Bangkok vs Barbados vs Budapest vs Istanbul vs Rio de Janeiro

	Bangkok 🇹🇭 Remove	Barbados 🇧🇧 Remove	Budapest 🇭🇺 Remove	Istanbul 🇹🇷 Remove	Rio de Janeiro 🇧🇷 Remove
Population	5,680,000	110,000	1,768,073	15,520,000	6,718,903
Official language(s)	Thai	English, Bajan Creole	Hungarian	Turkish	Portuguese
Level of English	Low	Very high	High	Low	Low
Main airport	Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK)	Bridgetown/Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI)	Budapest Ferihegy International Airport (BUD)	Istanbul Airport (IST)	Galeão International Airport
Most common months to visit	January - March, November, December	November - May	March - June, September - November	April - June, September and October	January - March, December
Currency	THB - Thai Baht (฿)	BBD - Barbadian dollar ($)	HUF - Hungarian Forint (Ft)	TRY - Turkish Lira (₺)	BRL - Brazilian Real (R$)
Credit cards	Accepted almost everywhere	Accepted in some places, cash also needed for smaller businesses	Accepted almost everywhere, cash needed for small shops	Accepted in most places	Accepted everywhere
Remote worker visa	No	Yes	No	No	No
Average monthly costs	$1560	$2702	$1230	$659	$1833
Rent	$616	$1054	$499	$354	$1066
Groceries	$191	$234	$108	$44	$95
Dining out	$168	$345	$202	$81	$210
Cafe	$45	$75	$29	$18	$25
Coworking space	$127	$321	$120	$49	$130
Mobile internet	$23	$49	$9	$3	$7
Public transportation	$32	$35	$36	$6	$33
Taxis	$19	$106	$27	$6	$14
Shared bicycles and scooters	$17	$0	$13	$2	$16
Sport and cultural events	$46	$37	$24	$11	$55
Museums and sights	$21	$36	$7	$15	$26
Nightlife	$50	$96	$43	$22	$54
Gym	$96	$86	$37	$9	$31
Yoga	$98	$130	$48	$23	$40
Massage	$11	$99	$26	$15	$32
SIM card options	AIS	Digicel	Vodafone, Telenor	Turkcell, Turk Telekom	Tim, Claro, Vivo
Tipping	10% for restaurants, bars and services	10 - 15% usually included in restaurants, add 10 - 15% at bars	10 - 15% at restaurants and bars	Tip 5-10% in restaurants, cafés and bars	10% usually included in restaurants, 10% at bars and cafes with table service is common
Taxi apps	Grab	None available	Bolt, Fotaxi	BiTaksi	Easy Taxi, 99 Taxi, Uber
Tap water	Not drinkable	Not drinkable	Drinkable	Not drinkable	Not drinkable
Overall cuisine	Meat and fish dishes, vegetables, noodles and soup	Bajan cuisine features an eclectic mix of European, Asian, and Caribbean styles resulting in bold, tasty and crunchy meat or fish dishes with lots of spices, lime juice, thyme and salads laden with local vegetables and hot side dishes.	Magyar cuisine makes extensive use of creams, cheeses and sauces primarily in beef, chicken and pork dishes, mixed with seasonal vegetables, fruits and rich desserts.	A fusion of cultures creates diverse dishes with bulgur, koftes, stews, eggplants and fish	Emphasis on rice, beans, pork and beef with a variety of root vegetables and fresh fruits. Fresh seafood is also very common.
Local food specialities	Pad thai, tom yam, kway teow reua, som tum, sooan	Cou-cou and flying fish, fish cakes, cutters, pudding and souse, macaroni pie, conkies, Bajan black cake, sea eggs	Goulash, Fisherman's soup, Főzelék, Somloi Galuska, Pörkölt and Paprikás, Kürtös Kalács, Hungarian Lecsó, Lángos	Döner, İçli Köfte, Dondurma, Karnıyarık, Turkish delight	Feijoada, bolinho de bacalhau, fried sardines, caldo verde, pao de queijo and brigadeiros.
Eat like a local	Food stalls, local markets, shophouse restaurants	Food trucks, pubs, seaside street food, roadside carts, local seafood restaurants, smaller traditional restaurants and rum shops	Local markets, cafés, taverns, street food, traditional restaurants	Traditional breakfasts, street stalls for simit, lahmacun and kokorec, Turkish coffee	The "snack capital" of Brazil, Rio is a perfect place to try street food as well as the wide varieties of small, traditional eateries and churrascarias easily found across the city.
Vegetarian / vegan options	416 listings on Happy Cow	14 options on HappyCow	47 options on HappyCow	59 listings on Happy Cow	54 options on Happy Cow