<p><em>My word how things change.</em></p> <p>When I came to Bangkok, I remember there were 3 buildings of more than 7 storeys. One was the tapering triangular structure of the Dusit Thani, which set an aesthetic example which later high-rises studiously ignored. The second was the glass-and-steel Chokchai building, whose construction on Sukhumwit suffered the hiccup of a bankruptcy until the CIA was rumoured to have quietly helped with the financing so it could stick its satellite dishes on the top. And the third was Thai Daimaru at Pratunam, which was so nondescript it has long since been demolished in favour of something much taller and equally nondescript.</p> <p></p>