Ho Chi Minh Nightlife , pubs and bars in the city

• Apocalypse Now, 2C Thi Sach. Legendary and still packed on weekends, although aside from a few movie references it's not all that much to look at. Stays open late.

• Allez Boo, Corner Pham Ngu Lao, De Tham. The definitive backpacker bar. Full to the brim with the just-off-the-boat/plane/bus crowd, but none the worse for it. Always busy and sometimes a good night out. Not cheap for the area, but guaranteeed to be open and busy as it is part owned by Saigon Tourist. Stick to beer (which is cheap and available in large sizes), the mixed drinks are expensive and surprisingly weak. Be careful of the girls who keep smiling at the men all the time.

• Bottom Line, Ly Thu Trung. Cubby hole for the lost and lonely. Good sports coverage, and pleasant attractive staff. Food is okay.

• Eden, Oddly balanced place on De Tham street. Often busy, full of sporties, revellers, local westerners and others. Dark and deep and reasonably priced for the backpacker main drag.

• Go2 Go2 Go2, De Tham, Allez Boo's sister bar. Cheesey decor and chart music, but always jammed with backpackers on the asian circuit and numerous white dreads with acoustic guitars. Has wifi.

• Ice Blue, Dong Khoi. Downtown English pub, complete with darts board and warm beer (if you want it that way!). Friendly, but shuts at twelve...
• Juice, Claims to be Saigon's first juice bar (of course it wasn't, there were many local places before...but it may've been the first western managed one). Food slipped recently, but still a nice place to hang out. Has wifi.

• Lush, Ly Tu Trong. Vietnam's first, half-way decent night club. Hugely expensive, but musically about as good as it gets in this part of the world. Mixed crowd (vietnamese, tourists and expats), billiards, pretty good food, but no dance floor! Lots of billiards/pool tables out back.

• Napoli Pham Ngoc Tach. Located in a Villa on the first floor (an ice-cream parlour is on the ground floor) Good live music with a mixture of Vietnamese and English songs. The resident band must predate the reunification as they no all the old songs.

• No. Five, Ly Thu Trung. Business bar. Spacious, fair selection of grub and alcohol, friendly staff and a pleasant if somewhat antiseptic atmosphere... Very good for after hours networking, not so good as a late night hangout. Nice and spacious though. Difficult albeit excellent billiards tables. Very nice toilets, which makes a change in this town!

• Oblivion, Bui Vien. Late night basic venue with a twist; the twist being it's probably the most characterful place in PNL. Claims to be Saigon's premier music bar and it's hard to argue... Assuming, that is, you have a taste for non-chart buzzy British guitar and obscure dark US/European stuff. You have to ask for happy pop, though if you're spending enough it'll sometimes get an outing. Supposed to be opening a "dance floor" this winter, believe it when I see it!

• Polo, Ham Nghi street, above the liberty hotel, mixture of expats and locals, reasonably priced food and drink, starts getting busy quite early. Good music spanning from the eighties to the present.

• Saigon Pho, This little hole in the wall is only a stone's throw from Allez Boo, but a world away in terms of clientele. Much more expaty. Open late.

• Saigon Saigon, Caravelle Hotel 9F, 12-13 Lam Son Sq. A pleasant bar for a nightcap with good views; get here early if you want to avoid the execrable house band though.

• Shadow Bar, Mac Thi Bui. Shhh, this is an expat bar...don't tell anyone! After work hang out for the corporate fly boys. Good place to wind down, or wind up.

• Level 23, Sheraton Saigon 23F. The latest in Saigon's ***** hotel drinking scene, with separate bar and nightclub, and great views over the city. A little soulless though, and very pricy with most drinks 80,000 VND +.  (5 U.S +)

• Heart Of Darkness , 17b Le Thanh Ton. Based on the Cambodian equivalent, this is a friendly mid-range bar. It is broadly a dance-centric "teacher-friendly" expat bar, but plays to all-comers.

http://www.hodvn.com/hod/

• The Tavern SB8-1 My Khanh 2 (H4-2) Nguyen Van Linh, Saigon South Tel: 4120866 Located in Phu My Hung, commonly known as Saigon South, a great place to enjoy a cold beer or a great "western" meal. Favorite dishes are Fish and Chips or the Bangers and Mash, reasonable prices with a nice, friendly staff and management. Opens for breakfast all the way to midnight, 7 days a week.

• Underground More a food than a drink spot, though open for both. Sometimes busy with the business crowd, always packed with people enjoying the reasonably priced burgers, steaks and suchlikes.