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The Siam View Hotel basically disappeared on Boxing Day
2004. But all our guests and staff survived and we had no
serious injuries.
A proud achievement considering
that we had an all night 25th Full Moon Party!
Our old Thai restaurant, the hub
of Arugam Bay for many years is now the oldest surviving
wooden structure on the beach; leaning over slightly, but
still strong. Described by ITN and CNN as the "only
functioning" place this monument has been the centre of all
relief activities right from December 26th.
Donated free of charge to all
who came to help by the SVH Team.
The Hotel is gone, all of our 25 garden rooms.
But our philosophy and principles are still the same
as always; see below!.
This is why we still have no refurbished & fancy rooms
to this day, one year+ thereafter.
Why?
Because we had other priorities and just in case you are
not a 'normal 'tourist and you are interested in deeper
issues here is an example how we think; even when faced with
financial ruin:
We always felt that the following tasks are more
important than the creation of an eyewash tourist hotel designed to
impress superficial visitors.
Help our neighbors more poor than
us
Look after our loyal staff
Have an early warning system
fitted
Fight injustice & corruption
Protect the environment
Establish and maintain
communications
Construct infrastructure, access
Ensure electric stand by power
Treat all solids & waste water
properly
Purify all our fresh water
supplies
Maintain cool good room
temperatures
Serve fine, cold, natural draft
beer
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Serve wholesome, fresh food only
All the above is in addition to our long standing
principles; some examples:
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Using Solar panels for our hot
water
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Recycle PVC bottles as roof
insulation
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Have at least two good generators
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Using aerated biological waste
water purification systems only
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Using Solar power to recharge batteries
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All our rooms have
environmentally friendly aircon systems, some are computer
controlled heat pumps
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Broadband WiFi covering our area
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LAN and SatCom TV connections
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Digital phone lines & backup
systems
Happily all the above this is done now!
We just started to refurbish our rooms to rent to YOU! But
we used all our cash for the above more pressing projects:
so please be patient!
The new look SVH already features innovative mosaic floor
marble as a recycled reminder of our broken earlier rooms.
Also a mini museum, a beach bar and a new seafood
restaurant already exists. If we manage to raise funds
plans for the first proper English Pub on the East
Coast or perhaps even a small discotheque are in our
mind.
For one full year and a quarter not one rupee
has been received by us from any organization claiming to
"Help rebuilding" homes, businesses, enterprises and
in Sri Lanka.
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Indeed, there is an interesting ongoing dialog with
some of the so called "active" NGO's.
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Our first ever assistance came in March, 2006 from
the Marlborough District 1100 Rotary Club of Great
Britain. These kind people made the repairs of our large
generator possible.
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The SVH at Arugam Bay now has a good stand-by power
again, cool deep freezers and cold rooms as well as good
power for the innovative Tsunami Early Warning System and
its sirens.
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