Amsterdam view from Amsterdam Tower

Amsterdam view from Amsterdam Tower
The view from Amsterdam Tower

Saturday, October 22, 2011

MUSEUMS (part 2) – JAKARTA, INDONESIA

FATAHILLAH MUSEUM (BATAVIA MUSEUM)

My last visit to museum in Jakarta was to Fatahillah Museum (Batavia Museum).  All my life in Jakarta, I visited this museum twice only.  The first one was during a school trip many years ago.  The second one was during my Dutch friend’s visit to Jakarta.  If he did not request for this specific trip, I would not have thought to go. 

Fatahillah Museum, Jakarta

The official name of this museum is “Jakarta History Museum” (Indonesian: Museum Sejarah Jakarta).  But it is also known as Fatahillah Museum or Batavia Museum.  It is situated in the Old Town (known as Kota) of Jakarta, Indonesia.  The building was built in 1710 as the city hall of Batavia (Jakarta).  Link to Fatahillah Museum: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jakarta_History_Museum and http://www.indonesia-tourism.com/general/museum.html



It is still clear from my childhood memory that there are underwater rooms underneath the museum.  They are actually cells which located beneath the front portico were used as dungeons.  A Javanese freedom fighter Prince Diponegoro, who was treacherously arrested, was imprisoned here in 1830. Takut banget deh ngebayangin penjara bawah tanah ini....

Cannon in front of the museum

I like the public square in front of the museum.  The square is now known as Fatahillah Square (Indonesian: Taman Fatahillah).  It reminds me of Dam Square in Amsterdam.  Dam Square has frequently been the location of events of all kinds, and a meeting place for many people.  There were some performances like singer/guitar performance, pantomime artists, etc.   Just sitting there, watching people passing by, acting like a fashion police - was quite entertaining.

If we stand in the main gate of Fatahillah Museum and look at the Square, we will see CafĂ© Batavia in the opposite side.  It is a nice old building from the colonial past in 19th-century.  First floor is as a coffee shop and upstairs for dining.  This place considered as one of the hottest places to hang out the 90’s.  It is still nice to go there for afternoon coffee after visiting the Museum.

Cafe Batavia at the opposite of Fatahillah Museum

Going back to Fatahillah Museum, during regular weekend, we can rent bicycle (such as sepeda onthel – this type of bicycle was commonly used in most cities in Indonesian until the 70’s) to go around the ‘old town area’ or just to take pics.  In some other weekends, there have been events held in Fatahillah Square.  I think they were held during the Jakarta Anniversary Day or Indonesian Independence Day. Let’s dream big - Jangan mau kalah sama Dam Square, Amsterdam!  Taman Fatahillah itu sesuatu banget lho...

Crowds during a bazaar at one Sunday afternoon

May my personal wish came true as this museum will be closed for two years to allow for conservation work to be carried out on the badly damaged museum complex.  Conservation work will begin in 2012 and is expected to finish in 2014. http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/07/09/fatahillah-museum-closed-until-2014.htm


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SATRIA MANDALA MUSEUM

As far as I recall, my first visit to museum was when my teacher organized a day trip.  I was maybe 11-12 years old.  I vaguely remembered exactly when and what we did the whole day.  But I remember we visited Satria Mandala Museum or Armed Forces Museum.

This museum is the nearest to our school anyway.  I could even go there by cyclo!  It is located in Jalan Gatot Subroto, one of the main business streets in Jakarta business district.

This museum was opened in 1972 and has collection of arms, including Japanese fighter planes of World War II vintage, Russian and American guns and armored cars.  Dioramas give the visitor an insight regarding the role of the Indonesian Armed Services in this country.

Another part that I remember clearly about this school trip; my mom purchased a small thermos for me, so that I could bring cold water.  Thanks Mom, it took years to say this to you.

Mom..., this little girl has grown up from an ugly little duck to a beautiful swan.


MUSEUMS (part 1) – SAIGON

I started to like museum only after I grew older. Is it a matter of getting wiser or because I know more interesting museums?  

Fine Arts Museum

I have not visited enough museums. Others would have visited many more than I have had. However, I am still keen to write this story in order to overcome my guilty feeling of not being able to visit more. 

There are two museum buildings in the museum area

Let me start from the last museums I went in Saigon, and going backward to the first one in Jakarta (please refer to MUSEUMS (part 2) – JAKARTA) – which is not a long list!).


When I visited the Fine Arts Museum by myself, I had to rely on the ticket girl to take my pic. Just a standard pose.


FINE ARTS MUSEUM

Location is very strategic i.e. within walking distance (< 10 minutes) from the Ben Thanh market.

Different parts of the museum

I visited this museum twice during my two month living in Saigon. The first time I went there, I was by myself. The second visit was when my two Indonesian girlfriends came to town and it was more fun! We took turns taking pics of the three of us -:). Thanks girls!


Prior to my first visit, I only knew that the museum occupies an old beautiful French style building. Indeed ‘she’ is beautiful. LOL… The building is so feminine “to me”. As it was built by the French, I give ‘her’ a female identity….

Main lobby, just right after the entrance

I walked around the museum building, did ‘sweeping’ from the ground to the third floor. I love the ground floor area where there are many lacquer paintings. It opened my eyes about Vietnamese lacquer paintings. I am not sure the right translation of ‘lacquer’ to Bahasa Indonesia, menurut internet terjemahan lacquer yaitu pernis atau lak tapi kita pakai kata lacquer aja yaa... Anyway, going back to lacquer paintings, there are many beautiful ones in this museum. I spent some time to stare at them. Paintings about people and the day to day life amazed me the most.



The building is very much French style. The stairs to second and third floor seem like stairs in Europe. There is a wooden lift that does not function anymore, but it is still fascinating to me.

Looking down at the stairs from 3rd floor (left). The old wooden lift (right).

The building corridors are beautiful... There is a corridor at the back building on second floor which was painted in lovely abstract green. My girlfriends took many shots at this area -:)

Museum corridors. Different area has different types of tiles. Voila!... Corridor looks nicer with someone there.

During the second visit, my girlfriends and I bumped into some young Koreans sailors in their white uniform...  We could not resist of not taking pics with them...! They were friendly and willing to take our pics as well-:) PS: taking pics in this Museum is allowed but no flash, that’s the info from the lady at the front door.

This is my favorite art work displayed at the museum yard

As value-added point after visiting this museum, it is worth to cross the street toward Le Cong Kieu. It is a small street, a joint Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street and Pho Duc Chinh Street. There are antique shops along this street offering an abundant choice of antique from colonial and pre-colonial times. Even Mrs. Hillary Clinton visited this street.  I could say to everyone now that I visited the same street in Saigon as Mrs. Clinton did!

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Museum of History, Ho Chi Minh City


MUSEUM OF HISTORY, HO CHI MINH CITY

The first time I went to “Zoo and Botanical Garden” in Saigon, I noticed an old building on the left side right after the main entrance. It is where this museum is located. As additional note, right across the entrance of the museum, we can also see the beautiful Temple of King Hung Vuong which is dedicated to the ancestors of Hung Vuong, the founding king of Viet Nam.

Temple of King Hung Vuong

The museum building was opened in 1979, and occupies a building constructed by the French in 1927. It is a nice museum that starts with early stone tools and ends with the French period. It has everything from Roman coins to cannons, including items from the ethnic minorities.



It is interesting that there is a mummy room in this museum! It is the XĂłm Cái mummy from Ho Chi Minh City. In 1994, at XĂłm Cái, District 5 in Ho Chi Minh City, a mummy was discovered in a rather big 60 square meters.  The corpse was buried with the style of traditional Vietnam; in a coffin, on a sarcophagus, with full of shroud and grave goods, and soaked in red solution. If you see below pic, please guess why I could not take a closer one; because I am a chicken. I was frightened. Takut!

Xom Cai Mummy, Ho Chi Minh City

Museum admission ticket in Saigon is relatively inexpensive. Ticket to enter this museum costs 15,000 VND. They do allow photos, but we have to buy a 30,000 VND camera ticket in addition to the admission ticket.

Vietnamese Water Puppet at Museum of History, Ho Chi Minh City

There is a regular performance of Vietnamese Water Puppet. Additional ticket is required and can be purchased in front of the performance room. I watched one show in one afternoon, it just happened there was a group of college students – I think they are Malaysians – because I heard them talking Malay. 

People behind the scene of the Water Puppet

The show was held in a pool which I thought less than 10m x 10m and around 0.50 deep. Pool is surrounded with three rows of wooden chair for the audience. Be careful of sitting in the first row which is closer to the water, you might get splash… The show was performed by six persons. Each plays different type of puppet. The puppet is made from wood shaped in different character. It is a standard shape either human or animal.  I could not really tell the story, as even though there was some sound of the presenter but it was all in the local language. The Vietnamese music is used for background.

There is souvenir shop inside the museum sells Vietnamese handicraft and small place where we could have cold soft drinks.

Nice decoration on top of one of the doors

Leaving the museum, I noticed there’s a huge vase on the left side of main entrance door of the museum (i.e. it is at the right side before you get in). I love this vase which was made from 200,000 of coconut scoops! It is equivalent to eight tons of raw coconuts. H: 3.62m, D: 2.55m, W: 623kg. Four stories of the Hung King period and six modern figures were expressed on the vase.

"Huyen Su Doi Hung" Vase (left). Noticing the vase closer (right)



Like this corridor, left side of the main entrance

Monday, October 17, 2011

Cham Museum (Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture)


During my 3 day 2 night trip to Hue and Hoi An last September, I passed Da Nang. Its location is within 100 km of several UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the Imperial City of Huáşż, the Old Town of Há»™i An, and the Mỹ Sơn ruins. Da Nang is the largest city in central Vietnam and one of the country’s most important ports.



It was raining when I arrived at the Cham Museum. Still the museum attracted quite a number of tourists including three Indonesian whom I met at the ticket counter. Small world… Anyway, perhaps Indonesians are not stranger to Da Nang, as I found out from the history that the city’s origins date back to the ancient Champa Kingdom, established by Indonesian settlers in 192 AD. Click this link for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da_Nang


The Museum

The museum is officially known as the Museum of Champa Sculpture. It is a nice museum building which first building was opened in 1919. 



A little bit history about the kingdom of Champa; it was an Indianized kingdom that controlled what is now southern and central Vietnam from approximately the 7th century through to 1832. See more info on Champa kingdom: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champa



Entering the museum, I started seeing beautiful sculptures. They somehow remind me of Museum Gajah in Jakarta, Indonesia. 



The museum collection was begun by French archaelogists and experts from L’École Francaise d’ExtrĂŞme Orient (EFEO). Some artefacts were sent to Paris and others to the Ha Noi and Sai Gon (now Ho Chi Minh City) museums, but many typical objects were left in Tourane (now Da Nang).



There are so many goddess sculptures in this museum. They are beautiful!! The word “goddess” represents beauty to me. Could it be that those goddess sculptures were made based on real women as models in that century? 



This is my favorite goddess sculpture. She is very pretty and elegant in her pose.



There are lots of Garuda bird sculptures. I am interested in Garuda bird as the national emblem of Indonesia is called Garuda Pancasila. My favorite Garuda sculpture is this Garuda and four-head naga. In Bahasa Indonesia, naga means dragon. So a Garuda bird carries a “four-head dragon”, doesn’t it symbolize its strength..?



This museum trip was not too long, as I had to continue to the next one. Personally, going to a museum is as a refresher to my school lessons, to test my history and geography, oops...