Historic Bridge Don Det - Don Khon — Attraction in Champasak Province

The History of the Bridge is very interesting. The Largest Waterfall in SEA is 500 meters from the Bridge. The Bridge was originally built for a Railway. And was built during the time when Laos was a French Colony. The French people in Europe loved a certain kind of Black Pepper grown in Cambodia. The French would load boats in Cambodia and ship it upstream on the Mekong. But the waterfall was an obstacle. When they got to the Falls they would unload the boats, take the boats apart, lift them up to the top of the falls, put them on the rail system, and take them upriver to the North End of Don Det, put the boats back together, and ship it up the Mekong. There is a large concrete structure on the North East side of Don Det that is still there....where they put the boats back together and launch them...

Keep it civil, the suspension is truss worthy 😎 I stayed on the Island Don Det which is part of the 4000 islands. In the area of our accomodation (North Don Det) you can hire push bikes & travel from one side of the island to the other. A little bumpy bike ride however eventually the Historic bridge is in sight to explore. I'm not great on history but the French built the bridge for a reason which I will leave you to find out.. 😉 The bridge itself is well built and cool to indulge in history as we know it. Opportunities to go for a bite to eat & beverage on the river front before going to visit the waterfalls should you wish. Worth a look, quite tiring if you want to travel by push-bike so make sure you pack plenty of water especially in high heat of the...

Maybe it was the season, but I didn't much care for the Dons in general. Muddy water, boring tourist attractions unless you are really interested in the history of the place, and frankly not much to do. For me, the waterfalls to the south, Li Phi and Kon Prapeng (by volume the biggest in the world), were much more interesting areas to explore. If asked, I'd say skip the Thousand Islands and use that time to go straight to the waterfalls.

As for this bridge, it's a short, straight concrete bridge with smooth arches between its supports. The dilapidated old train is a short walk away, covered by a tin roof and surrounded by posters explaining...