Bangkok vs Cape Town vs Chiang Mai vs Tbilisi vs Ubud

	Bangkok 🇹🇭 Remove	Cape Town 🇿🇦 Remove	Chiang Mai 🇹🇭 Remove	Tbilisi 🇬🇪 Remove	Ubud 🇮🇩 Remove
Population	5,680,000	4,617,560	1,166,978	1,108,700	112,490
Official language(s)	Thai	Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans and English	Thai	Georgian	Indonesian and Balinese
Level of English	Low	Very high	Low	Low	Low
Main airport	Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK)	Cape Town International Airport (CPT)	Chiang Mai International Airport (CNX)	Tbilisi International Airport (TBS)	Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPA)
Most common months to visit	January - March, November, December	March - May, September - November	November - April	March - June	May - October
Currency	THB - Thai Baht (฿)	ZAR - South African Rand (R)	THB - Thai Baht (฿)	GEL - Georgian Lari (₾)	IDR - Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)
Credit cards	Accepted almost everywhere	Accepted almost everywhere, but cash still needed in smaller shops	Accepted sometimes. Cash preferred in many places.	Accepted everywhere	Accepted in some places
Remote worker visa	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Average monthly costs	$1560	$1549	$974	$1462	$1363
Rent	$616	$618	$274	$752	$658
Groceries	$191	$129	$169	$112	$150
Dining out	$168	$269	$108	$169	$10
Cafe	$45	$32	$45	$45	$28
Coworking space	$127	$151	$95	$125	$106
Mobile internet	$23	$27	$11	$4	$3
Public transportation	$32	$55	$60	$8	$53
Taxis	$19	$21	$20	$14	$13
Shared bicycles and scooters	$17	$49	$10	$27	$33
Sport and cultural events	$46	$19	$8	$21	$14
Museums and sights	$21	$15	$8	$9	$9
Nightlife	$50	$43	$62	$53	$118
Gym	$96	$36	$41	$33	$72
Yoga	$98	$56	$55	$37	$87
Massage	$11	$30	$10	$53	$10
SIM card options	AIS	MTN, Vodacom	AIS, DTAC	Magti GSM, Geocell, Beeline	Telkomsel, XL Axiata
Tipping	10% for restaurants, bars and services	10 - 15% at restaurants, round up elsewhere	10% at restaurants, not customary or expected elsewhere	10% usually included in bill, not expected at bars or cafés.	Tip 5 - 10% in restaurants if service charge is not included in the bill
Taxi apps	Grab	Uber, Bolt	Grab	Yandex, Bolt	Grab, GoJek
Tap water	Not drinkable	Not drinkable	Not drinkable	Not drinkable	Not drinkable
Overall cuisine	Meat and fish dishes, vegetables, noodles and soup	South African cuisine has been shaped by a long history of Dutch, Malay, British and Indian settlements, making the food diverse and strong in flavor. There is a strong emphasis on game in all of its different forms, as well as spicy sauces and sautéed vegetables and dry-cured meats. Creamy desserts and liqueurs compliment large and flavorful meals.	Combines salty, sweet, spicy and sour flavors to create bold and colorful dishes. Meals typically include a mixture of meat and seafood dishes, as well as noodles or soups recipes. Strong emphasis on local spices and vegetables.	Cuisine of the Caucasus meets regional diversity in Georgia. Emphasis on spices and meats (poultry, beef, pork and mutton) as well as soups and creams.	Balinese foods revolve on the complex flavors from certain ingredients like fresh vegetables, meat, coconut milk, and time-tested spices mixture.
Local food specialities	Pad thai, tom yam, kway teow reua, som tum, sooan	Bitlong and droewors, boerewors, Cape Malay curry, bobotie, melkert, gatsby, bunny chow	Khao soi, khan toke, sai oua, miang kham, nam prik, khanom jeen nam ngiaw, larb khua	Kachapuri, kuchmachi, khinkali, chikhirtma, kharcho with gomi, jonjoli	Satay, nasi goreng, gado-gado, martabak, bubur sumsum
Eat like a local	Food stalls, local markets, shophouse restaurants	Cape Malay shacks, food trucks, street food joints, local grills, small bakeries and food markets	Street food stalls, local markets, bakeries and smaller, traditional restaurants that serve fresh food	Small local restaurants, open bars, terraces and wine bars	Warung for authentic babi guling and bebek betutu, cafes for kopi luwak, street stalls for pisang goreng, nasi campur, and sate lilit
Vegetarian / vegan options	416 listings on Happy Cow	24 options on HappyCow	90 options on HappyCow	10 options on Happy Cow	255 listings on Happy Cow