A trip to the field to assess the damage of Cyclone Nargis is a lesson in hardship; the hardship of the survivors and my own suffering during hours of travelling over bumpy roads!

My whole body ached as we trekked through the villages and townships throughout the Irrawaddy delta. I was attached to the Transport and Communications Damage and Loss Assessment team. It is part of the Post Nargis Joint Assessment by ASEAN, the United Nations and the Government of Myanmar.

Our focus was roads, bridges, water transport and electricity. We experienced first hand the struggles of life without power - our office was in darkness and our team had to interview officials in the dark with a flashlight!

A trip like this needs careful planning and we needed to rely on the cooperation of the Myanmar officials. We passed checkpoints, presenting copies of our passports. We hopped off helicopters, boats and four wheel drive vehicles as we visited some of the worst hit towns and remote villages.

There are so many memories I will take away from this journey. I remember the sound of prayers filling the night sky competing with the sound of our generator.

I will never forget the faces of the people - a father riding his bicycle with his one year old daughter in the front basket; women taking the trishaw ‘saikar’ to the market and a monk walking to his favourite spot to sit and observe.

Life is hard here. Yet people are resuming their daily lives. They crowd into huts next to the paddy fields with chickens, goats, pigs and buffaloes all under one roof. Women and children sit and watch the world pass by while older children are now returning to school.

The long, hard, bumpy road took me past all these places and faces and we went home with mixed feelings: glad to be able to offer some help but sad to leave those we met along the way.