Most of Asia (with the obvious exception of Japan, and possible exception of China) is still a bargain. As is Latin America. Like I said, I was able to do Singapore and Cambodia, including all hotels, airfare, ground transportation, meals, guide services and shopping for souvenirs/gifts for under $3000 USD, for ten days. That's about as "exotic" as it gets. The Argentina trip was about $4000, but that was fourteen days, and I two side trips: going to Iguazu Falls, and crossing over to Paraguay.
The Iguazu Falls trip included staying in the Sheraton Iguazu, which is inside the Iguazu Park, and frightfully expensive, for two nights (about $600 with room taxes). Worth every penny of the difference, because it let me get up and going in the park an hour before the first tourists from outside arrived. Waking up to see the mist cloud from the falls billowing three hundred feet into the air as the sky transformed from purple to orange to pale gold with the sunrise was another plus. You could have done Iguazu Falls for about 1/3 the total money I spent, maybe even less, if you took the bus from Buenos Aires instead of flying, and stayed in the town instead of the park. You'd also have to budget an additional two days for the visit because of transit time.
Point being, you can do these trips internationally for not a lot of money, and neither Singapore nor Buenos Aires are thirty miles up the third world rectum either. While Cambodia is poor, you can stay in some very decent hotels for under $50 a night. If you insist on staying at the Grand Hotel D' Angkor, your budget gets no sympathy from anyone. EVEN on a sinking dollar, you can visit some wonderful places without going broke.
