PARIS: Can you imagine spending the night in a glass room surrounded by sharks? France's Aquarium de Paris and housing-rental company Airbnb Ireland has made this dreamlike scenario into a reality for three couples with its first-ever underwater room.
Kimly Do and her boyfriend Philip Senn awoke Wednesday inside an underwater bedroom with only a thick transparent wall separating them from their predatory neighbors: 38 sharks.
Do and Senn are one of three couples who won a night in a shark tank at Paris Aquarium in front of the iconic Eiffel Tower, which contains in addition to its fearsome inhabitants 3 million liters of water, according to organizers.
“Love sharks? Live in a Shark aquarium. This is your once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sleep in an underwater bedroom, where the only thing separating you from your neighbors is the 360-degree transparent wall,” reads the listing of the worldwide competition published on Airbnb by Fred Buyle, a world record-breaking free diver, underwater photographer, and shark enthusiast.
The unique sleepovers took place on April 11-13. Alexis Powilewicz, director of Aquarium de Paris, told Anadolu Agency that "putting together with Airbnb such a room is an amazing and crazy project".
“This first aquarium room in the world would help us to spread awareness of the importance of protecting sharks for marine ecosystems… all through a thrilling and immersive experience,” he added.
Airbnb Europe spokesperson Anne-Sophie Frenove said, "They launched such a project to demonstrate the variety of unusual accommodation options."
Among the key house rules: “No sleepwalking or night swimming, keep your heads and feet in the bedroom at all times, and don’t take the bait”.
AA
