Tours - unscheduled shopping stops, Bangkok

This encounter happen on the way to the Grand Palace. We arrived infront one of the entrance to the Palace and was told that we can't go in due to a ceremony happening in there. the person who inform us is appratently a local tour guide standing beside the entrance.
Since we were already there, she recommended us to take a tour with the tuk tuk to visit some other tourist spot around the area. As soon as we agree and aboard the tuk tuk, we were taken for a ride to palces we weren't expecting - jewel shop, carpet shop and suit shop. Basically the reason this tuk tuk bring u to these shop is just to get his free ' gasoline'
~sigh~

Unique Suggestions: 1. Ignore the tour guide recommendation and try some other entrance.

2. If aboard the tuk tuk - just get down on the very 1st shop that's not right for you and make your own way back yourself.

Fun Alternatives: Talk to some local Vt : )

Many organised excursions in Bangkok end up in a jewelry or other shop. Often the real excursion is even a bit rushed to get you to the point of purchase ASAP.

Unique Suggestions: So always ask you guide about the full program. Travelling around in Bangkok is pretty easy, so ask to be let off before you're shipped into what they call euphemistically "a jewelry factory"

Fun Alternatives: Or go to see interesting sites on your own

In Bangkok they´ll try to 'trap' you with a guided tour of the city with its temples and at the end then take you to some kind of shop or business to buy something.
However, I would recommend it! (So, it´s not really a trap ;-) ) On a (private!) tour of Bangkok guided by a local you´ll learn a lot of interesting things you won´t otherwise, especially about buddhism and its traditions, plus you don´t have to buy anything. So go for it!

Almost all the tours somehow manage a stopover at a Jewellery Factory with the idea that you'll go home a few gems richer (and lotsa $ poorer!)Being 10,I really wasn't too keen,although the tour of the factory was just a tad bit interesting.

We went on an organised tour with Tour East to the Grand Palace and luckily we were the only people on the tour. Anyway, on the way back to the hotel, the guide stopped the minibus at a jewellery store, the world's largest, where we were treated very, very well and given a personalised guided tour - only catch - we were expected to buy something. The tour operators certainly know how to look after their friends, if you know what I mean!!