What to do in Jakarta when the night comes? As most museums are closed at night, tourists options are limited to shopping malls or night clubs. If you happen to be in Jakarta at the moment, try visiting our city landmark the Monumen Nasional a.k.a. MONAS at night (you can also visit this place in the afternoon but it will be very hot due to our tropical weather). I think more locals visiting MONAS at night especially in the weekend, but I rarely see foreign tourists coming to MONAS at night. Moreover, you can feel a different athmosphere at night because they light up the monument and it’s free so you can save your money to visit other part of Indonesia.
You can find a lot of peddlers selling stuffs at a really cheap price there. You can find almost anything from clothing, toys, until medicine. There are many eateries as well. Instead of going to the shopping malls, it’s better to get to know the city better by mingling with the locals in Monas, don’t you think?
Last time, I went there for jogging. Actually I had a race in the beginning of May but I was sick so I couldn’t participate in the run. Thus, I made my own run in MONAS in one Sunday night.
Monumen Nasional a.k.a. MONAS is one of Jakarta’s city landmark. But actually it was built on behalf of all Indonesian who sacrificed their lifes in order to achieve independence from the Dutch and Japanase during the collonialism. It was build from 1961 in the era of President Soekarno and was open for public in 1975. The height of MONAS is 132 meters with 35 kg of gold in the shape of fire to represent the spirit and struggle of Indonesian people, placed on top of the monument. On the bottom, there is a museum with dioramas telling the history of Indonesia.
Location: in the middle of Lapangan Medan Merdeka, Central Jakarta
Open everyday, except the first Monday on the last week of every month (closed for public). Operating hours 08.00 AM – 15.00 PM. On weekend open until 21.30 PM.
You can reach MONAS by using Transjakarta Bus (stop in MONAS shelter) or taxi. (npa).
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