The best museum in Indonesia. The hashtag I kept seeing everywhere over the internet brought our feet here. I once visited this museum. Yet, my husband hadn’t had the chance until this time. As a Bugis man, I need him to study about the Java culture. I was worried, being afraid that he might not like to stroll around the museum.

Ullen Sentalu is a privately owned museum. The owner, a wealthy businessman, dedicates his concern towards Javanese art and culture and built this museum. When we arrived, this museum was under renovation. It was awesomely designed and carefully done. Artsy everywhere.

How to Get There

What place cant be directed by using Google Maps? We used Gmaps too. We were almost lost along the paddy field. Dont follow other vehicles, as they may go to Mount Merapi Museum, another museum in which the ticket is much cheaper. From the main road, it took us about 15 minutes until we arrived at the location. It was quite hidden among the tall and thick trees.

Ticket

Indonesian visitor is charged Rp 40.000. I forgot the price for international visitor, but I think it’s not that expensive. The ticket includes educated tours in Bahasa Indonesia, special drink, and free parking.

Opening Hours

This museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 8:30 to 16:00 (17:30 for weekend).

What You’ll See

Prepare yourself to be amazed of what this museum has to offer. You arent allowed to take pictures while following the experienced tour guide. Ask anything, they are professional and has more knowledge than you thought. Most (or all of them) of the tour guides are female. All visitors must not visit this museum by themselves. The receptionist will have you wait in the lobby until the number of visitors is enough for the tour to start.

The rooms you’ll be guided to are Selogiri Cave, an underground alley and rooms, which has a short gate that was built to describe the Javanese philosophy: to bow is to respect. The stone-walled rooms bring in cool temperature though it has no air conditioning. There is also rooms dedicated for the memorable princess: Gusti Nurul and Princess Tineke. I will share stories about the two of them later. The rooms of the princesses are located in the Kampung Kambang area.

At the end of the tour, you should spend your time at the Beukenhoff Restaurant and buy some souvenirs from the shop. You will be given special drink called Jamu, it’s a bit sweet, too bad I got the cold one when I got there. The warm one would be more delicious.

Paintings and Photos. Many amazing paintings and photos are posted on the walls of this museum. From the tour guide, we will be told the stories behind them. I got myself interested into some paintings. One showed  the famous Bedhoyo Ketawang which consists of 9 beautiful (and virgin) dancers since the legend told that the tenth dancer would be Kanjeng Ratu Kidul, a myth from the south seas. Another picture depicts the queen whose the power could be seen from the amount of keys she brought everywhere. The keys could lead anyone to any rooms he wanted, thus, only the powerful one has the right to bring the keys. I also liked a photo of the royal family back in the 1800 or 1900s (it kinda slipped my mind) which showed how fashionable they have been. Even the princess got a feather fan as her necklace with long tie. In the room of Gusti Nurul, the photos showed how gorgeous she was, makes anyone in love when seeing her pictures and sculptures for the first time.

Conclusion

My only regret of visiting this museum is that I didn’t bring any notebook with me. I should have noted so many stories the tour guide had told us during the extremely historical trip. I got to understand of why this museum is named as ‘top 10 best museums in Indonesia’, ‘the best museum in Indonesia’, and other awards. The pricey ticket (well, for this city, it’s kinda pricey), is all worth it. Some stories I could remember from the museum are:

Definitely, everyone who visit Yogyakarta or Jogja are suggested to take a look at the collections of the museum. Spend one or two hours and come home with the memories.

Thanks for reading my post. Should you need any details about the museum from me, please contact me. All of my photos are blurred so please refer to Google for better and recent pictures of this amazing museum.