"In Romania, hitchhiking is not the daring means of travel it is in the United States. The shortage of cars and the collapse of the intercity bus system under the Draconian fuel rationing of the late dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, forged an informal, nationwide car-pool network. In the countryside, everyone hitches, including old ladies with shopping bags, and most drivers are obliging. Since I was intent on trekking some of the time, it was frustrating to have a car pull up even when I didn't have my finger out. The custom is to pay the driver about 10 percent of the taxi rate for the distance. But when drivers learned that I was an American journalist, they usually refused to take money. Off the beaten path, meeting a westerner is still a novel experience for Romanians. I was anxious for a ride up the pass, however, and was soon picked up by a man driving a Dacia, Romania's homemade car, which even by Communist standards is barely functional."