Just found this great article... very well written.
I have not gone through your blog yet, but I think you should write about the losing face issue of Thais, I think it would explain perfectly why nataya got so offended.
In a nutshell: Thais cannot deal with any public offense or blame whatsoever, if you got a problem you solve it in private infront of noone else but the parties invloved in the dispute. Failing to do so, can go as far as getting shot.
I am not joking here, a friend of mine got in an open (public) arguement with a rich Thai guy who had tried to cheat my friend over quite a lot of money.
He was gunned down the next night as he was entering his house, they shot him 3 times but he luckely survived the incident.