HANOI, Vietnam — When planning months or even a year ahead for "the next big trip," money is inevitably one of the top deciding factors. For Americans with a taste for overseas destinations, cheapie off-season flights to Europe and bargain hotels often seem like the easiest and most obvious way to go.

But what if you could go somewhere truly exotic — swaying palms, white sands, lush jungles and centuries-old ruins — during high season and stay in five-star hotels for a fraction of what you would pay for a closet with no bath in London?

It's all possible in Southeast Asia.

Sure, the airfares are a bit daunting — $800 to $1,000 for a flight from the States may be more than double what you'd pay to get to Paris or Barcelona. But let's put it into perspective: Once you land, a dollar in Asia often equals thousands of the local currency. For example, in Vietnam, $1 equals 15,700 dong. Compare that to Western Europe, where the euro trumped the dollar this summer, 1.2 to 1.

You do the math.

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