CM send off

Apr 3/08 - At Penang airport about 6 am, bumped into Penang Chief Minister Mr. Lim Guan Eng. He was on his way to KL. What a pleasant encounter, VIP send off to start our trip to Europe. Since we were on Thai Airways, we have to stopover at Bangkok first. So we had a full day at Bangkok before our flight to Rome at night.

Bangkok - Grand Palace Complex

Apr 3/08 - It was very difficult to get to the Grand Palace. The Palace was easy enough to find on the map but to get a taxi or tuk-tuk to bring us there was like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack.
Firstly at the airport, we were persuaded to buy a city tour by the people who run the complementary shuttle service provided by Thai Airways. The tour people claimed that the Palace was closed due to the laying-in-state (for the King's sister) and offered to bring us to visit temples.
Then at the hotel, we found out the Palace was open. We demanded to have the Grand Palace tour instead and refused to be brought to other temples and jewellery factory. We canceled the tour and decided to find our own way there. Taxis and tuk-tuk also offered to take us to jewellery and leather factories because the Palace was closed. After half hour, we finally found an honest taxi driver who agreed to take us. And yes, the Palace was open.
After the Palace, we went over to Wat Pho and then for foot reflexology.