The sun rises over Don Muang Airport on Monday 9th November to find our group of Falangs leaving the sprawl of Bangkok, for the provincial capital of Ubon Ratchathani. The group were moving on to the second phase of their adventure after an excellent start to their trip. Ahead lay the region of dust devils, dry baking heat and ninety kilometers of corrugated laterite roads which would shake their bones until their teeth rattled. Well that's how it was when they left it fifty years before. They were in for a pleasant surprise! (Place your cursor in the image left to change it)

As our plane descended into Ubon I'm sure those of us returning for the first time would have looked with amazement at the landscape below. The semi urban picture underneath them in no way compared with what they had left behind fifty years before. Ubon had grown far more than they would have expected, as indeed Thailand as a whole has done. Gone were the corrugated laterite roads replaced by tarmacadam dual carriageways. Multi-storey buildings housing Tesco, Big C and Robinson super stores lay beneath. (Place your cursor in the image right to change it).

On alighting from the plane and reclaiming our baggage, we were met by our guide's and soon to be trusted friends Rose and Aek Saksanrungrueng. They greeted us with the gift of a rose (see above) which broke the ice and quickly endeared everyone to them. We walked into the Ubon sunshine, to board the chariot that would be our transport for our time in Isaan. Our first destination was the Laithong Hotel where we would reside for our stay in Ubon. The rest of this day was free giving those of us who were returning for the first time, the chance to take in the many changes.

One of my concerns about our stay in Ubon was where we could eat that served European style food. The (Falang) TC Bar was in the process of relocating and only served beer. I need not have worried, our group proved to be capable of taking care of themselves. They soon located a restaurant a hundred yards or so from the hotel and made the owners very happy by filling it up with hungry Falangs. In fact by the time the stragglers arrived, the most popular choices were no longer available.

With his replacement hip to the fore and his trusty walking stick thrust out in front, Alan Myers leads the way across the boardwalks to the restaurant. As the slideshow at the bottom will show, the rest of us then took the plunge Wildebeest style. The Star of the show however, was Kitty MacMillan determined to participate fully, she crossed the water with style. The restaurant of choice was the biggest and separate from the rest. We were already bonding as a group and the Thai style communal meal we were about to enjoy was to add more glue to the process.

Tuesday 10th had a big itinerary. The trip to Pattaya Noi took a fair chunk of the day. However, we had to be back in good time for the finale in the form of the OCA Dinner. Our journey back was made all the more palatable by young Master Wareham, hooking his iPhone up to the coach sound system and producing some visual and audio entertainment as a result. This was enhanced by 'Miss Kitty MacMillan' singing some 'oldies' for our delight. Later that evening, another lady carried on where Kitty left off as she sang for her supper at Dinner(pun intended).

After a decent meal and drinks, relatively short speeches were made by a couple of the committee. The Maitre D and his staff were called before us and rightfully thanked for their service. The picture shows what a happy gang they were. I was relieved that the days events had passed so well with only minor, easily remedied glitches. The group were now left to their own devices as the morrow bought an important event for us to attend. Time to retire as the dawn heralded the 10th Anniversary Little Mother Ubon Remembrance Ceremony.