Cambodian man lands 'airplane' house in rice field

AFP | Siem Reap                                                 

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com    

A Cambodian airplane fanatic has built his house shaped like a private jet -- despite never having been up in the air himself.

Construction worker Chrach Peou spent his $20,000 life savings building the concrete "plane" -- complete with wings, tailfin, landing gear and engines -- near the town of Siem Reap, gateway to the famed Angkor Wat temple complex.

The 43-year-old widowed father of three said it took him almost a year to build, using money he had saved over 30 years.

"This is my dream since I was young, so I am happy I could achieve my goal," Peou said.

The house, which has two bedrooms and two bathrooms, stands elevated on pillars six metres above a rice field.

"We can live here, sleep here, use bathrooms here, and have meals here like on a plane. It is my own, I am so happy," Peou told AFP.

He said he designed the house after watching countless videos of private jets on the internet.

He charges people 50 cents to $1 to visit and take selfies by the house.

"It is beautiful, attractive, there are palm trees nearby," Kim Muoy, 28, told AFP during a visit to the airplane house with her family.

But Peou dreams of flying for real one day.

"When I have money and know where I want to go to, I will take a plane to go there," he said.