Fancy choosing to live life buried under the ground! Believe it or not, but that is what is the choice residence of some people! Others have been forced by circumstances, especially extreme weather conditions like the searing heat in some areas that drives people to take a leaf from some animals like the desert toads (type of frog) that hibernate through the merciless heat filled days and come awake once a year when the desert drinks up water to mate, absorb the water through their skin and to enjoy the mud!

Underground trains are widely known but did you know that there are all cities down yonder with thriving communities of people who work, study go shopping, watch a movie at the theater and do mundane things as crossing the street – all below the earth’s surface?Due to inadequate space on top of the earth’s surface, instead of fighting for the limited space, a good number of creative individuals have managed to transform that much feared place - underground – into a comfortable place of work or even home. The beauty of such a neighborhood is the ample space that it affords you and all the other benefits such as less traffic, pollution and reduced crime rate as the people entering the city can be monitored easily.Of course, not everything is underground, there could be some connecting corridors above the ground.

Countries like China, have an extensive number of shopping malls underground which is connected to all sorts of underground transport networks.

Others have been forced by the extreme heat or cold to build hotels, homes and other buildings so that they can remain comfortable and continue with business throughout the year. A good example of this innovation is the The Grand Canyon Caverns Suite, located in the United States, is approximately 220 feet below the ground. In here you and indeed in most of such hotels you can access most of the modern amenities plus a once in a life time experience.

And if you thought staying and working underground is pretty cool - pun intended - wait until you hear sleeping in a hotel under water!While others explore possibilities underground out of necessity, other fast thinkers are creating luxurious underwater resorts.  These ones come in all sizes such as the Manta Resort in Pembe Island, found north of Zanzibar and the underwater suites in Dubai. In here you can enjoy sleeping with the fish - literally!

Lois Nakibuuka is an educator and counsellor

lnakibuuka@yahoo.com