By Kate McGeown BBC News, Phuket

If you had somehow managed to remain unaware of the huge tsunami which has devastated many parts of Asia, you might not immediately notice that anything had changed on the Thai island of Phuket.

Parts of the island convey the false impression of normality

At first glance, the main tourist strip in Patong, the island's largest resort, seems the same as it always was, with its endless souvenir shops, dive centres and tuk-tuk drivers touting for business.

Neon signs light up the evening sky, Thais and Westerners dance the night away and the strip clubs and lap-dancing bars are open into the small hours as usual.

But it would not take long to figure out that something was not quite right.

For one thing, at this time of year Phuket is usually heaving with tourists, desperate for a break from the European winter over the Christmas and New Year holiday.

BBC NEWS: VIDEO AND AUDIO Watch the wave hit

"It's very quiet here, and this is usually peak season," said Som Kamonwan, a waitress at the Rock in Dice bar.

"But we're still open just the same. In fact, we never closed."

Clearing-up

Just one street down from the Rock in Dice bar, on the coastal road, any illusion that this is just a normal winter season would be shattered almost immediately.

There are few flashing lights left here, and few shop-fronts which have not been at least partly boarded up.

The pain and loss is never far from sight

Debris from broken buildings has been swept into neat piles, stacked up on both sides of the road.

The beach itself is eerily quiet. A few dogs hunt around the broken palm trees searching for food, but people seem reluctant to venture there any more, now the worst of the destruction has been cleared away.

You also do not have to go far to see posters of the missing, which relatives have plastered at various points around the island.

In fact, as soon as you leave immigration at the island's airport, there are posters stuck on pillars and posts, looking somewhat incongruous when placed near advertisements for "the paradise island of Phuket".

It might be possible to clear away much of the wreckage less than two weeks after a disaster of this magnitude, but you can not erase the suffering of those still desperately searching for loved ones.

The Thais, however, are an indomitable people and are putting on as brave a face as they can, despite the devastation within their midst.

Opportunism

The people of Patong are trying to get on with life as normal.

"Many have died in the tsunami and I feel really sad about that," said Som Kamonwan.

"But there are also people who are still alive, who need to eat and make money."

The clear-up operation has been gaining momentum

Some Thais are even cashing in on the disaster. On the Patong tourist strip, there are at least two shops selling CDs showing amateur video footage of the tsunami.

Western tourists still choosing to holiday in Phuket also say that the best way for the island to move on is to get back to normal as quickly as possible.

"I'm amazed at what they've achieved in such a short space of time, in terms of clearing things up," said Briton Geoff Pollard.

"They need every penny they can get right now, and I'm glad I can still come and help in that."

For me, the most telling sign that the island will eventually bounce back from this disaster were the words of an official at the entrance to Phuket airport.