David Mondore Explains the Regulations for Asia’s “Second Cities” and the Slow-Travel Life Behind Them

Los Angeles, USA – October 14, 2026 – After a year of living in Japan and traveling across Asia, Europe, and Latin America, content creator David Mondore has landed on a travel philosophy that cuts against most guidebooks: skip the headline capital and head for the country’s second city instead.

David Mondore, an American who built his name in the finance world before turning that location-independent income into a full-time life abroad, says the pattern is almost universal.

“Tokyo is spectacular, but every single friend who visits me walks away preferring Osaka,” he said. “It’s louder, faster, more open. People actually talk to you. That’s the difference between seeing a place and connecting with it.”

A few planned days in Chiang Mai stretched into five weeks during a two-month run through Thailand, a country he now calls one of the most livable he has ever set foot in, with elephant sanctuaries, mountain villages, and a nightlife where travelers and locals genuinely mix. “Chiang Mai gets ranked among the happiest cities on earth, and you feel it the moment you arrive,” he said. “Thai people might be the warmest I’ve ever met.”

David Mondore enjoyed Ho Chi Minh City but says Da Nang is the runaway favorite among travelers he trusts, and it sits at the top of his return list. In the Philippines, he found Manila expensive and thin on culture during a short visa run, and steers visitors toward island destinations like Siargao and El Nido instead.

For David Mondore, the “second city” rule is really an argument for how to travel at all: longer stays, fewer boxes checked, more time on the ground. “I’m not a tourist writing reviews,” he said. “I live abroad. I spend weeks somewhere. That’s where the real recommendations come from.”

He says, “Travel is what I actually did for freedom. The audience that followed my journey earlier is the reason why the travel chapter is possible. It keeps asking me where to go and what to skip, so I’m answering properly.” Full destination breakdowns will be published as part of David Mondore’s expanding travel platform at davidmondore.com.

About David Mondore

David Mondore is an entrepreneur turned travel content creator, covering destinations across Asia, Europe, and Latin America from an travel expert’s perspective.

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