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Good morning, Jakarta! Good morning, Indonesia! Good morning, World!
What do you think of my outfit today? Very casual, you think? That's absolutely right.
Let's hop to Museum Bank Indonesia or Indonesian Central Bank Museum. You see, I I love art. I love culture. I love history. So naturally I'm very fond of museum hopping. My favorite museums are The National Museum of Fine Arts in Washington DC and Neka Museum in Bali. I still dream to visit The Louvre in Paris one day.
One of the perks of living in the capital city - despite the traffic jam and the pollution - is that I have access to numerous museums and art galleries, which can be visited for a very low budget.

The building where Museum BI is located, which was Indonesian Central Bank Building in Old Batavia, is a beautiful and grand Dutch colonial style building, built during Dutch East-Indies era.

Check out the bronze gate where I took picture here. Marvellous!

Museum BI, I think, is one of very few museums in Jakarta that is airconditioned. Considering that Indonesia is a tropical country where it's hot and humid all year round, it's wise to wear something old and comfortable (you will get dirty and sweaty and dusty, so yeah, don't wear your best new outfit) and carry a big bag for all the essentials to stroll around the city in a hot, sunny day: tissue, antibacterial wipes, water bottle, some snacks, you get the picture.

Striped T-shirt: Jones New York. Jeans: GAP. Sneakers: Reebok. (All were old collection from my college years) Red bag: from Makati, Philippines.

This is a fun game when you enter the museum. Basically you have to catch the falling coins with your shadow - yes, with your shadow - and when you succeed, there will be a note with information about that particular coin on the wall display.

I think banks and governmental buildings in the yesteryear are much prettier than they are today. Check out these lovely mosaic tinted glass windows! The blue one on the left and the saints on the right. Gorgeous!

And as many old buildings in Old Batavia (an old part of the town), the museum has huge doors and windows to improve air circulation.

Another original Dutch colonial architectural signs: long, airy halls and "inner courtyard/garden". The rest of the place was built to surround this garden, each walls with high ceilings, high doors and windows to ensure that fresh air can move freely. Remember, these people didn't have AC back then. Hmmm, I can imagine employees of the Central Bank a hundred years ago, having lunch in this lovely courtyard instead of driving to the mall. Delightful!

So, now you know what to do with those old comfy favorites you cannot bear to part with: wear them for casual days!