Originally Posted by rhwbullhead

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.