Off the Beaten Path Planning my trip to Sapa, I talked to so many other travelers trying to get as many tips and as much information as possible. At my hotel, I ran into a lovely Italian woman, also traveling alone. We found ourselves both searching for resources to plan a 5 day trip to Sapa and decided to join forces. The more we chatted the more clear it became that Elena and I would travel together. We didn't want to do the package tour but instead wanted to see as many of the local villages as possible. With the help of some local freinds of hers and a good agent, we hired a care and driver and hit the road, taking the western route around the northern part of Vietnam, ending in Sapa. So off we went. We were headed into the mountains. And the roadside scenery was sure to change the most today. As we drove out of the tiny motorbike-covered city streets of Hanoi, we found open fields of flat lands and we knew we were getting off the beaten path. Concentrated clusters of houses interrupted the drid up rice fields which were being worked now in the middle of the winter in preparation of the next planting season. Tonight we needed to land in SonLa, 310km from our start point. Sounds very doable, but with these roads and factoring the eternal weaving through the motorbikes, it turned out to be a 10 hour drive. It was clear to me that our driver was skilled with this kind of driving, as he manuvered quite easily well past sunset. Matter of fact, as the darkness approached, it reminded me very much of my trip to Malawi where I was behind the wheel after dark. Bicyles and walkers were visible at 3 feet. Cars and motorbikes looked the same, as many cars had headlights burned out or simply didn't use the lights. I, for one, was extremely glad that these conditions were familiar to our driver and his tired eyes were the ones hunting for the next obstacle to bypass. As we pulled into SonLa, our stomachs ruled our schedule. We quickly dropped our bags in a guesthouse and head out on foot looking for a restaraunt for dinner. After wandering around, walking our car-weiry selves in the dark, we stopped ask for directions, knowing we'd walked way to far not to have found the ONLY restaraunt listed in our LonelyPlanet guidebooks. A shoe store, open for seemingly no customers was our only source for information. A woman minding the store was so kind. She was unsure of giving directions to the restaruant and certainly did not show a sign of recognizing any street signs on the map in our book. Matter of fact, there were only 3 streets listed in our map, so it was a wonder at all that we could get lost. She said to us, "wait a minute and I will show you". Next thing you know she's giving instructions to the store owner next door to mind the shop for her, she pulled out her motobike (rather resembling a Vespa, to tell the truth), and told us to hop on. Elena and I looked at eachother thinking, "oh, all 3 of us are going for a ride on that thing". This was a true Vietnamese experience for both of us. With our choices slim to none, we followed her instructions. Me with my skirt, I rode side saddle, holdig on for dear life with every bump and jostle in the road. The restaraunt was far. I mean FAR. "She must not know where she's taking us" we both agreed with a glance at eachother. But 10 minutes later after a slow uphill climb that her poor motorbike almost didn't make it up, we arrived at a very local looking place that was completely deserted. The kind shop owner spoke to the restaraunt staff and then wished us a happy meal as she left us. Suddenly our minds turned to the return trip to our hotel. I hope we can find our way. But one thing was for sure, we needed a good meal to make the journey home. Eating the best rice I've tasted in all of Vietnam so far, the Xoi was well worth the trip. Apart from the miliarty in the separate party room in the back, we were the only people eating so late into the evening. 8pm seemed normal in the city, but we were definitely NOT in the city today. After the courtesy Vietnamese tea, taken downstairs in a sitting room, we headed into the darkness. As a team, our navigational skills improved with a full stomach and we were back to the hotel within 15 minutes. Tomorrow would be another day.