Two foreigners lost their way to a halalbihalal event on the slopes of Mount Merbabu in Magelang Regency, Central Java. The incident surprised and amused local residents. The two foreigners were Youssef Sabatelli (21) from Luxembourg and Amin Azirar (18) from Germany.
They are both students from RWTH Aachen University Germany who intend to take a vacation in Indonesia.
In a viral video uploaded by the Instagram account @borobudurnews, Youssef and Amin were seen sneaking past the halalbihalal attendees. They then sat at the back while talking.
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Halalbihalal is an event held after Lebaran. It is usually held in a big place (auditorium, hall, etc.) by a group of people. There are usually many foods to eat and a chance to mingle with other people in the neighborhood.
How did these two foreigners get lost? Amin said that they intended to have a vacation in Indonesia. After arriving in Jakarta, they chose to come to Yogyakarta.
The two rented a motorbike to travel around. But, when they arrived in Panggungan, they saw many people eating together.
One of the foreigners, Amin, thought there was a wedding party. He then asked Youssef to pull over and join the residents.
A resident of Panggungan Hamlet, Mukini (36), told Kompas that the residents were very surprised and amused that a foreigner had strayed into their area. Even so, people getting lost in Panggungan is a familiar incident because it is often mistaken for a hiking route to Mount Merbabu.
Amin and Youssef had intended to continue their adventure to East Java to see Mount Bromo and Kawah Ijen. However, the warm welcome by the locals made them want to stay for two more days.
“I feel that the people here are very close. In Germany, even Europe, everyone is busy with themselves and always seems to want to fight,” said Youssef.
