Hi Kitty,
lucky you we have 75 days to go though I promise I am NOT counting. Don't know about Palace being closed but we went last year and now that I think about it I wish we had of got a guide to show us around and explain things. You can hire one there but when we go this year I got the name of a highly recommended person that charges 500bt per day to show you around. You have to pay for their transport costs and any entry fees but I thought this was cheap for what you get. We were thinking of getting her to show us around Chinatown as we didn't see much of it last year and are sure there is more to it...

just a thought.

karin