240621 Diary Bangkok Day 1

I managed to have breakfast at home before setting off to KLIA to catch my flight to Bangkok to attend the ISTH 2024 this weekend. This would be my first trip abroad since COVID. Took a Grab to KL Sentral before catching the KLIA Express to the airport as usual.
My flight got slightly delayed, but the refurbished Regional Golden Lounge at the Main Terminal was a comfortable place to sit at. They were still serving breakfast when I reached there, and after a quick bite, I sat down going through the plans for the weekend. I would be hitting the ground running with a dinner meeting later that evening.
Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport was packed on Friday afternoon. Plenty of flights coming in. So, the delay for the luggage was definitely felt, followed by the search for the designated driver my sponsor sent for me. It took me another 45 minutes to reach the hotel after that. But the check-in process was smooth.
Carlton Hotel Bangkok Sukhumvit was your typical business hotel. Comfortable and practical. I was glad to learn that there was a shopping mall nearby as I needed to shop for some personal items.
Terminal 21 Mall was only a 10 minute walk from my hotel. A unique mall, themed on an airport terminal. It had sections for various themed destinations - Paris, Tokyo, San Francisco, London, Istanbul - to name a few and the area would have elements of that destination. They had a replica of the a London red double-decker at the section for example.
But what caught my eyes were was the food market at the basement. Although tempting - they had a few Halal stalls there - I was worried about catching a bug. Since this was my first day there, I better give it a miss. I managed to get my stuffs there - they have a Boot's outlet.
Next, it was a talk at the hotel, with dinner. As the rest of the Malaysian contingent was still on their way, I started the meeting with the only representative.
By the time the meeting was done, I was too tired to go out. I had my shower and decided to settle down for the day. It was going to be a long day tomorrow ...