4. Elephant Tower, Bangkok, Thailand

Height: 102 meters

Cost to build: NA

Completion date: 1997

Fast fact: The building contains a swimming pool.

 

If there’s one thing besides a smile that can represent Thai people, it's elephants.

From pretty much anywhere in this dusty district in northern Bangkok, you can catch a glimpse of this 102-meter-high jumbo building, with its eyes and tusks towering above a busy junction.

As well as highlighting the importance of elephants in Thai culture and history, the building also nods toward Thailand's coming-of-age, with high-tech offices, a shopping plaza and a floor of luxury residential suites.

This would never make a list of the most beautiful skyscrapers, but there's no denying Elephant Tower's place in local hearts. Plus, you just can’t keep your eyes off it.