Thailand continues to weather the sea of change, both global and regional, without losing its soul. The economy seems to have fully recoverered from the 1997 to 1998 Asian Financial Crisis, tourism is booming and the nation has topped Southeast Asia's growth scores for the last two years.

The Success of Bangkok's Skytrain has been a boom to residence and visitors alike, and the opening of the metro sub way in late 2004 has further boosted city spirits. Meanwhile Thailand's 'second city' (in spirit if not in population figures), Chiang Mai, is busy making plans for similar mass transit as well as expanded expressway links.

The avian flu epidemic that began in China in 2003 and threatened lives in Thailand well into 2004 appears to have been contained. More challenging has been the continuing disquiet in three of Thailand's southern provinces, Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat, where Muslim nationalists have not taken kindly to PM Thaksin Shinawatra's strong-arm tactics.