours?

Bank Mandiri museum housed in a 4 storeys art deco building ex Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij (NHM) or Factorij Batavia built in 1929. In 1960 NHM become the Indonesian Export Import Bank and through the years has changed several times with many names and today it called Bank Mandiri.

At the first floor the lay out was sets like a bank business area, where the stools prepared for customer who deposited the money. And it set like the banking at colonial era where the bank transaction area for European/Dutch is different with the other ethic like Chinese. After looking around, I went to the second floor.  While I climbed the stairs I was amazed with the stained glass window that dominated the whole walls. It is a very beautiful stained glass art from 1800 era that tells a story of activities at different season in Netherlands.

I definitely not coming at the right time, as one of the staff informed me that some of the building area were being renovated or closed for maintenance, so some of the painting was not in place, but still many things that I could see in here. There weren’t much to see at 3rd and 4th floor, but on the way down I was able to use the old lift. After finished with Bank Mandiri museum, I continue my exploration in Kota Tua with visiting museum Wayang or Pupet museum, around 300m from Bank Mandiri museum.

For more information on Bank Mandiri museum, could be found in http://www.wisatamuseum.com

the stained glass window

images in the stained window