The 4-day tour, provided by Lotussia Travel in Ba Be National Park, the north-eastern Vietnam includes such travel highlights as jungle trekking, overnight at local homes in Tay village, ethnic culture, river kayaking on the Nang River. After a 6-hour drive from Hanoi, you will arrive Ba Be national park, Bac Kan province where you will enjoy the day hike to local ethnic villages, meeting up with local Dzao and Tay people. The best time to travel this itinerary are May and October. The adventure is still available in summer time but not recommended in winter or in rainy season. Contact your Lotussia Travel consultant for more details.

Day 1: Hanoi – Ba Be National Park.

8:00: You will be met up at your hotel in Hanoi by Lotussia Travel guide, driver.

Leave Hanoi for Ba Be via Bac Kan. Throughout the first stage, we are crossing small villages, they are handicraft and culture villages. Meet the daily life in the wild environment.

Lunch at local restaurant.

Arrive in Ba Be in the afternoon. Check in the house on stilt in Pac Ngoi Village.

Dinner and overnight in a house on stilt (at terrace entire view of the lake)

Day 2 : Trekking Ba Be national park (Visit a Red Dzao village)

After breakfast on the terrace of the house, we start the day of trekking at 8h00.

We fistly walk along the small river with beautiful view of rice field, then hike up on a mountain pass to Ban Dao, home of the Dao’s peoples. Visit a family then stop for picnic lunch prepared by the family where we stay in Babe.

In the afternoon, we take a diferent way to get back to the village.

Homestay in a local stilt house of Tay's village.

Day 3: Ba Be lake river rafting.

Today, we drive to local dock out of the National Park, then we paddle along Nang River, it's the highlight of the trip with so beautiful and peaceful view.

We stop for lunch then boat into Babe Lake.

We continue to paddle about 5 km over the biggest natural lake in Vietnam, then we take a swim before 2km easy-hiking back to Pac Ngoi village.

Dinner and overnight in a stilt house.

Day 4 : Travel back to Hanoi.

We say goodbye to the family where we stay to come back to Hanoi, lunch en route. Arrive in Hanoi in the afternoon. End of Lotussia Travel's service.

Contact Lotussia Travel for more details.

Choosing the right foot wear to hiking

5 questions you just gotta to ask a boot salesperson

Ask experienced trekkers what they consider the most critical piece of gear, and nine out of ten will say "boots" without hesitation. Happy feet are the first step towards a happy trip. That's why the experts insist you invest a bit of time in the store to make sure you pick the best boot for your foot and get the boot properly fitted for each foot.
What's a conscientious consumer to do? Here are five specific questions to ask your boot fitter.

1. Will you measure my feet (please)?
The first step is always to get an accurate measurement using a brannock device. "If a fitter doesn't start by measuring and inspecting a customer's foot that may be a sign that he is not well trained in boot fitting."

2. Can you customize the fit?
A well trained boot fitter should be able to modify boots to perfectly fit anybody's funky foot. He should say "Every size nine feet is shaped differently. If you have a bunion, we can make a pocket to accommodate it so there's no additional chafing. If you have a narrow heel or a low volume foot, we can add different types of padding to secure the foot inside the boot." The key is to stay in the proper size for your foot length, not bump up or down to the next size to solve a volume issue.

3. What type of socks should I be wearing?
"Never underestimate the importance of socks. If your feet are perpetually cold and clammy, merino wool socks are probably best for you. If they're always on the hot side, a synthetic blend will quickly wick sweat away from the foot and keep them cooler and drier. Plus, varying the thickness of socks can also fine-tune the fit of a boot.

4. Do I need custom footbeds or insoles?
Almost anyone can benefit from footbeds even someone with a very average, problem-free foot will see a boost in comfort with a quality footbed. Custom molded footbeds always offer the best match for your foot, but even a less expensive off-the-shelf model will help. For instance, if your arch is high, a footbed can prevent it from elongating or collapsing with each step. Anything that cuts down on movement inside the boot means fewer blisters and a higher comfort level.

5. Do I need waterproof boots?
Of course, if you're a desert hiker, there's no need to spend the extra money on a waterproof liner. But if you hike where there's lots of rain, or you often find yourself sloshing across streams, a waterproof liner (like Gore-Tex) is a wise investment. Day-hikers who can go home at the end of the day to a pair of dry socks and slippers don't need to worry about liners. But on longer trips it becomes more important to keep your feet dry. Also don't neglect the leather just because you have a boot with a waterproof liner. It still needs to be treated periodically to keep it from drying out and cracking. Remember that you are the one wearing the boots. Boot fitters can guide you in the right direction and make sure that the fit is correct, but if you think a boot is too stiff, for instance, for your comfort level, listen to your gut.
Solving fit problem
Must know secrets on tweaking boot fit.
Your feet tell no lies. If you feel your heel slipping or a pinky toe rubbing or other minor fit problems, then consider using simple techniques to modify your new boots.

Stretching
Boot fitters can rub, soften, or stretch out troublesome spots with a rubbing bar or a pneumatic stretcher. Most leather and synthetic footwear can be stretched from the inside out. The usual suspects are funky toe joints, bothersome bunions, bone protrusions, and extra-wide toes.

Spacers
Folks who need excess volume gulped up in their boots can consult a plethora of foot spacers found on the market. 5-irons, a flat spacer inserted under the insole, help adjust volume under the foot. Heel shims and other localized spacers target specific gaps. Tongue depressors placed between the laces and tongue fill in extra volume from the top. The biggest secret in all volume adjustment is to make sure the heel stays in the boot's heel pocket. Also, make sure your toes don't get pushed into the roof of the toe box.
A Long Life for Your Boots
Always clean your boots after use. Take them to a utility sink and scrub them with an old veggie brush. They usually come home wet, so water's fine. Remove the footbeds. Dry the boots at normal room temperature, with no heat. Put a waterproofing treatment or a leather conditioner on them if they look dry. With modern, cemented-sole boots, don't over waterproof them, and don't use any heat because it can cause the sole edges to delaminate.

Boots are pretty maintenance-free and durable but when you get a boot saturated and muddy, the mud draws a lot of moisture out of the leather as it dries. So after cleaning and drying, use a silicone-based leather treatment to recondition the leather. Silicones are absorbed better than wax treatments and don't tend to clog pores or inhibit leather breath-ability as much. Things like mink oil will soften leather too much. When boot leathers are tanned, often stiffeners are put into the leather, and you don't want to lose all the support.

Never put your boots next to a fire or stove. Two things can happen. Put them too close, and you singe or melt or burn the materials. Second, wet leathers will shrink as they dry, and the boot's fit will change. Finally, don't wear your boots when working with pesticides, herbicides, and any other chemicals, since they can cause a sole to peel.

Contact Lotussia Travel for more details!

About one and a half million years ago mankind learned how to stand upright and walk. So in some way you could say that hiking was invented in the Stone Age. Nowadays when we talk about Hiking and Trekking we mean it in the pastime sense of the word. It is hard to say when walking as a means of hunting and surviving became walking for fun and recreation. Throughout the years man has always used walking as a means of relaxation. Going for a stroll is a great way to meditate on possible dilemmas or to get away from things and clear your mind.

General hiking tips:

1. Make sure that you drink enough water. Also make sure that you bring enough water with you or you can find water supply during the hike. In hot weather dehydration is especially dangerous.

2. Be careful what you pack. The most important rule of hiking is smart about what you pack. A beginning hiker generally becomes exhausted carrying a sack full of trail munchies, games, a portable CD player, three sweaters, and a video camera. Although pictures are nice, consider carrying a disposable camera for a more enjoyable hike. ( Learn more about Minimizing your pack)

3. Think before you step. Keep an eye on the trail well in front of where you are walking, and always consider the path before bounding forward.

 4. Bring your own medicines.

5. Never hike alone. NEVER- under any circumstances venture into the woods by yourself. Outdoor adventures are fun for the family, but hiking is only a group sport. The chances of becoming lost, sustaining injury, or losing supplies is much higher when alone, making the sport extremely dangerous.

6. Don't don and doff layers continually.
Though it is good to dress in layers, choose which layers, and stick with them for a time. Otherwise, you will exhaust yourself and try the patience of the group you are with. It's generally better to be a little cool than too hot, but don't change unless you are really getting uncomfortable.

7. Put the slowest hiker in front and pace the group to that person.
This works great in a group of differing ages! With the fast hikers in the front, they have a tendency to spread out too much. Then someone small at the back gets exhausted running to keep up. If you do divide into faster and slower groups, the one ahead should never get too far ahead and should stop and let the others catch up on a regular basis.

8. Take regular breaks.

9. Avoid sunburn.

10. Encourage kids not to exhaust themselves early in a hike. Sometimes little ones run at the beginning, run out of energy and have to be carried.

11. Always carry out what you carry in. The first rule with interacting with the environment is: Leave it as you found it. This rule applies to the trees, the earth, the animals, the campsite, and even the flowers.
Contact Lotussia Travel for more details.
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