Nigeria, Nov. 13 -- As the aircraft roared down the runway at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, the peculiarity of Asian developmental ideas was unmistakably evident in the airport's facilities. It was the first half of October 2026, and we were in Bangkok, Thailand, for the World Bank/IMF off-site meetings, which the city last hosted about three decades ago, precisely in 1991.

The trip from the airport to my hotel facility around the Khlong Toei District offered an interesting introduction to Bangkok. In this city, the seemingly unusual often becomes part of everyday life. By the end of the week-long stay, from the peculiarities of Thailand's wellness culture to its credit system, industrial transformation, and emerging technology ecosys...