Wheels fall off mobile bar

Siem Reap’s mobile bar was a short-lived venture.

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Bavarian music has been a huge hit with Asian visitors. They love it

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http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

via CAAI

Friday, 25 March 2011 15:01 Nicky McGavin

It was one of those great ideas that captured the imagination of Siem Reap expats – a mobile beer bar that added a touch of colour to the streets.

But no sooner did the mobile bar get rolling, than its wheels fell off. It’s been ordered to shut down, but the owners don’t want to go into details in case they run foul of the authorities again.

The mobile beer bar was the brainchild of Siem Reap locals Daniel Vaeter and Bodo Grunert, who were inspired by similar contraptions at the renowned Munich Oktoberfest.

It then took the lads six months to construct the mobile pub that could take imbibers anywhere they liked in Siem Reap.

Once up and seated in the large, comfy-looking bicycle seats especially installed for “big people”, mobile guests could pedal their way around town as they knocked down draught beers sold by the bar.

Alternatively, if for some reason their legs weren’t working as they should, the power of forward motion could be delegated to a four-wheel drive vehicle that could tow the vessel.

Steering was supposedly managed by a driver who allegedly wouldn’t tuck into the beer en route.

A thatched roof sat over a centralised bar area that was flanked on three sides by seating for 14. Eight of the seats were equipped with pedals, while the other six were for those who might

be feeling the heat.

A special safety measure was realised in the form of beer glass-sized slots in the wooden bar to ensure that drinks weren’t sloshed all over the place.

Perhaps the only truly suspect aspect about the bar on wheels was the onboard entertainment – taped Bavarian music.

Indeed, it was not everybody’s cup of tea or glass of draught, but the owners insist there were those who actually liked it.

“It’s been a huge hit with Asian visitors,” said Vaeter, who is Hungarian-German. “They love it and sang along to all the songs. The Europeans though were a bit more reserved. They didn’t usually sing out loud.”

Watch this space for news of the next mobile venture launched by these enterprising lads.