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National Stadium BTS Station
The National Stadium (Suphachalasai Stadium) is on the other side of the road and is a multi-purpose stadium for Bangkok. The stadium holds 26,000 people and was opened in 1935. It is currently used mostly for football matches. It served as the main stadium for the 1966, 1970, and 1978 Asian Games. It was also used for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, but only for one game (Oman v Iraq in Group A). The stadium is a single tier construction which is uncovered on three sides. A plain but effective roof covers the main-stand side. Although there is a running track, the tribunes are immediately adjacent to it so spectators are not as far from the action as they are at the newer Rajamangala Stadium. Supporter comfort was increased in 2007 with the addition of red bench seats to the previously bare concrete steps on the three open sides. Thai league clubs often play at the Suphachalasai in Asian competitions as their own stadiums don't meet Asian Football Confederation criteria. However, it is now rarely used by the national team who usually play at the Rajamangala. Down the road from the Cache is Jim Thompson's house which is well worth the visit. Thompson’s 'House on the Klong' The Jim Thompson House in Bangkok, Thailand. Thompson was unlike any other figure in Southeast Asia. He was an American, an ex-architect, a retired army officer, a one-time spy, a silk merchant, a millionaire and a renowned collector of antiques. Most of his treasures, if not all, were amassed since the day he first came to Thailand. As time slipped by, his collection outgrew its surroundings and this left him with not much of a choice but to find a place to house them. In 1958, he began what was to be the pinnacle of his architectural achievement – the construction of a new home to showcase his objets de art. Formed from parts of six antique Thai dwellings, his house (completed in 1959) sits on a klong (canal) across from Bangkrua, where his weavers were once located. Most of the 19th century units were dismantled and moved from Ayutthaya, but the largest – a weaver's house (now the living room) – came from Bangkrua. In his quest for authenticity, he saw to it that some of the structures were elevated a full floor above the ground. During the construction stage, he added his own touches to the buildings by positioning, for instance, a central staircase indoors rather than having it outside. Along the way, he also reversed the wall panels of his quarters so that it now faced inside instead of it having an external orientation. After he was through with its creation, he went about filling his premises with the items he had collected in the past. Scattered about his rooms were scores of Chinese blue-and-white Ming pieces, Belgian glass, Cambodian stone figures, Victorian chandeliers, five-colored Bencharong, Thai stone images, Burmese statues and a dining table which was once used by King Rama V of Thailand. In all, his ‘House on the Klong’ took up close to a hectare in area. The garden around the habitation was nothing short of a mini-jungle. His residence, now a museum, is one of the most popular attractions in Bangkok. It could be reached by public or private transport. Except for Sundays, the Jim Thompson House is open to the public from 9am to 4.30pm. Jim Thompson went to the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia with a dear family friend of mine, Connie Mangskau on Friday, March 24, 1967. They stayed at "Moonlight" bungalow with Dr. Ling Tien Gi, a Singaporean-Chinese chemist and Mrs. Helen Ling, his white American-born wife. On Easter Sunday, March 26, they attended the morning services at All Souls' Church. Later that day, he went for a walk but failed to return. "Mr. Thompson told Mrs. Lin and Mrs. Mangskau at 1.30pm just before going for the walk: 'Good night, sweethearts'." The report concluded, "... with the wave of the hand, Mr. Thompson was gone." The disappearance of Jim Thompson is one of the great mysteries of Thailand and SE Asia.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Zntargvp pbagnvare, gbc evtug unaq pbeare bs gur onpx bs Fvta sbe "Gur Zhfrhz bs Wvz Gubzcfba'f Gunv ubhfr". Cergraq gb gnyx ba zbovyr cubar naq srry nobhg.