Most people live in a house or a flat. When they go on holiday they stay in a hotel or a guest house. But some places where you can live or stay are a bit different.
One unusual place to live is a houseboat. Amsterdam in Holland is famous for its houseboats — there are about 2,500 of them. They have everything that a normal house has: a living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and even sometimes a terrace on the roof. They are cheaper than houses and people who live on houseboats enjoy being close to nature. Some houseboats can be moved to other parts of the river,while others are permanently in one place.
In Tokyo, Japan, there is a see-through house. It is like a normal Japanese house but all the walls are made of glass. There is plenty of daylight but no privacy. Architect Sou Fujimoto designed it for a couple to make their home. He based his ideas on early man living in trees. It wouldn‘t suit everyone but the couple who live there love the feeling of being surrounded by the natural world.
All around the world, people live in homes made from shipping containers. Some use only one container, while others are made from several containers joined together. One house in Chile was built from 12 containers. They are cheap to buy and eco-friendly. They can also be placed in the garden or drive as guest rooms, studies or utility rooms.
In Germany, you can stay in a one-metre-square house, the smallest house in the world, called the House NA. Van Bo Le-Mentzel, a refugee from Laos, built it to draw attention to the world housing shortage. It is a wooden structure on wheels and weighs 40 kg. It has a locking door and a window. You can turn it onto its side when you want to lie down. Franz from Munich spent the night in one recently 'just to see what it was like’. He found it a bit uncomfortable!
For an unusual holiday you can stay in an igloo, a house made of ice. These can be found in several countries including Sweden, Norway and Finland. They are built new every winter. Jenny and Callum, visitors from Australia, told us, 'We slept in an igloo last night. It’s so cold here — minus 5 degrees centigrade. We used reindeer skins to keep warm!’
Another couple, Shaun and Rachel from Manchester, enjoyed a recent holiday in a treehouse in Sussex, England. They said, 'It was right up in the trees and had everything we needed, even wifi! It had a small kitchen and we did our own cooking. It was the perfect place to get away from our busy lives.’
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