Pattaya or Siem Reap?

This is Pattaya's category without question. The sand along Pattaya Beach is more for deckchairs than swimming, but Jomtien and Na Jomtien are calmer, and the islands off Bali Hai pier have clear, properly swimmable sea.

Siem Reap is inland. The Tonle Sap is muddy and nobody swims in it, and the coast is most of a day away. Your swimming will be in the hotel pool.

Pattaya eats better overall, mainly thanks to the sea. You can buy fish and shellfish by weight to be grilled along the Naklua waterfront or in the fishing villages to the south, and the night markets are large. The menus for foreign visitors along Beach Road are uneven, but there are plenty of choices.

Siem Reap offers less, but its Khmer cooking is distinctive: amok steamed in banana leaf, num banh chok for breakfast and freshwater fish from the lake. A handful of kitchens rework those ingredients into tasting menus. As in Pattaya, the best meals are away from the strip for tourists.

Siem Reap lies beside Angkor, and that decides this category. Angkor Wat, the stone faces of the Bayon, the terraces of Angkor Thom and the galleries of Ta Prohm split by trees make up one of the richest archaeological sites anywhere. In town, the colonial quarter by the Old Market and the murals at Wat Bo add a little more.

Pattaya began as a fishing village and has no old quarter. The carved teak Sanctuary of Truth is worth seeing and Big Buddha Hill gives a view, but most of the rest is illusion galleries and wax museums.

Pattaya is built for nights out, and Siem Reap is not. Walking Street, the hundreds of beer bars off Second Road, the large dance clubs, the Jomtien beach bars and the gay quarter at Boyztown keep going into the small hours. The sex trade is part of that picture, so couples often stay in Naklua or Jomtien.

Siem Reap's version is Pub Street: a few cheerful blocks of cheap draught beer and cocktail buckets, with calmer bars by the river. There is no club scene, and sunrise trips to the temples end most evenings early.

Both are modest for the outdoors, but in different directions. Pattaya's nature is out at sea: snorkelling off Koh Larn and Koh Phai, dives to sunken naval ships, and kitesurfing at Na Jomtien in the dry season. The land behind the town is flat and built over.

Siem Reap's outdoors is on land and on the lake. You can cycle through rice paddies and sugar palms, take a boat to the storks and pelicans of Prek Toal, and walk in the forest to the Phnom Kulen waterfall or the carved riverbed at Kbal Spean.

The two are about even for excursions, but the outings differ. From Pattaya you can get a taste of Bangkok's palace and riverside temples, see the old royal summer palace on Koh Si Chang, or reach the white beaches of Koh Samet. The choice is varied, but the journeys are long.

Siem Reap's day trips mostly go deeper into one subject. You can see the pink sandstone carving at Banteay Srei, the collapsed temple of Beng Mealea, the pyramid at Koh Ker and the early Roluos group. The stilt villages of Kampong Phluk on the lake are the one change of scene.

Pattaya does much more for children. There are large water parks, an aquarium with a tunnel, the night safari at Khao Kheow and the elephant shows at Nong Nooch. Families tend to stay at pool resorts in Jomtien, away from the bar streets.

Siem Reap is best for older children who enjoy an adventure, such as climbing among the roots at Ta Prohm or taking a boat to the stilt villages. Almost nothing is designed for children, though, and steep temple steps in the heat soon tire younger ones.

Neither has a metro. Pattaya has a slight edge because its shared songthaew pick-ups run a fixed loop along Beach Road and Second Road and out to Jomtien and Naklua, which makes coastal trips cheap. The zoo, gardens and water parks still need a taxi.

Siem Reap has no public transport, but its centre around the Old Market is small enough to walk. For Angkor, most visitors hire a tuk-tuk driver for the day or ride bicycles around the flat circuits. In both places, broken pavements and the heat cut walking short.

Neither is a reason to go shopping, but the shopping differs in kind. Pattaya's is practical: air-conditioned malls with chains and supermarkets, tailors who can make a suit within days, and night markets at Thepprasit selling cheap copies.

Siem Reap is better for things made locally. In the artisan workshops you can watch silk weaving, stone carving and lacquerware being made before you buy, and the Old Market sells kramas and silver.

Both are very cheap by Western standards, with inexpensive rooms, street food and massages. The extra costs fall differently. In Pattaya they come from speedboat trips to the islands, water parks and shows where foreigners pay more than Thais.

In Siem Reap the one big expense is the Angkor pass, which makes a real dent in a short stay. After that, a tuk-tuk for the whole day at the temples costs little.

Pattaya's evening shows are made to entertain, while Siem Reap's have roots in Khmer tradition. In Pattaya the main show is glittering ladyboy cabaret in large theatres, and cover bands play rock and pop on Walking Street. Neither city has theatre or a classical music season.

In Siem Reap, apsara dance brings the court tradition carved on the temple walls to life, and it is best seen at the smaller, more serious performances. The contemporary circus run by a school for young performers tells Khmer stories through acrobatics, theatre and live music.

Both make it easy to unwind, with Thai or Khmer massage on almost every street and proper spas at the resorts. In Pattaya, rest depends on where you stay, for example on the Pratamnak headland or in Na Jomtien rather than the loud centre. Choose massage places with care, because some are part of the nightlife trade.

In Siem Reap the rhythm of the day helps you slow down. Early starts at the temples lead to long afternoons in garden hotels, and the lanes across the river are quiet, with yoga classes close at hand.