It's my first venture outside of Yangon and I have decided to get a bus to the pilgrimage site of Kyaikhtiyo in Mon state. The main bus station is right on the northern edge of the city and is a chaotic place with buses, taxis and people all trying to use the same space. I am shown where my bus ticket can be purchased - people are very honest and respectful generally and I like that. It's just 8,000 kyat (£6) for a four hour journey. I sit in the waiting a...

I am getting to know my local neighbourhood. I walk for about five minutes along the road and reach Kwaik Wine pagoda, which has been here in its current form for 200 years. The entrance is on the roadside but the complex is set back and opens up like the tardis. I am planning to come back here many times over the coming months as it has a tranquil feel to it and is only visited by local people. As I wander around, I am beckoned over to an office by a Myanmar...

I like Sundays here. It's the first day of the weekend for me and a chance to relax a little from the intensity of the city and the busyness of office life over the river from the previous five days. It's 5am and I am wake. I make myself a cup of coffee and use my brand new 'desert island discs' luxury item, a toaster. I sit out on my small balcony and listen to the pre dawn sounds. The ubiquitous cockerels, insects and birds from the trees opposite and then th...

Some days, it feels like a pretty tough assignment out here. The rain is incessant at times with flooding in the roads, the fields, the walkways and houses and the skies are grey. The lives which many people lead are very challenging and they cannot look much further than the next day. The township where I work has people living in the most basic of human conditions - the need for shelter is paramount. Nutrition is very poor and sanitation is compromised by heavi...

My son Alex has a favourite expression - 'For Everything A Reason' and last night I put his theory to the test. I had a mishap, which in hindsight could have been a lot worse, but thankfully, I am OK and able to relate the story. After spending the afternoon at an event run by the Women's Organisations Network of Myanmar and MPs from the national parliament, I caught a bus home for part of the journey. It was a stormy night with heavy rain and thunder with ligh...