Bangkok or Siem Reap?

Neither city is a beach destination. In both, your swimming will happen in a hotel pool: often on a rooftop in Bangkok, and usually in a garden after a morning at the temples in Siem Reap.

Bangkok has the edge only because the sea is within reach. Bang Saen and Pattaya are around two hours by road, and the water there is near 29°C. From Siem Reap the coast is most of a day away and the Tonle Sap is not for swimming, so any beach time has to be a separate part of the trip.

The gap here is wide, and eating is one of the main reasons to choose Bangkok. Street cooking runs from breakfast pork skewers to late-night Yaowarat, markets such as Or Tor Kor show off the produce, and there is a deep layer of serious Thai, Japanese and Chinese restaurants, along with a strong cocktail and coffee culture.

Siem Reap's Khmer food is worth seeking out: fish amok, num banh chok and grilled meats with pickles, plus a handful of kitchens that rework local ingredients with care. But the range is small, and the centre around Pub Street leans towards pizza and backpacker menus, so the good meals are a tuk-tuk ride away.

Siem Reap holds the bigger prize. Angkor Wat, the stone faces of the Bayon and the tree-split galleries of Ta Prohm are among the great sights of the world. They are spread through the forest just north of town and need several days.

Bangkok's temples impress in a different way, as living places of worship covered in gold and mirrored tiles, from Wat Phra Kaew to Wat Arun. The National Museum, the Jim Thompson House and the shophouses of Chinatown add depth, but nothing in the city matches the scale of Angkor.

Bangkok has several kinds of night out in one city. There are polished cocktail bars and clubs in Thonglor and Ekkamai, the backpacker street party of Khao San Road, Silom's long-established gay scene and rooftop bars high above the river.

Siem Reap has one scene, Pub Street: cheap, loud and friendly, with a few quieter bars along the river. There are no clubs to speak of, and early starts for sunrise at Angkor cut most evenings short.

Siem Reap gets you into the countryside more easily. Flat lanes through rice paddies and sugar palms make for gentle cycling in the morning. Boats cross the Tonle Sap to the flooded forest and the bird colonies of Prek Toal, and the waterfall on Phnom Kulen is about an hour and a half away.

In Bangkok, green space mostly means its parks, such as Lumphini with its monitor lizards and the orchard paths of Bang Krachao. Khao Yai and Kanchanaburi need an overnight stay. In both places the heat limits outdoor activity to the early hours.

The ruined island capital of Ayutthaya, an hour and a half north by train, would justify a day out on its own, and Bang Pa-In's summer palace sits on the way. West of Bangkok are the floating markets, the Maeklong railway market where stalls fold back for passing trains, and Thailand's tallest stupa at Nakhon Pathom, while Kanchanaburi's Death Railway bridge makes a long but worthwhile day.

Around Siem Reap the outings are mostly more temples: the pink sandstone carving of Banteay Srei and the collapsed, overgrown Beng Mealea, with the stilt villages of Kampong Phluk for a change of scene. That suits a trip built on Angkor, but there is less variety and no other town within an easy return drive.

Bangkok is easier with children, especially young ones. Sea Life, Safari World, Dream World, KidZania and the air-conditioned play areas in the malls fill hot afternoons, and the Skytrain and river boats are fun in themselves.

Siem Reap has almost nothing built for children, and steep temple steps and long walks in the heat soon tire small legs. Older children who like scrambling over root-covered ruins and riding in tuk-tuks will find a real adventure, though.

Bangkok has a proper rail network. The BTS Skytrain and the MRT link the main districts, express boats run along the river to the Grand Palace, and a rail link serves Suvarnabhumi airport. The catch is the traffic and the stretches between stations, where walking in the heat is hard work.

Siem Reap has no public transport, but its centre is small enough to walk and tuk-tuks are everywhere. Hiring a driver for the day is the normal way to see the temples, though the flat main circuits are easy by bicycle or e-bike.

Bangkok is one of Asia's great shopping cities. It has thousands of weekend stalls at Chatuchak, the connected malls of Siam and Ratchaprasong, ICONSIAM on the river, Pratunam's wholesale clothing, and night markets and Chinatown gold shops on top.

Shopping in Siem Reap is about crafts. You can buy silk, kramas and silver at the Old Market, and the artisan workshops, where you can watch weaving, carving and lacquerware being made, are even better. There is no fashion or luxury shopping.

Both cities are very cheap by Western standards, with meals, massages and comfortable hotels with pools costing little. The extra costs fall in different places: in Bangkok they are rooftop bars, imported drinks and hotels on the river or in Sukhumvit, while Siem Reap's one big expense is the Angkor pass, which takes a large share of a short stay's budget.

Khon, the masked dance drama of the Ramakien, is the reason to book a theatre seat in Bangkok, at the Sala Chalermkrung or the National Theatre. Add the symphony orchestra at the Thailand Cultural Centre, small jazz bars and the ritual and music of Muay Thai at Rajadamnern and Lumpinee, and the city gives you a real range of evenings.

In Siem Reap the choice comes down to two things. Apsara dance is best seen at the smaller, more serious performances rather than the buffet shows, and the Cambodian circus, with its young performers telling Khmer stories, is well worth an evening.

Massage runs deeper in Bangkok, and calm comes more easily in Siem Reap. For treatments the Thai capital is the stronger choice: Wat Pho's traditional school still works inside the temple grounds, parlours open late on every street, and the grand hotels run some of Asia's finest spas. What the city cannot offer is quiet.

Siem Reap has fewer refined spas but a slower day. Khmer massage, yoga classes and long afternoons in garden hotels make it easy to unwind, as long as you stay away from the noise of Pub Street.