Vietnam

Watch out for ice in drinks. Factory-made ice is generally safe, but anything else can be suspect.

pubs/bars

Drinking in a Vietnamese bar is a great experience. One of the interesting things is that during the day, it is almost impossible to see a bar anywhere. Once the sun goes down though, dozens seem to appear out of nowhere on the streets.

beer

Don't miss out on bia hơi, literally "air beer", or draught beer made daily. It's available throughout Vietnam, mostly from small bars on street corners. Bia hoi bars will give you the opportunity to relax drinking in a typical Vietnamese bar surrounded by the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Every traveler can easily find these bars to experience what the locals are enjoying.

The beer is brewed daily and each bar gets a fresh batch delivered every day in plastic jugs. It's a very light 3% alcohol refreshing lager at a fraction of the cost of draft or bottled beer in the Western-style bars. Bia hoi is not always made in sanitary conditions and its making is not monitored by any health agency. Though fun for the novelty factor, this beer may produce awful hangovers for some. For those people, sticking with bia chai bottled beer might be more advisable.

The most popular beer draft, bottle or can among the Southern Vietnamese is Saigon Do Red Saigon. For the Northern Vietnamese Bia Hanoi Hanoi beer is the most popular brand, whereas Central Vietnamese prefer Festival beer or Bia Huda. 333, pronounced "ba-ba-ba" is a local brand, but it's somewhat bland; for a bit more flavor, look for Bia Saigon in the green bottle and a bigger bottle than Bia Saigon Special. Bia Saigon is also available as little stronger export version. Bière Larue is also good, and you can find local brands in every larger city.

It's regular practise for beer in Vietnam to be drunk over ice. This means that the cans or bottles need not be chilled. If you are drinking with Vietnamese people it is considered polite to top up their beer/ice before re-filling your own drink. It is also considered necessary to drink when a toast is proposed...mot, hai, ba, do one, two, three, cheers. Mot tram, mot tram implies you will drink 100%.

wine and liquor

Vietnamese "ruou de" or rice alcohol ruou means alcohol is served in tiny porcelain cups often with candied fruit or pickles. It's commonly served to male guests and visitors. Vietnamese women don't drink much alcohol, well at least in public. It's not recommended for tourists.

Dating back to French colonial times, Vietnam adopted a tradition of viticulture. Dalat is the center of the winelands, and you can get extremely good red and white wine for about US$2-3, however this is very hard to find. Most wine is Australian that is served in restaurants and you will be charged Australian prices as well making wine comparatively quite expensive compared to drinking beer or spirits.

Coconut wine - Rượu dừa - ruou dua :This is special VietNam wine. This wine is made by traditional material and coconut form natural. Copra of coconut can purify Aldhyt in rice wine which cause your headache and tied. You feel free to drink a health to somebody.

Rice spirt and local Vodka is incredibly cheap in Vietnam by western standards. Russian Champagne is also quite available. When at Nha Trang, look for the 'all you can drink' boat trips for around US$10-15 for an all day trip and party with on board band.