This morning, I left my hotel accommodation and with Phil and Carol's company, moved to my apartment in the north of the city.

I am taking over from Christiane who has lived here for a year and it will be a real Myanamar community experience. People live in small wooden shacks and in some narrow lanes, new apartment buildings are being built.

This is not an expat lifestyle and I am a little nervous of being the only foreigner for miles around. Christiane, who has worked in Rwanda, Mongolia and Vietnam assures me that this is a real volunteer experience and I am heartened by her experience and wisdom.

I walk through nearby roads where I buy some bedlinen, pillows and a mat from a shopkeeper, who proudly in broken English tells me that his son is a GP on the Isle of Wight.

The day is very hot and humid and when the electricity power supply goes down, the air con stops too and I sweat very heavily and drink lots of water. Then the inevitable happens - the clouds darken, the wind gets up and then a huge powerful tropical storm lashes down.

Later, I wander down the roads in the darkness to get my bearings and it all seems so different to the daytime experience. There is little street lighting and I need my torch. Local people watch tv in their rooms where they also eat and sleep.

My first night in my little apartment on my own in a Myanmar community township in the north of Yangon. The real Myanmar living adventure is about to begin....