Emirati owner's pride: Home afloat
Unlike a normal house, if your neighbours are causing you problems you can move to a new location
Dubai: Emirati businessman Majid Al Falasi's new Dh7.5 million ($2 million) house is making waves.
Not only does the two-storey abode have five bedrooms, seven bathrooms and a topside arboretum with artificial turf, it has a steering wheel on the roof to navigate the mansion effortlessly through water at 25 km/h.
Dubbed the "Floating House" and on display at Dubai's International Boat Show, Al Falasi's new creation was an irresistible attraction for curious onlookers who boarded the fibreglass vessel to explore what may be the world's largest houseboat made at an Abu Dhabi shipyard.
‘Largest houseboat'
"This is one of the largest houseboats in the world," said Al Falasi, owner of emirateswaves boat manufacturing firm headquartered in the UAE capital. "It's a lot better than your average villa on land."
At 40 metres long and 10 metres wide, the houseboat turned heads amid a flotilla of 400 luxury yachts assembled in the harbour basin on Wednesday at the Dubai International Marine Club.
In pictures: Dubai International Boat Show
A raft of perks come with a floating mansion, quipped Al Falasi, 36, which includes the ability to weigh anchor if the neighbours are getting under the skin.
"Unlike a normal house, if your neighbours are giving you problems you can move your home to a new location by turning the key," he told XPRESS during a personally guided tour. "You can change your neighbourhood every day if you want."
