EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

For a capital city, Hanoi doesn't have a great choice of bars , and venues open and close quickly so check the English-language press such as The Guide for the latest listings information. Pool halls are more numerous and popular with young Vietnamese, although they tend to be a male preserve. The best are found in-between the cafés on Hang Hanh or try the Super Club at 31 Trang Thi. For drinking, you could start off at the Polite Pub, 5 Bao Khanh, a relaxed spot, with a full-sized snooker table, music and cocktails, open till late. Also open late is Le Maquis Bar, 2a Ta Hien, which is popular with the Francophile community and sells Rizzlas. The Jazz Club by Quyen Van Minh, 31 Luong Van Can, has live jazz music every night led by the charismatic Mr Minh. For clubbing, Zouk, 78 Hang Chieu, is the newest nightspot in town. Admission is 25,000d, beers 22,000d and there's a sushi bar at the rear. Finally, Hanoi's best-known nightspot, Apocalypse Now, 5c Hoa Ma, with its dark, apocalyptic decor, sleazy reputation and loud music, gets seething on Friday and Saturday nights; open 7pm till late.

Serious beer drinking tends to be an all-male preserve in Vietnam, but don't be put off as the local bia hoi outlets are fun, friendly and extremely cheap. The best-known one is at 59 Ly Thuong Kiet, which sells the more alcoholic, pressurized beer, bia tuoi. The bia hoi at 167 Nguyen Thai Hoc, down from Kim Ma bus station, is busy all day serving good vegetarian food, while 89 Pho Hue - known as the "bunny bia hoi" - is a garden café serving excellent food, while rabbits play at your feet. The best bia hoi for lunch are at 72 Ma May, where you choose from the range of dishes displayed in a large case, and at 24 Tong Dan, which has a more unusual menu than most, featuring such specialities as pig's ear and goat meat.

Most people don't leave Hanoi without seeing a performance by the traditional water puppets , mua roi nuoc - literally, puppets that dance on the water - a uniquely Vietnamese art form which originated in the Red River Delta. Traditional performances consist of short scenes depicting rural life or historic events accompanied by musical narration. Puppeteers stand waist-deep in water, manipulating the heavy wooden puppets attached to long underwater poles. The Thang Long Water Puppet Troupe gives nightly tourist-oriented performances of their up-dated repertoire at Kim Dong Theatre, 57 Dinh Tien Hoang (tel 04/825 5450; 6.30pm, 8pm & 9pm; $2-3, extra for cameras and videos). Check the English-language press for information about other venues.

Ballroom dancing is still popular with the Vietnamese. You can take a turn or two at Palace Dancing, 40 Nha Chung (Tues, Thurs, Sat & Sun 8.30-10.30pm; $1) or contact The Sophie Martin Ballet School (room 203/04 UN Apartments, 2E Van Phuc; tel 04/943 2701), a dance studio with lessons in ballroom and latin dancing for $9 per session.