Day Phnom 3B: Beer Bus (Before the Bust)

January 23, 2024

After some more decompression, I rode to the bike shop where they did some excellent work replacing cables for both the brakes and my shifter. This was really good quality work too, well worth the $14 for parts and labor.

Then it was a walk to the casino where I lost more money. It didn't make any sense to keep hanging around here by myself and losing money while waiting for a colleague to arrive on the weekend. A side trip to Kampot seemed like a much better idea.

Before any of that, the beer bus showed up at the casino. The couple from Australia who run the bus started the business around 5 months ago, and along the way they picked up a Turkish woman who likes to drink. She joined the team.

The beer bus is basically an electric vehicle that was assembled by hand in Siem Reap by the local team driver. On the bus you have seats on either side with beer holders, like a sawngtaew but with an open compartment in the middle. This is where the team leader dances. He can face either side of the road and draw massive reactions and stares from curious onlookers. This is exactly what we did.

As the team leader explained, good luck trying this in Australia. But there's so many other countries in the world with increasing liability and safety regulations, all sorts of red tape bullshit. Maybe Cambodia is indeed the final frontier to try something like this. He didn't even need to register the vehicle as it was like an electric bike.

Unfortunate update: As of Feb 21 the authorities shut them down. The reasons cited were pretty obvious and the same reasons why this kind of thing has trouble all over the world. They managed to rebrand but this shows the state of the world we live in. Evidently, even Phnom Penh is no longer the frontier we thought it was.

Even so, going back to that day, I knew that in the back of my mind something like this could happen. The opportunity had to be snatched NOW to get on the bus and take advantage

Our fearless leader constantly drew attention dancing, drinking, and shouting "Beer Bus!" The amount and type of reaction from locals was absolutely insane. Everywhere we went we got smiles, waves, cheers, and looks as if to say, "What on earth is this?" The driver picked routes on purpose to maximize the number of open air restaurants, bars, cafes, and the most densely populated areas to pass through. Not only did we draw the attention of people sitting down, we also got countless looks from scooter riders, backpackers, and anyone else walking around.

There was a midway stop at a hostel for food but we failed to get more passengers. Friday, he explained, would be better But it didn't matter, just me and the team made for a fun ride. I started getting into it too and promoting the hell out of the beer bus, which they really appreciated.

The Turkish woman had been day drinking the entire time prior and then started telling me her story. For reasons we can't really get into here, she had to leave her country and start a new life here. Let's just say she was pretty furious about Erdogan and told me "I f*cking hate that bastard". This completely makes sense in today's state of the world which all seems to trace back to Putin in one way or the other. Erdogan is Putin's lap dog in the Caucasus region -- more on this in my upcoming journal

She explained how, like most countries these days, Turkey was a really fabulous place in the past but it all went downhill in the last 10 years and it is unliveable. So she moved to Cambodia like many others in search of freedom.

The beer bus also doubled as a city tour, and I saw more of Phnom Penh in two hours on this bus than with some overpriced tourist bus. I was also given the recommendation to take a cruise on the river boats, and they are indeed working on a future package to combine a bus tour with the boats.

The leader asked for my feedback on the bus and I promised to give a good review online. Even so, we were good friends by now so I figured it made more sense just to give some feedback in a conversation.

Basically I told him, "This is an extremely creative idea you guys have and it's amazing. You've put so much thought into this and it works. The challenge is getting people on the bus. It's not what you do or don't that prevents them from getting on, it is them. Most people are in motion, not action. They see this bus, they look amazed, and they think 'Wow, what a cool thing' but they continue with their own pre-planned itineraries and they don't hop on the bus. The problem, ironically, is social media because people are glued to their fucking phones and they don't do spontaneous things like hop on this bus."

The police must have been clueless about this because their argument for shutting down the bus was “Drinking beer, singing, and dancing in public places while travelling on the streets, urges others to join in and affects public safety and order." No, actually, it doesn't. The reality is that people aren't getting on the bus. They certainly won't anymore now. This was a really good case study that being in motion is a surefire way to squander opportunities and I'm so thankful I got on the bus that day.

He said, "Thanks man, well evidently I can see you're not shy." He thanked me a lot for this detailed feedback and I will write it online too. We talked about many other cool topics too, including how much I hated the rat race and how it resonated perfectly with these people running the bus. That is, after all, why Cambodia is the place that it is. People come here because they have gotten sick of all that, along with the idea of seeking respite from the sad state of global autocracy.

Our leader also explained that growth in Cambodia is skyrocketing for these exact reasons above, that people are coming here in droves to start a new life. It could also be explained by the outflow of foreign capital from China, and the cheaper labor costs in SE Asia. Clearly, growth is happening here.

The party was over all too soon, or was it? By a stroke of luck, they were also living long term in M Residence. They invited me to the rooftop pool where I had been reading earlier that afternoon. The rum that I managed to buy at the Hangzhou duty free and put in my luggage to Cambodia came to a very good use: I could practice my skills as a bartender. I asked them to help buy a bunch of cokes at the convenience store, then grab some ice and cups from the rooftop bistro. Then I would help them mix drinks on the rooftop. That done, the party lasted for hours and it was divine.

Today's ride: 12 km (7 miles)
Total: 35 km (22 miles)

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