I arrived in Sapa with two girls I met in the hostel- 19 year old Laurel from Canada and 2 year old Marva from Israel. We were a funny trio. Laurel is on e of the most laid back mellow travlers I've ever met and Marva is a bit uptight, excitable and a slow mover. I fall somewhere inbetween their temperments.

One of the aspects of solo travel that I like is spending time with thedifferent people you meet because they flavor your trip. Laurel has a cherubic face, calmness and openss that draws locals to her. She hasn't allowed herself to be programmed to the instan "no" and isn't bothered when it turns out that someone just wants to sell something to her.

It is because of her that I spent out first day in Sapa with a gaggle of very affectionate twelve year old H'mong girls. The girls spoke excellent English that they leaned from tourists. You could tell that a couple of them had very shapr minds.

They had excellent memories for names and walked around with us and told us about their culture- schoooling, work, dating, marriage, birth, death etc. I learned a lot from them.

They were dressed traditionally and the whole reason they were in town and not in their villages was to sell crafts. However, instead of selling, they gave us some fabric bracelets and invited us to a free dance show the next evening.

It wasn't until we parted ways that they each picked one of us and whispered, "mayb tomorrow, you buy from me" and it was obvious they weren't going to let us go until we agreed.

I did spend about $3 with tow of the girls. I didn't need what they were selling but I didn't mind at all because I appreciated their sales approach. They invested their time in us. I had enjoyed their company and didn't doubt their sincerity.