Eccentric wartime watering hole

Talk of the town: The Rex Hotel was famous for hosting the official foreign press briefings during the Vietnam War that were dubbed the 'Five O'clock Follies'.

Word to the wise: At its most charming at sundown, this is a great place to start your night before moving on to nearby Amber Room or ZanZBar.

Much like restauranteurs who curse their Michelin stars, being declared '1000 places to see before you die' by
veteran US travel journalist Patricia Schultz didn't do wonders for this quirky bar, which is now widely considered a tourist trap. But if you've got a keen interest in wartime Saigon, it's totally worth a look-in.

Ceramic elephants and rotating crowns are strewn around the space alongside miniature neon pagodas and plastic shrubs, giving this former war correspondent haunt a kitsch quality unlike any other bar in the city. Its city views may have been eclipsed by that of newer Saigon bars, but it's still a pretty cool spot to down a cocktail or two.