So, here I am, alone in Vientiane. The four weeks since Angkor has seen a great change in the trip, most notably Joanne's decision to abandon cycling, and my decision to skip Vietnam and take a train through part of China to save time and to spend time with Joanne. But let's take things in order.
We spent a few days lazing around in Bangkok before we headed back to Phetchaburi to get our bikes. Somehow we managed to spend Japanese amounts of money without much to show for it, aside from piles of heavy books to read. After a day of cycling up to Damnoen Saduak, we saw the rather disappointing floating market and went back to Bangkok to pick up my camera lens (fungus was growing inside it and had to be cleaned out) and our pictures from Angkor, which turned out pretty well. There followed three fairly miserable days of cycling around Bangkok's industrial outer suburbs: heavy traffic, little to look at except storks, and very, very hot, sweaty weather. Joanne, who had been feeling less enthusiastic about cycling since her father's death, finally made the decision that the suffering she was enduring in the heat wasn't worth the slim scenic rewards. In Ayutthaya, the old Siamese capital, she packed it in, and I escorted her back to Bangkok on the train, riding her bike from the station to Khao San Road through the surprisingly tame Bangkok traffic. It was sad to separate, especially since I so much wanted her to be able to accompany me on this trip, but I didn't feel that I could abandon the trip before getting to my ultimate goal of Lhasa. It was a quick farewell at a ferry pier, and then back to Ayutthaya for me, while Joanne retreated into her hotel room to be by herself.
On my first day out of Ayutthaya, I crossed over some low hills into Northeastern Thailand, and rolled over my 4000th kilometre. The scenery was almost like New England: dairy farms and green, rolling hills. The next day I fought my way up the hardest hill climb of the trip so far, into Khao Yai National Park. Aside from incessant construction of new lodges, the park was wonderful, full of deer and birds (including my favourite pied hornbills) and traces of wild elephants. Aside from the voracious leeches, I enjoyed my time there. The park had once had a few farms cleared in its forests, and these overgrown grasslands were great for actually being able to see animals. Rainforests are wonderful, but they are almost impossible to see anything in because they're dark and have very short lines of sight.
The rest of the riding was less enjoyable, as I struggled through headwinds and tremendous heat through a really quite unexciting landscape. It was probably the least fun riding of the entire trip; Joanne did well to quit where she did. The only highlights were Khmer temple ruins, small versions of Angkor Wat dotted here and there. My favourite was Meuang Tam, surrounded by ponds of water lilies that made for good photos. Phanom Rung, nearby, was also very nice, atop a small volcanic cone. Phimai, a major regional centre under the Khmer Empire, was not as impressive, but it did have a great museum. A long sidetrip by bus to the Cambodian border to see Preah Vihaan, perched on the edge of a huge cliff, was less than a success: it was foggy, very expensive and not that impressive in the fog(other than great serpent railings on the stairs), and, to cap it off, I broke my glasses. I fought my way north in a series of long days to Khon Kaen, where Joanne rejoined my (by bus), and Udon Thani, where we stopped to visit a local flower grower who makes orchid perfumes and raises dancing plants. They don't actually dance, but the leaves do move in response to sounds; Joanne, the plant grower and myself were all bent over different plants at one point, singing to them.
Then on to Laos. After being forced to load the bike on a bus to cross the intenational bridge, I rode here to Vientiane, a delightfully decayed colonial town that hardly seems to be a national capital. I am waiting for my Chinese visa before I leave town, while Joanne has returned to Bangkok to travel for a while with her Japanese friend Chitose. We plan to meet in Dali, southern China, in early August to travel around Sichuan province and down to Yangshuo together by train and bus (eek!!!) before we separate again in Hong Kong. I will return to Dali to cycle to Lhasa, and Joanne will go on to Italy to visit family. That's the news, and I am out of here to eat good Indian food.