2.The working day - the Hoi An CHIA way

I'm so enjoying the daily working life at CHIA with the friendly and insightful locals and volunteers.
Staff are in early, having dropped off their children to school at 7am on a standard motorbike commute, and may have traveled from 50km away.  I backpacked in Vietnam many moons ago but had to be reminded of walking confidently across roads otherwise one would be waiting a while to let all the motorbikes pass, some with families of 4+ including kids!
It's tempting to stop at one of the many street vendors and cafes along the way for breakfast, serving the French influenced Vietnamese baguette called banh mi stuffed with flavour-some meat, veg and herbs, or pho which is the soup of rice noodles and usually beef or chicken. 
In between a bit of barefoot budgeting in excel (my favourite spreadsheet!) I hitched a ride to the historic centre for a spot of lunch-time shopping and intense bartering, finding myself ordering 6 items which I doubt will be the end of it!
There are also many Buddhist temples, a welcome piece of tranquility from the peeping horns and dusty roads at the end of the day.









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