dunno about asia – some firms pay well relative to other industries, either b/c they pay closer to western standards or are looking for elite talent. however cost of living for western style accommodations in large cities is similar to upper tier western cities. in japan they pay ok, cost of living is generally low, but it’s not much different from what i see here states-side. in most cases if you work for developer type of outfits they pay well relative to the quality of work produced, but that isn’t much different from everywhere else in the world.
for a while (5 yrs+ back) scandanavia and aus/nz were paying very high even accounting for cost of living.