Laos — The Old Bridge, Luang Prabang (ຫລວງພະບາງ/ຫຼວງພະບາງ), Laos
An old rickety bridge
September 2015
The Old Bridge in Luang Prabang (ຫລວງພະບາງ/ຫຼວງພະບາງ) crossed the Nam Khan River and was next to my hotel — Le Bel Air Resort.
When I ate breakfast, I could hear traffic crossing the bridge every morning. I also had to cross the bridge to get into the centre of Luang Prabang (ຫລວງພະບາງ/ຫຼວງພະບາງ).
The Old Bridge was heavily used and is a vital part of the local infrastructure, which was alarming considering its poor construction.
The French built the bridge in the 1920s to improve local communications and the transport of goods. The bridge was built on the cheap and consists of a metal frame, with the roadway and pedestrian walkways made of wood.
Motorbikes and pedestrians use the bridge. The noise I heard from the bridge each morning was the ‘clunk clunk’ of the wooden boards in the roadway as motorbikes passed over them.
The bridge was visible from Mount Phousi.
And when I looked at the Nam Khan River from the bridge, I realised how vital the bridge was for local traffic. Even though the Nam Khan was a tributary of the Mekong, it was still a big river.
From the banks of the Nam Khan River, I got to appreciate the size of the bridge.
The bridge had three lanes.
The two outer lanes were for pedestrians, and the central lane was for motorbikes.
A large vertical metal beam in the centre of the vehicle lane prevented three and four-wheeled traffic from going over the bridge.
In the photograph below, you can see one of the pedestrian walkways, the ‘vehicle stopper’ beam and the two wooden roadways for the motorbikes.
The pedestrian walkways were narrow. Passing someone coming the other way was very tricky.
The walkway consisted of four planks held together with a cross-beam, which made a very handy trip point.
Crossing the bridge in the dark was particularly challenging, and I found a torch essential as there was no lighting.
The view from the bridge was good, and again, it made me appreciate the size of the Nam Khan River and the importance of the bridge.
Foursquare: Old Bridge
