In 1997 my friend Sam Royalle and I traveled throughout France; Paris, the Ardeche, Perpignan, the Luberon, and finally the Alps. We capped this 2000 kilometer journey with a hike up to a faux col above Bonneval-sur-Arc.
Sam had mentioned several times during our drive through the mountains that he was a little scared of ehights. This phobia seemed minor on the climb up the mountain, but the second Sam reached the 2000 foot drop on the other side of the false pass, he planted himself on the ground like a drowning cat thrown onto a Velcro mat.
Strangely this fear doesn’t manifest itself in high buildings, whereas terror seizes control of my marrow whenever I get above 10 stories in a manmade buildings and even looking at them sets my fingers trembling with trepidation. Now Pattaya is threatened with the shadow of what might be Thailand’s highest building.
Ocean 1 Tower is earmarked to rise 327 meters over Jomtien Beach. Last week Siam Best Enterprises Co., Ltd declared to have collected over 15% of the planned luxury apartments and that’s is without having received an environmental report or city approval for the ladnmark.
“I bet you could see it from Hua Hin.” Sam Royalle said as we looked the billboard atop Siam Best’s office in Jomtien.
“Especially if there was a matching condo in Hua Hin.” I remember seeing Boston’s John Hancock Tower from Gloucester’s Eastern Point.
“Personally I think that this ad is the closest Ocean 1 will come to being built.”
“They have ads in the Bangkok Post and billboards everywhere.”
“The housing market is bust for this year. That ad campaign is a way to get money to start the project and no one’s buying anything unbuilt these days. Not with the banks threatening to pull the plug on over-extended real estate developers.” Same was a fierce proponent of the upcoming chaos in the housing market thanks to ever-shifting political waters. “600 plus condos means that they have commitments on 90 or about 45 meters of Ocean One.”
“Would you live in it?” We shared an apartment at the Markland on Soi 1.
24th floor.
“Sure, why not? Sam had no problems as long as he stayed away from the balcony.
“No reason.” I always had a problem with tall building after seeing THE TOWERING INFERNO.
“Yeah, I can see them building it, but also that they don’t put the pilings down far enough, so Ocean One becomes the Leaning Tower of pattaya.”
“Great tourist attraction.”
“And betting angle.” Sam’s arm mimicked a falling tree. “Which way will see go.”
“Into the sea.”
“I favor sideways and to the north. With the prevailing wind.”
I aked the nearest motorsai taxi drivers if anyone ever entered the office. They shook their heads and laughed, saying everyone was more scared.
“Of heights.”
No, bankrupt.”
JP Morgan the dictatorial banker once said, “Once your taxi driver can tell you about the market, it’s time to get out.”
Ocean One’s is a dream for the future.
In another alternative universe, but then this is Thailand and one never knows what the future brings.
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