Ubud is in Bali, which is a province in Indonesia. A little more background….Indonesia is about 17,000 islands with many varied cultures, traditions, and histories. Indonesia became a sovereign nation in 1945 after about 300 years of occupation by the Dutch. With all its diversity, the country’s sense of unity is a source of national pride. Still, it’s difficult to manage across 17,000 islands and, probably as a result, the capital of Jakarta and its province, Java, have a disproportionate share of the goodies. This sometimes rattles some of the people on the 17,000 other islands.

But Bali is probably not rattled. It is doing quite well thanks to the 5 million tourists who annually visit its beaches and the charming city of Ubud. I’m in Ubud this week. It’s off-season but it’s busy! I can only imagine what it must be like when 20,000 more twenty-somethings roll into town.