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Published on August 19, 2007

They may come from different cultures, speak different languages or disagree with the referees but these visitors, after almost a fortnight in the City of Angels, seemed to have the same thing in mind - they were impressed by their hosts.

The amity of the people, the smiles and assistance, the palatable cuisine, the fully-equipped Athletes' Village, even transportation and the tight security all generated compliments from the Games participants.

Ask Ukrainian men's soccer gold medallist Mykola Revutskyy about his impression of the tournament and the first line that he delivers is about the smiles of the Thai people.

"They are really friendly and have nice smiles. They are helpful and nice,'' said Revutskyy, whose team stunned the favourite Italy 1-0 in Friday's final.

South Korea's An Jae-sung, who was on the threshold of grabbing the men's tennis singles gold medal before losing to top seed Danai Udomchoke in the final, became a fan of spicy Thai food. "It's a bit hot but good. Khob khun khrap [Thank you],'' said the 22-year-old player, whom Paradorn Srichaphan regards as a possible future star.

Bangkok is notorious for traffic congestion, but there weren't any complaints even on this issue from the Games delegates.

Lerpong Amsa-ngiam

The Nation