Ayathya temple in Thailand (and a note on toilets)

I wish I could have documented the ride across the boarder! We hired a 'taxi' (ie someone who'll drive you in their car) for $15, and this young guy kind of drove like there was no tomorrow. They're working on building a bridge over these fields, but in the mean time, there are these side roads, so we had to swerve ever 1/4 or 1/2 mile (and we're going about 60mph). I'll try and get pics on the ride home. Anyway. Here are pics of the main Ayathya temple, the old one that the Burmese practically destroyed during their war. It's different, but the spires really have nothing in them besides some ashes, dead offering flowers, trash and stanky bats. This temple was used for royal religious ceremonies, but it's kind of a weird concept to have so much land (the grounds are quite big) just for official royal ceremonies. Anyway, there were these great aluminum can wind toys that I want to learn to make. I wonder if I can post video (or if will break this computer!)

Thailand is surprisingly more developed than Cambodia, but I know a lot of that has to do with all the wars, etc. I'm happy to take hot/cold contrast showers, and many (but not the majority by any means) of the toilets flush. But, I really don't understand the raised porcelain holes. Like, in Cambodia, the standard toilet is a porcelain hole in the ground with grips for your feet. The Thai ones are raised, which I find just awkward. Sometimes when the kids came over to the volunteer house at the orphanage (and I had a western toilet), they would squat up on the seat. I know because I would find their little footprints on the toilet seat.

Anyway.

There was an elephant show close by these temples too, but it was just awful. They had maybe 8-10 elephants, dressed up and trained... but no one really noticed how they had tear stains running down their eyes. All of the elephants (with the exception of the baby) had almost cataract-looking eyes. A brown-grey blank stare off past everything. One of the elephants had a nervous rocking, back and forth, back and forth. What was most saddening was that they claimed to send some of their proceeds to help elephants. I totally understand why elephants flip out in circuses... they were never created to be treated this way.