Batin Travel Blogs

At the end of March the southern Vietnamese beach town of Vung Tau will host an International Kite Flying Festival. Katherine Le looks into the history of kite-flying and its cultural significance throughout Asia.
While people have flown kites for at least 2,000 years, it’s hard to trace this activity’s origins. Made of paper, fabric and [...]

01. Jiuzhaigou Valley:
Sichuan Province
Stretching over 72,000 ha in the northern part of Sichuan Province, the jagged mountains of the Jiuzhaigou Valley reach a height of more than 4,800 m and are home to diverse forest ecosystems. The area’s superb landscapes are particularly interesting for their series of narrow conic karst hills and spectacular waterfalls.
02. Potala [...]

While the two precious jade Buddhas were brought to Shanghai from Burma in 1882, the Jade Buddha Pagoda was not built until 1917.
Shanghai’s Ngoc Phat ( Jade Buddha) Pagoda attracts visitors from around the world, including the former United States President Bill Clinton. It was a sunny spring day when I toured this impressive pagoda.
There’s [...]

The ancient village of Loc Yen lies 35 k west of Tam Ky city in the middle of the Lieu Mountain Pass by the Tieu River.
The village’s houses are hidden behind lush hedges of bananas and pepper bushes and reached by small paths that wind through the paddies.
Small lanes are lined with mossy stone walls.
Before [...]

Ca Mau use fiddler crabs to produce mam ba khia. Can Giuoc produces mam cong from another species of small crab. And Go Cong is famous for its mam tom cha shrimp sauce.
Different types of fish sauce are made at different times of year. In northern Vietnam, ragworm sauce is typically produced from late September [...]

Eat a meal in Vietnam likely be served nuoc mam, a sauce made from salted, fed anchovies. But there’s much more to mam than mere fish sauce.
With its long coastline and numerous bodies of water, Vietnam is rich in both seafood and salt — substances that are essential to people’s diets. In Vietnam, seafood [...]

During the Lunar New Year, farmers in Central Vietnam erect small huts in Center Vietnam erect small huts in which to play special card games. Nguyen Phuoc Bao Dan reports on these games’ significance.
Rousing traditional folk music signals the start of a new card game, the folk songs adding to the festival’s exciting atmosphere. Held [...]

Forty works by Vietnamese artist Do Duc that capture life in Vietnam’s highlands will be exhibited in Paris from April 1st to 15th. The “Vietnam’s Highlands Exhibition” is being organized by the Vietnam Cultural Center in France to promote closer ties between France and Vietnam.
Painted in watercolors on traditional do paper, Do Duc’s works capture [...]

Long ago, hard masks were used in Vietnamese Tuong Operas, since a few actors played many roles and needed to change personas quickly. As the art became more popular Tuong troupes became larger, and actors traded the masks for makeup that allowed their faces to show more expression.
The stylized makeup alerts educated audiences to the [...]

Vietnam’s traditional Tuong opera has been captivating audiences since the 13th century. Music expert Bui Trong Hien explain.
The traditional Vietnamese performance arts of Cheo and Tuong opera have long and fascinating histories. Both forms of opera are said to have been introduced to Vietnam by the same man, a 13th century actor named Ly Nguyen [...]