Each year in Cambodia a kilometre-long bridge made from 50,000 sticks of bamboo is built, used then dismantled. A fascinating and painstaking process that has captured the curiosity of tourists from all over the world.
You see, this is what is known as a seasonal bridge.
It is constructed during the dry season to link the town of Kampong Cham with around 1,000 families on Koh Paen island across the Mekong River.
Image: Shutterstock
Usually, boats would be used to ferry people between the towns, but in the dry season, the waters of the Mekong River become too shallow for this.
To solve the problem, the island’s residents came up with the idea of a bamboo bridge that could be removed just before the rainy season from May to November.
Before the wet seasons, locals work together to dismantle the bridge and store all of the bamboos before the river floods.
Image: source: Shutterstock
The constant building and dismantling of the bamboo bridge has taken place for decades.
Locals wanting to cross the bridge are charged 100 riel, which is only a few cents while tourists are charged up to 40 times more.
While mostly used as a footbridge, bicycles, motorbikes, cars, and even trucks have been spotted on the bridge before.
Image: Shutterstock
The bridge is a feat of engineering, with the knowledge about how to construct it, passed down throughout the generations.
Last year The Phnom Penh Post wrote a story, airing concerns about the future of the bridge after a modern government-funded bridge was built up the river.
Visitors to the area have confirmed that there is no need to worry just yet with the seasonal bridge standing tall again this year.
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