I just got back from my trip to SE Asia on Saturday. I was in Siem Reap from Sept 10-13. On the last day, we took a trip to see Koh Ker first and then Beng Melea on the way back. As others have said, the road to Koh Ker past Beng Melea is unpaved and really in poor condition. It was extremely bumpy and I can only imagine how muddy it must be when it's been rainy heavily. I actually enjoyed the rough road as it really made me feel like I was going somewhere distant.

Our guide had told me there isn't much to see there but I still wanted to go. The highlight, of course, is the pyramid. After seeing it in person, I'm surprised that you used to be able to climb up top. That ladder/stairs looked really steep and dangerous (well, someone did fall down there and that's why it's now closed.) The rest of the temples in the area looked the same to me as they were mostly rubble. Most of this area had just been cleared of mines in the last two or three years. I believe I stopped a minefield from the road that hadn't been cleared yet.

I was disappointed with Beng Melea at first. They have mostly sanitized the experience. Our guide told us that wooden walkway was added just last year and many of the trees and roots have been cleared. He showed us some of the spots where you had to go before the walkway was constructed. You had to pull yourself up a little opening to then walk over rubble. At another spot, you would have had to climb up a wooden ladder to get to some more rubble. The thing that saved the temple for me was that there was still an area where you could walk over the rubble. I got somewhat of the adventure feeling when we walked on the broken stones.

As for tourists, I remember only seeing two other couples at Koh Ker. Beng Melea was packed with tons of local people as it was a Sunday.