Arriving here a week after the disaster was surreal: Aside from missing persons advisories at customs and posters to recruit blood donors, little seemed different. And yet, of course, everything was different. What doesn’t change is the culture: The Thai people move forward with minimal fuss, they are always happy to see you, and the warmth is always genuine. You can feel the spirituality put into practice.

A brief excerpt from http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14818689/ - the author was actually in an undamaged spa on Koh Samui so I’m not sure what was so surreal but it’s still interesting that she went to Thailand a week after the tsunami.