It's been a slow day at work and I still have energy to burn so I head down to the Institut Francais for a yoga class.

Afterwards I join Ellen and Kathleen for a bite to eat and a drink in the bar area nearby. We sit and chat and listen to some jazz and then...

Suddenly, with no warning, an enormous storm unleashes its awesome power and the lights and the electricity go down.

The winds are ferocious and the noise deafening as huge claps of thunder and great flashes of lightning light the sky. It turns very cold and the rains are torrential and heavy, forcing people to move to places of safety under the outdoor canopy.

I wonder if the roof will survive the onslaught and I get a little glimpse into the 'power of nature' and how vulnerable human beings are in the face of such conditions.

Cyclone Nargis killed 138,000 people here in Myanmar in 2008 and this tonight may have been the tail end of a cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal. We have been on red alert for a couple of days but it has been downgraded to amber yesterday. Whilst I am no expert, it feels a lot more than a tropical storm.

Whilst I am stumbling around the dark cafe area, Ellen, who has worked on some diificult missions simply says, "I think I will take another beer!" Seems like a good idea to me!

As I leave an hour later, I travel back through deep water on the roads and look at big trees uprooted on the roadside. If this is the edge of a cyclonic storm, I wouldn't like to be in the eye of a cyclone, thats for sure!

I wonder if it will even make the local news!