Bangkok - Shanghai resident Daniel Bian drank in the sweeping views over the Thai capital as he lay on a deckchair beside a swimming pool on the 19th floor of a luxury condominium.

'I feel alive. I feel free,' said an excited Bian, dapper in tinted sunglasses, flat-topped navy-blue hat and a wraparound tunic cinched at the waist, his hair hanging loosely to his shoulders. 'This is my dream.'

Cooped up in Ch