Another early morning. The meeting time for my tour was 7:00 AM.
The tour left quickly and the bus was on the way to Bangkok at 7:20 AM.
I met a couple who also planned to go to the Grand Palace. I got some cash from the ATM and we attempted to get a cab and was accosted by a tuk tuk driver. He wanted to charge us 50 Baht each, the same price as an air conditioned taxi. He agreed to 100 and we jumped in. Immediately he started saying it’s very far away, an hour to get there (only 20 minutes and 5 kilometers according to Google Maps). He almost got to the street and he stopped and pulled out a map. We got out to avoid being Shanghaied. We got a normal taxi for 200 Baht and made it there without an issue.
At the Grand Palace I was able to purchase a ticket within a few minutes (500 Baht). And rented the audio guide for 200 Baht.
I walked around the Grand Palace for about 90 minutes.
I took the public boat across the river for 20 Baht to Wat Arun.
Wat Arun only cost 50 Baht to enter, but last time I was there we were able to climb up further. There was still a lot to see and I stayed until 2:00 PM and ordered a taxi with Grab.
Everything seemed under control, Google Maps says I would arrive at 2:39 PM and the meeting time was 2:45 PM. Then traffic got worse and it showed 2:51 PM. I sent a message to the tour guide and called him. No answer, he called me back and talked to the driver. I eventually got there at 2:45 or 2:46 PM.
The ride back to the ship was quiet. We passed by some very low income housing.
I had dinner in the main dining room again.
