Noy had ordered her taxi-man for 7am so we got up early for brekky and coffee. It was so sad to leave their lovely house and garden. David and Noy had made us feel so at home. It was also nice to meet Noy's sons even for a fleeting visit on the way to their new term at boarding school. We really missed our early morning bike ride with Dave. He showed us his interesting area with its contrast between absolute poverty and absolute wealth. Like most of Asia, apart from a few exceptions, the place could certainly use a Clean Up campaign, there was rubbish everywhere, such a shame. Our taxi was on time and we made good time till we hit the outskirts of Bangkok. Arrived at the Grand President at 9:30am. A$53 between the 2 of us for a 130km, 2.5 hour taxi ride, very cheap. Had to wait a while for the room but in the meantime our tour mates turned up. Great to see the familiar faces and meet the new ones, 15 of us. While waiting for the room we slipped out for a Subway (A$3) and a fresh cold coconut drink straight out of the shell, yum and filling. The tour guide, Jean, picked us up at midday and our Grand Palace commenced. After 1.5 hours and 9km later in notorious Bangkok traffic we made it to the Grand Palace. The complex is actually a number of palaces from previous kings and more temples than Adelaide has churches. The current monarch lives in another complex not far away. In order to boost tourist numbers the Thai authorities had granted free admission to all Chinese for the month of Oct. Soooooo 45,000 screaming Chinese (they don't seem to have a volume knob) was a bit of a headache maker. But the temples and palace were impressive, albeit glitzy. Cameras were banned in all of the inside areas, so photos were all of the outside of the temples, museums and palaces. The guide then took us home via a gem factory/store "the biggest jewelery shop in the world" don't think so. Our eyes glazed over immediately we entered and didn't refocus until we walked out 5 minutes later. No commission from us I'm afraid. Now if it had been a bicycle shop that would have been a different story. Back to the motel for a swim in the rooftop pool and then dress for dinner. What a great pick a place called Cabbage & Condoms which was originally established to promote the use of the latter when Aids first showed it's ugly face. We had a private room and just ordered a smorgasbord for $25 each with free soft drinks and water. Great food and fantastic company. Terry (he org the whole thing) kept us entertained with his jokes and stories. Hissed down on the walk home, that umbrella left in the room was just about useless. First day on tour tomorrow.