#50 Siam View Hotel or: -SVH- should exist somewhere between #49 Pereras and #51 HangLoose. However no record of this place can be found anywhere, at least locally.
Neither Mercy Corps or their sponsored Tourist Association Web sites, or indeed any Governmental Departments seem to list this establishment.
Does #50 SVH actually exist?
Have you been at #50?
Does anyone know this little place?
If so, please give details or write an introduction!
No Worries!
This is a translation by Alf Docherty, Rheindahlen of an entry in the leading German Travel Guide, The Loose Du Mont Sri Lanka Reisefuehrer:
The Siam View Hotel
The facade appears rather ramshackle and unattractive, but this hotel has the honour of being the oldest wooden construction on the east coast of Sri Lanka and as such is on the National Heritage list of protected buildings. Go behind the facade and you will make a few interesting discoveries, not least of which has to be the excellent food served on the terrace and a wide selection of draft beers brewed in accordance with an old German tradition which allows only the use of the purist ingredients. You will also discover a special breed of people, an important piece of local history and a vast number of brilliant innovations. Without the Siam View Hotel, which opened in 1979, Arugam Bay would not be what it is today. Dr. Fred Netzband-Miller, an engineer of Dutch/German – English extraction and a handful of friends built this unpretentious landmark on what was, in the late 1970’s, a deserted stretch of beach. Since then, it has served its visitors in many ways: during the worst phases of the civil war it was declared a weapon free zone respected by all parties. It has always been and still is: a haven for homesick ex-patriots and for adventurers of all nationalities, a meeting point for surfers and a place where NGO workers can come to discuss their ideas, exchange information and work on plans for future projects to benefit the local population.
“We’re not here because we want to get rich, we’re here because we enjoy it”, emphasises Fred, who does not, even these days, have a brochure or visiting card for his hotel.
“The name Siam View is intended to suggest that theoretically it would be possible (if the earth were flat) to see Thailand”, explains the 56 year old, who lived there for many years and as the son of a diplomat grew up in Africa and feels that the whole world is home. It is one of his dreams to cross the 2000 km stretch of ocean on a jetski. That is not necessarily as unrealistic as it may sound: in 1977 Fred left the Isle of Man on a motorbike and succeeded in travelling the entire distance to India by land, then finally crossing to Sri Lanka by ferry. There is probably no one with a better knowledge of this corner of the world. Fred has counted 63 bays on the way to Hambantota. At one time, Fred served as a Liaison Officer for the British Army and was stationed in Potsdam. He has already twice negotiated the dense jungle and crossed the rivers of the Yala East National Park on a Unimog with a specially adapted and waterproof motor. His intention was to reach Colombo and as he says: “That was the shortest way”.
It is therefore not surprising that, at least until the Tsunami struck, the Siam View Hotel offered its guests the use of six ATV (All Terrain Vehicles) and during the specially conceived “Full Moon” parties massive 1800 watt loudspeakers created an unforgettable atmosphere as the disco played music from the hotel’s 8000 CD library.
Now 4 satellite dishes feed in television channels from around the world and provide an international telephone connection. In January 2004 a permanent high speed internet connection was installed and is still the only one on the entire east coast.
Although this costs nearly $1000 a month to run, locals are able to surf the net without charge. Everyone in the immediate vicinity also benefits from the 180 hp Mitsubishi Generator, which provides a standby source of electricity in the event of power cuts and there are very good reasons to believe that it once stood in Saddam Hussein’s Republican Gardens.
This generator, which uses between 7 – 9 litres of fuel per hour, initially saw service in Siam View in 1990 to provide a power source for the first air conditioning units. The hotel is particularly proud of a number of environmentally friendly innovations. One of these is the hotels own very efficient and clean sewage treatment system. Plastic bottles are collected and re-cycled to be used roof insulation.
The Tsunami left only the shell of the main building standing and of the original 26 rooms only 4 now remain. But, the disaster served to further enhance the hotel’s legend. At about 08:45 on the morning of 26 December, the gardener persisted in waking up all the guests; not an easy task as most people had only just gone to bed after the previous night’s lively Christmas party. The old man had noticed that the ocean was behaving strangely and he was convinced that a terrible catastrophe was about to happen. The disaster was not long in coming and within a few minutes, a gigantic 15 metre wave struck the small town. Thanks to the timely warning, all 165 guests survived, but everywhere else the retreating flood left behind horrific scenes of death and devastation. In this apocalyptic world, the Siam View became a symbol of survival, hope and regeneration. From the recovered food stores over 500 free meals were distributed to survivors in the first few days. “More importantly, were the stocks of alcohol and cigarettes”, remembers Fred and adds that in the middle of this chaos, his hotel managed to put on a modest New Year’s party.
Fred is convinced that the terrible Tsunami disaster taught him more about physics than all the years he spent at university. And it is this knowledge, which he has put to practical use in rebuilding the hotel. The new supporting concrete pillars are triangular in shape in order to deflect boats and other debris which would be swept against the structure should another tidal wave occur. The water tower has been fitted with three large sirens with a range of 700m. Other features of the Tsunami Early Warning System are three computers permanently connected to seismological monitoring stations in Alaska, Hawaii and Bangkok. Even the matter of emancipation is one which has been given consideration at the Siam View Hotel. The new beach bar, which has been constructed entirely from natural materials, has a second floor which bears the name “Ladies Lounge”. It is available to female guests only, but men may be allowed to enter on rare occasions, if specially invited.
No introduction, but recent photos (copyright SiRo, Switzerland):
http://picasaweb.google.com/sirohopa/SiamViewHotelArugamBay?authkey=iugq4KKUee4
Yes I do, uncle Fred!
I remember some years ago in March 2000/3 when I came back from a 250/600 km jungle walk to relax some weeks in Arugam Bay. It was my first visit after my time as volunteer at the Sinhapura School in 1991/2. Much things have changed and it was interesting to go all around, visit old friends, students and places like the point, Crocodile Rock, Elephant Rock and Sastraweli Temple.
After some days I had the wish to lap a good ice-cream and somebody told me about the Siam View Hotel. So I came around and indead, I got the most delicious ice-cream with some specials fruits and taste. Also chips, salad and draught beer were fantastic, clean and substantial. The stuff was very friendly, Fred and Somlak too. Special place there is the open roof-top restaurant and bar built by wood. Fresh wind comes from the closeby sea you can watch from your table. No other place has this mix of rustical charm and choice of meals and drinks.
Fred took me around to see the wonderfull garden full of flowers, the well, his old german generator, a Cabana with stone garden and it´s own hot water by heated wallpipes. All this got destroyed by Tsunami but the money they had (and even more) to repair all damages they gave to the neighbours who lost more then them. Good luck they still have the mainhouse with the privat rooms, some guestrooms, kitchen and internet office so they can go on.
New is now the beachbar directly on the beach where they celebrate every month full moon parties with local artists and modern music. Just go out on the beach, lie down with you girl or dance infront of the beachbar and enjoy the party.
Once you go there you will see it´s worth to stay with them!
The Siam View Hotel (SVH) is a great place to meet fun people (visitors, locals and staff) in a superb location. The view from the first floor restaurant looking out to sea is just awesome, especially when it’s combined with some tasty local or international food, including some of the best Thai food outside of Thailand! Then there’s the beach bar, right on the beach (as it’s name would suggest) looking out at Surf Point. If not surfing oneself, the beach bar is a great place to watch the surfers in action, with a cold draught beer or one of Somlak’s cocktails (mmm, that juicy pineapple!). I first stayed at the SVH in the summer of 2004, I returned with my husband last summer (to find obvious post tsunami changes but still very much a “can do” attitude) and visited again this April. My family and friends often ask me what the appeal is of returning to the same place, after all I have travelled fairly extensively around the world (not trying to big myself up, honest!). Apart from Sri Lanka, I’ve yet to retrace my footsteps elsewhere, so why do I keep coming back to Sri Lanka, Arugam Bay and the Siam View Hotel in particular? It’s simple, to meet great people in fantastic surroundings! See you in the Bay some day soon hopefully.
And the best place for eating in Arugam Bay is Siam View, for sure! Excellent Thai kitchen!
Pizza an fresh, cold Beer too
for sl-food, you’ll find enough places in abay
swisshits
I‘m unhappy because I stayed at the Siam many times before.
Tried to book a room there again.
They are fully booked until November!
Has anyone a recommendation? I am looking for a suitable, similar place in town.
I will be there in July and I‘m told it is unlikely that the SVH can construct any additional rooms by then.
Pat, Manila, PI
Hi Pat,
just try it with Steve‘s Place, Rocco‘s.
Telephone number 077 6642991
Shao
) erstellt am 29-08-2005 um 21:51 Uhr Greg and I would like to thank Fred, Somlak and all the team at the Siam View Hotel (SVH) for their wonderful hospitality. Thank you for making our 12 night stay (14th to 26th August 2005) in Arugam Bay so enjoyable.
The new beach bar at SVH is fantastic - what a wonderful place to relax, enjoy the draft beers (yes folks, cold draft beers, mmm - my favourite is the strawberry beer) take in the beautiful views of the bay and watch the surf break in the moonlight. We think it is a spectacular venue for both beach weddings and full moon parties - well done!
Thank you too for the delicious food. The Thai cuisine is just heavenly. Greg and I love Thai food and we always seek out Thai restaurants wherever we are in the world. The seafood is just scrumptious! I wonder if eating prawns twice a day for a week is bad for one‘s health?! Oh well never mind, I‘m not going to find such great value prawns of such high quality in a restaurant in Europe anytime in the near future, so I think I‘m safe!
We would like to wish SVH and Arugam Bay well with all their future tourism projects. We highly recommend a visit to SVH and Arugam Bay. We will be back!
For anyone interested in visiting AbaY:
First of all, whether you surf or not, the bay has an excellent, chilled out vibe. Whatever your musical taste there is a bar/restaurant/guesthouse/hotel that will suit you. There are parties galore, pre-full moon parties, full moon parties and post full moon parties! Get enough people together and create you own party! If partying is not a high priority for you, there are plenty of places to relax and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.
If surfing is your thing, there are plenty of places (guesthouses and surf shops) to hire surf boards for a day or more. Wolfgang at SVH runs affordable and interesting half day, one day and two day wildlife trips to various national parks to see wild elephants, deer, buffalo, crocodiles, peacocks, leopards, etc.
Rifai (who can be contacted at SVH most days) can organise taxis from anywhere in Sri Lanka to anywhere in Sri Lanka. If you are coming to AbaY from Colombo, we recommend the 9 hour minibus journey. It‘s more expensive than public transport but it will get you there in less than half the time, there‘s no changing (from train, to bus, to another bus, to three wheeler) and you‘ll arrive feeling a little more serene.
Enjoy your time in Sri Lanka!
hi,
just want to know do you have somewhere a good homepage with concrete information about the siam view hotel. http://www.arugam.com/ doesn´t work.
regards,
bit
You are right, Snuffle!
I also tied to get in touch with them because I heard the Siam View guys done so much for the Community.
Their home page does not work. Does anyone have a phone number or email address?
Clive