Bangkok or Mumbai?

Neither city is a place to swim, and the difference lies in what is there instead. Bangkok has no seafront at all, only mudflats and fish farms on the delta, so the water in a rooftop hotel pool is the nearest you will get to a swim. Real sand at Pattaya or Bang Saen is a long road trip away, or the beach becomes a separate stay on the islands or at Hua Hin.

Mumbai at least has a beach to stand on. Juhu and Chowpatty are broad sands for sunset strolls, kites and snacks, but the water is murky and closed in the monsoon. Cleaner sea means a ferry to Alibaug and most of a day.

Both are superb street-food cities, but Bangkok goes deeper. Thai cooking is there at every hour, from pork skewers at breakfast to Yaowarat's night kitchens, with the produce halls of Or Tor Kor, good mall food courts and a serious tier of restaurants reworking regional dishes.

Mumbai's strengths are different: vada pav from station carts, bun maska in the old Irani cafés, Malvani crab and pomfret in coconut curries, and dishes from every corner of India, from Gujarati thalis to Parsi dhansak. It is a fine place to eat, just with fewer standout areas and more care needed at the stalls.

Bangkok has the more striking sights and they are easier to see. The Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaew and Wat Pho stand side by side on Rattanakosin Island, with Wat Arun just across the river, so a single day covers the greatest of them. Its temples are still busy places of worship rather than monuments.

Mumbai's appeal is architectural and colonial: the Gothic extravagance of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, the Oval Maidan facing Marine Drive's Art Deco blocks, and the Gateway of India. Its main museum's sculpture and miniatures arguably outdo Bangkok's collections, but the sights are spread out and slow to link up.

This is one of the widest gaps between them. Bangkok offers several kinds of night out: polished cocktail bars and clubs in Thonglor and Ekkamai, cheap street-side drinking on Khao San Road, Silom's long-established gay scene and the city's famous rooftop bars. Bars stay open until around two, and the food stalls keep going after that.

Mumbai's bars and clubs in Bandra, Khar and the Lower Parel mill compounds are dressy and enjoyable, but they close soon after midnight, drinks are heavily taxed and the districts are far apart. Most of Mumbai's evening life is late dinners and seafront walks rather than bars.

Mumbai is the greener choice by some distance. Sanjay Gandhi National Park puts forest, trails, leopards and the Kanheri caves within the northern suburbs, flamingos feed on the mudflats at Sewri in winter, and Marine Drive gives a long sea walk. The Western Ghats, with Matheran and the old hill forts, are close enough for monsoon hikes.

Bangkok's outdoors comes down to parks such as Lumphini, with its monitor lizards, and a bike ride through the palms and orchards of Bang Krachao. Khao Yai's forests and waterfalls need an overnight stay.

Bangkok has far more to do within a day's reach. Ayutthaya's temple ruins fill a day by bicycle, and the canal country to the southwest adds the Amphawa floating market, the Maeklong railway market and the great stupa at Nakhon Pathom. Kanchanaburi's Death Railway bridge is also possible as a long day.

Mumbai has one outstanding outing, the hour-long boat to Elephanta's carved Shiva caves, plus the older Buddhist halls at Karla and Bhaja and the sea forts of Alibaug. Its greatest regional sites, Ajanta and Ellora, are too far for a day, and slow roads out of the city limit what else is practical.

Children are made welcome in both, but Bangkok gives families more to do and an easier way to reach it. Sea Life Ocean World, Safari World, Dream World and KidZania are all close to the city, the malls have big indoor play areas for hot afternoons, and the Skytrain and river boats are fun in their own right.

Mumbai's outings for children are fewer: the Nehru Science Centre, the Byculla zoo, the harbour ferries and ice cream on Chowpatty. Its theme parks are a long drive out. Both cities are hard on buggies, but in Mumbai a car and driver becomes close to essential.

Bangkok is easier, mainly because of its rail. The air-conditioned Skytrain and underground link the main modern districts and the airport, and express boats on the Chao Phraya reach the Grand Palace and Wat Arun. Between stations, though, the heat, footbridges and traffic make walking hard work.

Mumbai's long, narrow shape stretches every journey. The suburban trains are fast but crushingly full at rush hour, the metro covers only part of the city, and most visitors rely on taxis, rickshaws and ride-hailing through slow traffic. The one easy area on foot is the Fort, Kala Ghoda and Colaba.

Bangkok is the bigger shopping destination. The malls around Siam and Ratchaprasong are linked by walkways from the Skytrain, Chatuchak's thousands of weekend stalls fill a morning, and Thai silk, celadon and benjarong porcelain make good things to take home.

Mumbai's shopping has a different character, built on old bazaars: Crawford Market's spices under a Victorian roof, Zaveri Bazaar's gold, and Chor Bazaar's antiques and film posters. Its best buys are handloom textiles and block prints from the boutiques of Kala Ghoda and Bandra, though the heat and the distances cut shopping days short.

Both are cheap places to eat and get about, so the difference lies in the room. In Bangkok, comfortable hotels, including ones with river views and rooftop pools, cost far less than in a Western capital, and massages and tailoring stretch the budget further.

Mumbai is India's most expensive city for accommodation. Good rooms in the south and the better suburbs are dear, and decent budget options are scarce. In both cities imported drinks and smart bars charge close to Western prices.

The two are broadly level, but the scenes differ in kind. Bangkok's highlights are made for visitors: masked khon drama from the Ramakien at the Sala Chalermkrung and the National Theatre, and Muay Thai nights at Rajadamnern and Lumpinee with their ritual music, plus small jazz and blues bars.

Mumbai's stage serves its own residents. The National Centre for the Performing Arts at Nariman Point hosts the Symphony Orchestra of India and Hindustani classical music, while the small Prithvi Theatre in Juhu and the Marathi playhouses of Dadar carry the drama. For an evening out among locals, Mumbai is the better bet.

Bangkok is much the better place to unwind. Thai massage is part of daily life there, taught and given within the grounds of Wat Pho, offered cheaply on almost every street until late, and turned into long herbal rituals in the riverside hotel spas.

Mumbai has Ayurvedic massage centres, luxury hotel spas and yoga studios around Bandra, but little of this is on the street. Its calm moments are an early walk on Marine Drive or the Bandstand promenade, or a quiet hour by the Banganga Tank, and a proper retreat means leaving for Lonavala or the Konkan coast.