We traveled through cities and mountains, just to meet these kids. Smiles that I would never forget.
行千里路，只为和一群素未谋面的小朋友们度过一天。但是在这寒冷的冬天，我的心是暖的。
I’ve been to some of the major cities in China, and had absolutely no idea where Guizhou was before this trip.
An ex-colleague who had worked in China, commented that Guizhou wasn’t a touristy place. Well, I wasn’t there to sightsee so it didn’t matter that much.
Another friend said that it’s a place where potatoes grew well! (Think potato chips)
There ain’t direct flights to the city of Guiyang, so we took a a domestic flight from Shenzhen last Dec. You could do the same from Shanghai too.
贵州在哪里？在这趟旅程之前，我真的不知到。
只听朋友说，贵州（威宁）生产土豆！
从新加坡出发到贵阳市，必须到深圳或上海转机。
Map of GuiZhou
Guizhou has more overcast days and rainfall than any other part of the country with March till August being the rainy season, so it’s advisable to bring a brolly or raincoat if you are visiting.
The best time to visit is during the Spring Festival and in early spring, when most of the ethnic traditional festivals are held.
We stayed over at Guiyang city for a night before setting off early next morning to our actual destination – Jiamin Primary School, which was 6 hours away by bus.
冬天的贵阳市，好潮湿也好冷。听说贵州全年的天气都不错，夏天也不太热，适合观光。
初春到访，可以泡温泉、参加迎春节庆等。
我们在贵阳市待了一晚，隔天启程到贵州省黔东南州从江县东朗乡加民小学，全程需要6小时。
雾、梯田、山脉延绵。
中途，停下来，吃顿饭。
The main guy behind this trip. Roy terrorizes kid(s) & blogs at http://tourwithroy.wordpress.com/
It’s really cold~~ brrr
Anyway, we finally got to the primary school around 4pm, and were warmly welcomed by the students dressed in traditional costumes.
将近7小时后，我们终于抵达目的地，迎接我们的是穿着传统服饰的同学们，和一大群好奇的小朋友。
Girls in costumes (Photo by Maxx Chew)
The old school building houses the primary ones on the lower level, the second level has been converted to dorm space for the teachers and staff. This was our accommodation for the night too.
这是旧校舍，也是我们那晚的落脚处。
A close up
primary one kids who haven’t learn Mandarin so we couldn’t talk much, but they were such a happy bunch!
活泼的小朋友，还没学国语，说的都是当地的方言。
A peep into the older classrooms, currently occupied by the primary ones.
What started out as a personal mission last year – to take Polaroid shots for all the kids in the school so that they get to keep their own pictures – will be continued this year! 🙂 Yippie!
Having been to a few SEA countries, and realizing that kids absolutely love the cameras and were constantly amazed by the photos in the electronic gadgets, I was inspired to leave each kid with a piece of memory. So please pass boxes of Polaroids to the team if you can 🙂 Very much appreciated!
自己游过几个东南亚国家，发现小朋友都很爱拍照。但往往无法将手机或相机里的照片留下来给他们，因此我决定进行个人的小小任务，就是收集即拍相机与胶片，带到贵州，为小朋友留下回忆。
Me (trying) to communicate to the primary ones. 要笑哦！(photo by Maxx Chew)
Once again, thanks to my dearest friends Viviane, Vivien, Karen, Adrian & Wenting who contributed to my little mission.
The kids each got a goodie bag of snacks and some stationery, along with their very own Polaroid.
Snacks in the bag (Photo by Maxx Chew)
Besides sending goodies over, we wanted to interact with the kids so the best way was to play games! Last year, the team had a basketball game with the students but it was not possible as the courts were too wet this year.
(FYI. The white building in the background is the new block of classrooms.)
除了分发礼包，我们与同学们原本有场篮球友谊赛。由于场地太湿，无法与同学轧场篮球，就玩游戏吧！
（背后建筑物就是新校舍）
Below: New basketballs for the school (photo by Maxx Chew)
(Photo by Maxx Chew)
Simple, sweet (photo by Maxx Chew)
一天辛勤后，围桌吃晚餐。(photo by Maxx Chew)
黑夜中，我们为所爱的祈福，希望天灯把我们的愿望与祝福送上去。
The old furniture in the new building (Photo by Maxx Chew)
The tables, chairs and school bags for the kids arrived only after we left, still grateful that everything worked out in the end!
其实，我们离开时，最重要的物品还没送到。后来，老师把照片发过来，新桌椅、书包都到了。:)
Together, we try to bring smiles to the faces of these kids. (Photo from https://www.facebook.com/caregiversgroup)
最珍贵的感动，任务成功！
Travel Notes
1. Air tickets during December can be real expensive, we checked budget airline options to fly to Shenzhen, but the 2-to-go deal via Singapore Airlines proved to be the best option during that period. | I have the habit of looking through the airline online sites and one or two major booking sites for the best combination of flight timings and prices.
2. Accommodation in Shenzhen: Sunon Holiday Villa via agoda.com || it was a really pleasant hotel and there was easy access to major shopping streets + food all around.
I’m a big fan of agoda because it’s easy to navigate and reliable. (p.s. I love flash deals too) | Alternatively, I use AirBnB.
3. Roy got us premium economy seats (with no extra charge) on our flight from Shenzhen to Guiyang via China Southern! Awesome 🙂 || rule of thumb, always try to book earlier.
We are just pretty much a bunch of working professionals from all walks of life, wanting to bring a little more joy & hope to the less fortunate kids in Asia.
The group’s heading to Chiang Mai this Christmas, please support by donating in kind or cash. Thank you in advance!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/caregiversgroup
Website: http://caregiversgroup.org
joojourneys 