I really don’t see an end to these political problems — even my elephants are suffering…Sadly, I think the only way out is for our King to tell everyone to stop fighting.

– Laithonglian Meephan, who runs an elephant park in Ayutthaya, quoted in Martin Petty, “Thais pine for political fix as unrest hurt economy”, Reuters, 26 April 2009. This article includes a number of other perspectives harvested from the battered economy of Ayutthaya province.