Bangkok or Kanchanaburi?

Neither city is a beach destination, and they fall short in different ways. Bangkok's nearby coast is mudflat and mangrove, so swimming means a hotel pool, often on a rooftop, while the sands of Bang Saen and Pattaya are close enough for a long day out.

Kanchanaburi is too far inland even for that, but it has freshwater swimming that Bangkok lacks: the turquoise tiered pools at Erawan and lazy floats on the River Kwai from a raft house. Either way, anyone after sand and salt water should add a few nights on the coast.

Bangkok is one of the great food cities. It has boat noodles at plastic tables, curries at shophouse counters, Yaowarat after dark, the produce halls of Or Tor Kor and a deep tier of restaurants reworking regional Thai cooking. On top of that come strong Japanese and Chinese food, serious cocktails and coffee roasted from northern Thai beans.

Kanchanaburi offers honest provincial cooking: noodle soups, night-market grills and river fish such as snakehead eaten on floating rafts at sunset. It is cheap and enjoyable, but after a few days you will have seen most of the range, and there is nothing at the top end.

Bangkok's old city is among Asia's richest sights: the Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha, the Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho, Wat Arun's porcelain tiers and the Golden Mount. The National Museum, the Jim Thompson House and the Thonburi canals fill several more days.

Kanchanaburi's sights tell one story, and tell it powerfully. The Bridge over the River Kwai, the rows of graves at the War Cemetery and Chung Kai, and the Thailand-Burma Railway Centre make a sobering day. Beyond that there are a few cave temples and not much old architecture.

Bangkok's nights are famous and come in several styles. Thonglor and Ekkamai have polished cocktail bars and clubs, Khao San Road is loud and cheap, Silom has a long-established gay scene, and the rooftop bars look out over the river.

In Kanchanaburi a night out means a few beers on the riverside backpacker road, perhaps with a cover band, or the noise of weekend karaoke rafts drifting past. There are no clubs, and most people are in bed soon after the night market closes.

This is where Kanchanaburi pulls well ahead. It sits on the edge of the forested limestone hills along the Burmese border, with Erawan's waterfalls about an hour away, caves and falls at Sai Yok, reservoirs for kayaking and bamboo rafts on the river.

Bangkok's outdoors amounts to Lumphini Park with its monitor lizards and the raised cycling paths of Bang Krachao. The landscape that Bangkok residents travel to on weekends is the landscape Kanchanaburi wakes up in.

Bangkok has the stronger range of outings. Ayutthaya's ruined capital is an easy full day, the canal country offers Amphawa and the Maeklong railway market, and Kanchanaburi itself is within reach for a long day.

From Kanchanaburi the best trip is up the old line to Nam Tok and on to the cutting and memorial at Hellfire Pass, with the Khmer ruins of Prasat Muang Singh as a quieter half day. Nakhon Pathom and the floating markets are reachable from either city, but Ayutthaya is a stretch from Kanchanaburi.

Both cities welcome children warmly, and Bangkok has a slight edge thanks to attractions built for them. Sea Life Ocean World, Dream World, KidZania and the big air-conditioned play areas in the malls are a lifeline on hot afternoons, though the crowded pavements make buggies almost useless.

In Kanchanaburi the fun is outdoors: splashing in the Erawan pools, riding the slow train over the wooden trestles and sleeping in a raft house. The war museums mean little to young children, and almost every outing involves a minivan.

In Bangkok the BTS Skytrain, the MRT and the Chao Phraya Express boats link most of what visitors want to see, and ride-hailing fills the gaps, although road traffic is painfully slow and the old city sits off the rail lines.

Kanchanaburi has no such network. The town is strung out for several kilometres along the river, so a bicycle or songthaew helps even there. Beyond town, buses and the train to Nam Tok are sparse and slow, so most visitors rent a scooter or hire a driver.

Bangkok is one of Asia's great shopping cities. The Siam and Ratchaprasong malls are joined by walkways, ICONSIAM stands on the river, MBK sells electronics and Chatuchak's weekend stalls could fill a morning. Look out for Thai silk, benjarong porcelain and celadon to take home.

Kanchanaburi has a night market, souvenir stalls by the bridge and a small mall for basics. Its only real speciality is blue sapphire from the old local mines, and buying it safely takes some knowledge.

Both are very easy on a budget, with Kanchanaburi a little cheaper. Its guesthouses and raft rooms cost very little, and the local train is almost free, though foreigner fees at the national parks and the cost of private drivers soon add up.

Bangkok's street food, transport and hotels are also cheap by Western standards. Costs rise at rooftop bars, on imported wine and at the Grand Palace gate, and a room on the river or in Sukhumvit costs more than one in Banglamphu.

Bangkok has a real stage tradition to offer: masked khon drama from the Ramakien at the Sala Chalermkrung and the National Theatre, plus the symphony orchestra at the Thailand Cultural Centre. Jazz bars and the ritual music of Muay Thai at Rajadamnern add to it, though there is no theatre district to plan a trip around.

Kanchanaburi has no theatre or concert hall at all. The one big occasion is River Kwai Bridge Week, around late November and early December, when a sound-and-light show and fireworks restage the bombing of the bridge.

Bangkok takes massage seriously. Wat Pho still teaches and treats inside the temple grounds, shopfront parlours stay open late on every street, and the grand hotels run some of the most refined spas in Asia, with herbal compresses and treatment rooms by the river. What it lacks is quiet.

Kanchanaburi offers the opposite: calm without the polish. A hammock on a raft house facing the jungle is restful in itself, and the massage shops are simple and cheap. The natural hot springs at Hin Dat, about two hours north, make a pleasant soak on the way into the hills.