On route to Mai Chau we stopped many times to take pictures and re apply our sunscreen. During the drive we were surrounded by limestone karst mountains and rice fields. We pulled into Mai Chau after about 4.5. hours on the bike. We stayed at a great little guest house that was very happy to have some Westerners. They couldn't speak English well, but we managed to get by with the google translator, and had many laughs. In the morning we hiked to a cave then took off on the bike to Son La. We took three nights to get to Sapa. The ride was beautiful & we lucked out and had unusually great hot sunny weather. Sapa was an incredible experience. It's filled with restaurants, knock off hiking clothes with brands such as North Face & tribal villages. We paid a young local woman $15 each to go see her village, have lunch in her home and hear all about her tribe (The Black Hmong), the ways of her people and her personal history. We met her husband and beautiful three of four children. One was off working. The one that was working was only eight. This was a very eye opening experience, it makes us thankful for what we have and also sad that we strive for so many materialistic things in our Western society. These people have so little, but a couple things they always seem to have have is kindness, happiness a roof over their heads and food on the table. What more could you ask for? After Sapa we hopped onto our bikes. We spent two days getting back to Hanoi. The first day we drove the bike in light rain. The last half hour before our hotel we saw a bunch of fire flys which was a nice end to a rainy day on the bike. It was nice to pull into Hanoi and have two days to relax before Halong Bay.
