Vietnam

The women are overwhelmingly Vietnamese — this is a local industry that tolerates tourists, not one built for them. English is more limited than in the Philippines and the manner is more reserved; the easy, chatty warmth of a Filipina bar is not the default. Most work in KTVs and massage shops serving Vietnamese and other Asian customers, with a smaller freelance scene that increasingly runs through apps and social media rather than venues.

Vietnam is socially conservative on the surface, and the paid scene stays discreet to match. For a visitor that means less is handed to you and more has to be sought out — but those who put in the local legwork tend to rate the value, and the lack of hustle, highly.

Prostitution is illegal in Vietnam, handled mostly through administrative fines rather than heavy criminal penalties, and there has been periodic public debate about decriminalisation. In practice the one-party state tolerates a discreet industry and clamps down when it gets too visible — KTVs and massage shops see occasional raids, usually tied to crackdown campaigns rather than steady enforcement. Keep things low-key and you are unlikely to have trouble.

Drugs are the genuine danger. Vietnam has some of the harshest drug laws in the world: trafficking carries the death penalty, possession brings long sentences, and foreigners are not spared. There is no cannabis tolerance whatsoever. Whatever the local attitude to the nightlife, treat anything drug-related as a line you do not go near.

Ho Chi Minh City is where to base yourself. District 1 holds almost everything that matters: Bui Vien for the bars, the blocks around it for the rest, and KTVs clustered near Nguyen Hue. It is the most energetic and the best value of Vietnam's cities for the scene.

Hanoi, the capital up north, has a scene but a smaller and more conservative one — the Old Quarter and the Ta Hien 'beer street' are the social centre, with the paid side kept well out of sight. On the coast, Da Nang is a fast-growing beach city with a modern resort strip and a scene still finding its size, while Nha Trang trades on beach tourism — long popular with Russian visitors — and carries a modest nightlife to match. None rival Saigon for depth.

Visa rules vary by passport: many nationalities need an e-visa (now valid up to 90 days and easy to arrange online), while some get short visa-free stays — check yours before booking. The currency is the dong (VND), around 25,000 to the US dollar, so everyday prices run into the hundreds of thousands; cash dominates and the big numbers take a day to get used to. Vietnam is cheap, on a par with Cambodia.

Grab ride-hailing works in every city and removes most taxi-scam risk. The country is safe for violent crime, but Ho Chi Minh City has a real problem with drive-by bag and phone snatching — keep your phone off the street and your bag on the inside shoulder. Standard nightlife scams apply: padded bar tabs and 'ladydrink' bills, so check the total before you pay.