FlyerTalk Forums - Temples Outside Angkor

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If Preah Vihear from the Thai side ever opens again, here's how the approach looks. (Well, looked circa 2006).

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhwbullhead (Post 12423232)

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.

That's dissapointing about Beng Melea. I was there 5 years ago and it was great, out of the way, empty and 'jungly'. Have the parents coming soon and will take them, but it must be quite a different experience now. :(

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhwbullhead (Post 12423232)

<snip>
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.

Huh?? I visited Beng Melea in mid-July about 3:30-4:00 pm on a weekday. It was overcast and threatening rain, there were about 5 other people touring the place and they were all Cambodian. Not even many people out front on the entrance pathway or near the road. It was spooky, jungly, and not at all disappointing. There is still tons and tons of vegetation covering the place that keep the atmosphere reasonably intact. Some vegetation clearing is necessary for access, for safety reasons, and to prevent further degradation/collapse of the ruins. As for the wooden walkway, it's decently well done and I didn't find it that obtrusive under the circumstances. Beng Melea, due to the state of partial structural collapse, is simply too dangerous to have numbers of people clambering over stones without benefit of artificial added path. Though it is still possible to leave the walkway and go into some of the interior nooks and crannies of the ruins to explore, if you are of a mind to do so and are pretty agile. Remember, the walkway is also to protect the ruins from the tourists--the effect of thousands of modern feet per year has a detrimental effect over time.

Some people think the walkway and some of the clearing detracts too much frm the "adventure" experience, but really, what were the other options? Besides:
(1) Do nothing and have the inevitable serious injuries from falls and misteps, as more people visit Beng Melea and especially foreigners who over-estimate their physical abilities; (2) In the interests of public safety, restrict the site from mass tourism altogether--but this is SE Asia, so fat chance!

Bottom line, Beng Melea is still a very interesting place to visit for those travelling to Siem Reap. Koh Ker is less so for the average tourist.

Watch out for snakes at Beng Melea. My moto driver warned me about snakes there after the fact. As we were leaving he asks me "Did you see any leaves rustling? You need to be careful of the snakes there."

Has anyone been up the western wooden stairs at Preah Vihear? Wondering if it's in the shade. (Link may be paywalled.)

What is the point to reviving 10 year old thread?

Quote:

Originally Posted by invisible (Post 31473425)

What is the point to reviving 10 year old thread?

It's the same topic and imbedded in the thread are several useful posts. Serious question: What's the point of discarding previous knowledge?

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjh (Post 31473262)

Has anyone been up the western wooden stairs at Preah Vihear? Wondering if it's in the shade. (Link may be paywalled.)

Answering my own question, YouTube videos show it mostly shaded.