Let’s talk about Bali, the beauty of the beach, the rich culture, the smile on each person’s face and the delightful food! This island located in the center of Indonesia has been the center of the tourism of Indonesia for years or even decades. Everyone around the world must have visited once or at least aware of the place. This jewel in the Indonesian archipelago has attracted millions of tourists each month and the number keeps increasing throughout the years.
Beach is usually the prime spot for tourist attraction, but there are many places around Bali which are also interesting to see and would be a waste to ignore when you already visited the island. The temples, art galleries, markets and also… museum.
Now I know what you might be thinking, a museum? Isn’t that kind of boring? What am I supposed to enjoy there beside tons of historical pieces to stare at? Well, for a normal museum that might be true but what am I about to share with you guys on this occasion is a special kind of museum that invented by the mind of creative and experienced artists.
Unique Museum in Bali
Presenting Dream Museum Zone or usually best known for its abbreviation, DMZ. This museum is located in Jl. Nakula No. 33X. For those who unfamiliar with streets around Bali, the place is near Sunset Road. Right after you exit the airport, follow the bypass Ngurah Rai road until you arrived in Sunset Road then just follow the road until you arrive at the intersection just after Krisna Bali. Go left and the museum is going to be on your left after a few hundred meters.
The museum opens every day from 9 AM until 10 PM. The parking area is not quite spacious, but there’s an empty lot in front of the museum that can be used as an alternative parking area. The admission price per person is IDR 100.000, but you can get a cheaper price if you buy the ticket from a travel agent, almost half the price.
What is DMZ?
Okay, now we know where it is and how much do we need to spend in order to get in but now the real question is what exactly kind of museum is DMZ?
DMZ is a 3D art museum, created by Korean artists. In Korea, this kind of attraction is popular and some of the artists there decided to make their museum outside their country. In Indonesia, Bali is chosen as the place because it’s popular among tourists.
Just like the name, the museum is consisting of 3D paintings that painted all over the place even the floors and ceilings. The paintings are actually quite delicate, as you cannot hug the walls where the painting is in fear of smudging it. For this reason, we are prohibited to wear our footwear and should be submitted to one of the staff upon entry to be collected later after we exit the museum. This is to prevent the floor paintings to get ruined.
Inside Look
There are many kinds of paintings inside the museum, with different themes in each room. It starts off with ruins area where you are taking inside a desert ruin and witnessing the pyramid of Egypt in the end. There’s even a little maze in the middle to add more fun, not to worry though, it’s not complicated to solve.
Next, you are greeted by the sea creatures all over the walls and ceilings, the ocean area features many great paintings of shark, polar bear, penguin, and even giant whales. Take a photo of you hugging a polar bear in the middle of the Atlantic or almost getting swallowed by a shark to your heart content in here.
Onward, the area suddenly gets hot as you spot a herd of elephant and a lion in the walls. The Wild area, is the painting collections of wild animals that live on the wilderness like tiger, rhino and monkeys. Another great photo op, get chased by the stampede in the savannah truly can be an interesting profile picture.
The next one is probably the most popular one, the disaster area. Basically there’s a lot of paintings depicting dangerous situations like skiing through the cliff, surfing with the shark, chased by a boulder, or hanging from a rope in mountain high. With the right angle, you can position yourself as if you are about to meet your doom.
After that, you are directed down the hall and meet a huge spacious area with a jungle theme. There’s a painting of a temple, volcano and giant pirate ship where you can stand on top of it. This is the largest room in the building that features a mix of different paintings.
There’s a stair to the second floor where there is optional room area with a fantasy theme, in here you can take a picture of you with the angel wings, ascending the stairs of heaven, or riding a bike to the moon E.T. style.
And we finally reach the end of the line, there’s a small café offering meals and drinks right before the exit. You can collect your footwear by giving the ticket back to the staff before exiting the museum.
Other Things to Note
The staffs are very helpful throughout your journey. They will gladly take a picture of you and even give some recommendations on how the pose and position would be like to provide a good result. There’s even a photo example of the staff posing on each picture to show how it would turn out. Really huge props to everyone working here for giving their all to make sure the guests are satisfied.
The downside of the place is on holiday season, where it can be overcrowded so you will have to take a turn whenever you wanted to take your picture in certain paintings. So, it’s recommended that you came early as soon as they open if you want to take your time enjoying the museum. Or visit at a regular time when it’s not busy.
Conclusion
So that was the DMZ Bali, today’s recommendation of Bali’s tourist attraction that you should definitely check out. Only in Bali you can enjoy a house decorated with 3D paintings, and take a memorable picture for you and your friends or families.