I wanted to take the slow travel approach when I planned this trip.
Slow travel is a deliberate, unhurried approach to exploring destinations, emphasizing meaningful experiences and cultural immersion. Here are some benefits of slow travel, using my experience to date:
– I learned more about Vietnam and its culture beyond just the tourist traps. 
– Slow travel can help you save money on accommodations, as I rented monthly and took local transportation.
– It allowed me to relish my surroundings, build a routine, and live like a local.
– Slow travel reduces stress levels as you are not always on the go (I took too many road trips). 
– It promotes me visiting local restaurants and engaging in local cultural events (TET – Chinese New Year).
It is the polar opposite of an all-inclusive vacation resort vacation as you’re living like a local. This is a strategy that I need to prioritize now that I am taking a run at full-time travel!
Since I spent a lot of money on my road trips, it skews the actual cost of living in Vietnam. I can tell you without a doubt in my mind that I could live like a king for $2K a month in any of the cities in Vietnam I visited.
Here is the order of cities I would choose when returning to Vietnam:
1. Phu Quoc Island (one of the most beautiful Islands I have ever visited).
2. Da Nang (there was a huge EXPAT community, making it feel domestic)
3. Nah Trang (there was also a huge EXPAT community, making it feel domestic)
I would choose one of these for one month each the next time I return to Asia.
One month in the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. I would just need to decide which cities in the other three Countries to keep my costs down with monthly rent.
Since I have visited all of these Countries, here are my current choices as of today:
– Thailand (Koh Samui – it is also an easy ferry ride to Koh Phangan and Koh Tao, as they were all my favorite islands).
– Philippines (Siquijor Island – it was also my favorite place I visited).
– Vietnam (Phu Quoc Island)
– Cambodia (Phnom Penh – it is the only place I have visited, but it is very nice and inexpensive).
The key is to pick a place that can also access other places for inexpensive road trips. This keeps things from getting boring, being stuck in the same spot for the whole time.
I did well on the Vietnam leg of my trip, but there is always room for improvement. I took too many road trips, which brought the cost up. I knew I could do that, as it happened the first time I visited a new country.
Here is a summary of the approximate costs to see how they stack up against my USD $2K monthly budget.
~ USD 600 for accommodations ($420 for Homebase and $180 for road trip Airbnb’s)
~ USD 750 credit card bill
~$800 cash ($200 a week cash for incidentals).
~$2000+ (I would assume this is a bit higher, but this is a summary).
If I stayed in one city instead of touring, it could be a lot less!!