Thailand adores its sport, that much is clear, and Chelsea have been received in Bangkok by the hysteria which accompanied them through the first leg of their Asia Tour in Malaysia.
This small audience is not watching football though, even though they sit beneath a poster of Didier Drogba, John Terry and Fernando Torres advertising the world's best-known fizzy drink.
The kids are alright: Didier Drogba (right) met some young fans as Chelsea arrived in Bangkok
They are absorbed by the Sepak Takraw World Cup where Thailand are up against Indonesia in a quarter final.
From what I can make out, Sepak Takraw is basically a three-a-side head-tennis game played with a rattan ball and a net at head height. It seems to be where kick-boxing meets volleyball and football and is very popular on the Thai-Malay peninsula.
The server whips the ball into play where it's received with a cushioned header. The second touch is typically a deft side-footer into the air, before someone else springs several feet into the air and launches an acrobatic scissor-kick to lash the ball down across the net. Nani might be good at it.
Penny for your thoughts: Fernando Torres (left) during a training session at the Rajamangala stadium
Each point lasts about two seconds and seems to be followed by a few minutes of discussion; debate with the umpire or tactical briefings between team-mates. Thailand beat Indonesia and are preparing for a semi-final against Myanmar.
The national football team was also in action on Saturday in the Asian play-offs for the right to take part in the World Cup qualifiers. UEFA might want to take note of this system to weed out some of the European minnow nations and reduce the number of meaningless qualifiers England play against the likes of Andorra and Luxembourg.
The Thais, now managed by German Winfried Schafer who succeeded Bryan Robson, scraped an unconvincing 1-0 win in the home leg against Palestine. The return is on Thursday and there is a general mood of unease that one goal may not be enough.
Synchronised swimming? Chelsea's players endured some tropical rain during their training session
Malaysia, having prepared with thrashings from Arsenal and Liverpool earlier this month, lost 5-0 to Singapore and China scored seven against Laos.
Perhaps, in hindsight, Chelsea played a better Malaysian team, one made up mainly of the Under 23 Olympic players. The Blues now take on a Thai All-Star XI, selected from the Thai Premier League but it will not include Robbie Fowler, who has signed a one-year deal to play for champions Muangthong United but has yet to play.?
Wet wet wet: Drogba and co battled through the spray in preparation for the match against a Thai All-Star XI
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Source: Daily Mail
Source: Daily Mail