© Stephanie Glaser

Sometimes it’s easy to forget when you’re on a vacation in a beautiful place like Bali that the importance of history, independence, and patriotism is present in addition to the beautiful rice terraces, pristine beaches and silhouetted temple sunsets.

That’s why I love this photo. Kurt, the kids and I were browsing in a market area and we saw this boy outside of one of the shops. He grabbed a nearby flag and began waving it. It was a very cool moment since he was clearly proud of being Indonesian. I don’t know if it was a statement to us like, “remember, Americans, we are patriotic, too.” It did not seem that way. He appeared eager to share the flag with us.

The bottom photo gave me the same feeling. Here were some men standing next to a statue representing the fight for Indonesian Independence. These photos are more important to me than the stunning sunset photos since they show a side of the locals that I don’t think you always get to see in an island paradise tourist destination.

© Stephanie Glaser