sing song to the almighty.
break the sky and let your voice be heard by angels.
stomp the earth and fright the demons around.
you shall know that the promise land is here,
underneath your feet.
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the feet of jesus... washed by the many praying hands touching.
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the rain has just stopped, bringing out the dense colour of the earth. i like the smell of things in october, when water drops start to fill out the holes in the ground.
i stood there facing the church of st. anthony. the white walls washed, yet the scars of hundredth years weather can never be concealed. cross, salvation, painted glass, jesus. this place was once called betlehem van java... the land where the eastern star reside.
the church erect in the middle of schooling complex. there's santo antonius junior high, and van lith high school. the name van lith came from the first catholic missionary that built the place.
van lith buried in a cemetary just outside the school; kerkhof they said, as the name was once said in dutch. memento mori... 'remember that you must die' it says at the gate. van lith was buried underneath a canopy, with hood on top representing the crown of javanese king. yet, to the white skins he carries... he lived and die just there, in 'tanah jawa'.
there were plenty of catholic priests buried in this place. including those that died during the war period, when east and west erupted in bloodshed fight for whoever knows what.
if you go around muntilan, this place is not much different form any other small town in central java. rice paddies with grey mountain painting in the background... there also mount merapi, the spirit of the soil for javanese around the area. but here, you can hear the density of the sound of gamelan, the traditional percussion blended with the sound of adzan from the mosque loudspeakers and the chorus of ave maria.
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| Favourite spots: |
- the priest convent of st. anthony church. the people called it the 'pastoran'. the place built somewhere in the early 1900, with a minaret on top facing mount merapi. the place also a meditation room, where the cross of jesus was place at center and there shall be nothing else. the whole place smelled like vanilla... a very fresh vanilla.
- the van lith school. the sound of water flowing at its garden.
- the way to 'dukun'. the small road that leads to everywhere. you can see rice paddies covering the land until your horizon is blocked by mount merbabu. the color was golden, the crops were reap.
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| What's really great: |
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the sound that blended in the wind. people playing soccer during afternoon, and white robes walking trough the landscape. it's java with a touch of vatican.
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| Sights: |
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muntilan is between yogyakarta city, and borobudur temple. the road is a nice scenery to be enjoy. plenty of green houses. they also sell flower for quite reasonable (well... cheap even) price.
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| Accommodations: |
if you plan to stay in the area for long, it's still easier to have accommodation around yogyakarta.
1. Wisma Gajah: Jl. Prawirotaman, Yogyakarta
2. Bladok: Jl. Sastrowijayan, Yogyakarta
3. Rumah Mertua: Jl. Kaliurang, Yogyakarta
but if you want to get the feeling of muntilan, you can also stayed at the sisterhood convent... they provide quite a quiet place to stay :)
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| Nightlife: |
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well... not anywhere near the area. now (oct 2005), there’s already some decent clubs in the nearby city -- hugo's at yogya, or hailai at solo.
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| Hangouts: |
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same as above... go the nearest larger city.... none here. it's more like a BYO party if you plan to get dizzy up while you stay in muntilan.
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| Restaurants: |
- plenty of 'warung makan' on main road of muntilan. places that provides 'wajik week' a traditional rice-pie dish usually cater for lunch and such.
- if you want to go a little further to magelang city, there are plenty of restaurant there.
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Published on Monday October 31th, 2005
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Publish on Facebook
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Tue, Nov 15 2005 - 12:10 PM
 by gloriajames
hiya Delvi
truly a unique report.
gj |
Wed, Nov 02 2005 - 06:42 PM
 by nedkelly
| so informative....loved this report Delvi..... Im making my way through all your reports...And |I love em all!!! |
Wed, Nov 02 2005 - 03:13 PM
by davidx
| This is a very moving report. Well done and thanks |
Wed, Nov 02 2005 - 01:57 AM
by ravinderkumarsi
Mon, Oct 31 2005 - 06:08 PM
by eirekay
Delvi, I truly enjoy the spirituality of this report! It has such feeling!
Eire |
Mon, Oct 31 2005 - 04:09 PM
by toribio
Mon, Oct 31 2005 - 03:00 PM
by rangutan
| Another wonderful report this time on a very special place - written with emotion and sensitivity. Don't be shy to use capital letters... (but not too many like some other members :-) |
Mon, Oct 31 2005 - 02:54 PM
by marianne
| very poetic, very beautiful. Kerkhof one of the many Dutch words in Bahasa Indonesia. When i was in Indonesia It was a surprise each time I heard one. |
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