I am proud to call the tiny cane growing community of Ingham, Australia my home.
It features blue skies, sandy beaches and Australia’s largest single-drop waterfall. But its location – in the far north of the state of Queensland – is a problem for me.
Lured by a desire to explore Europe, I left for London 17 years ago on a two-year working holiday visa. I had no idea that a handsome English stranger I met in a bar one night would be my future husband. It’s why I’m now a UK resident, raising two young boys who speak with British accents and have no idea what Vegemite is.
Our annual return to Australia involves several long-haul flights and a 10-hour time difference. So we close intermediate stops to break the distance.
We try to stop somewhere new every time. Here’s what we’ve found so far.
Intermediate station: Seoul, South Korea
Pros: Seoul street food, Korean Air kid friendly
The movie-themed Hotel28 offers popcorn and gift packs for kids upon arrival. The mini bar is also free. Located in the heart of the bustling Myeongdong district, filled with Korean BBQ, fried chicken, noodle and seafood restaurants. Around the corner from Myeongdog Night Market, we sampled street food like fried baby crab while watching K-pop buskers.
The author, MaryLou Costa, and her two children in Seoul, South Korea.
Source: MaryLou Costa
Getting to Seoul was a charm on Korean Air, which allows parents to pre-book kids’ meals like pizza, hot dogs and barbecue chicken. In addition, they provide compact headphones for in-flight entertainment.
If there is no connecting flight to your destination on the same day, Korean Air includes a free night at the five-star Grand Hyatt Incheon. We took advantage of this on the way back from Australia. The stay included a huge breakfast buffet where we dined on Korean food and Western classics before boarding the 14 hour flight from Seoul to London.
Cons: Traffic and translation issues
Almost half of South Korea’s population lives in the Seoul metropolitan area, so traffic in the city is heavy. Our taxi ride into town took an hour, but the return to the airport – at rush hour – was three times longer. We arrived 30 minutes before our flight departure and were not allowed to check in. Korean Air offered us a free new flight to Australia — a week later. It still hurts me to think how much this oversight cost us.
Many people speak English, but if you have food allergies, I recommend writing your needs in Korean, using a translation app, or possibly rethinking the location of your layover.
Intermediate station: Bangkok, Thailand
Pros: Cheap flights make this an Asian getaway
Bangkok is a great stopover point between London and Brisbane. From there, it doesn’t cost much to get to Thailand’s famous beaches.
We took a 1.5 hour flight to the beach town of Krabi where we spent a week at ShellSea Krabi Resort. Our four month old slept in his stroller by the pool while our oldest drank mocktails, took Thai boxing lessons and collected shells from the beach. We ate outside under homemade gazebos and took in a local music festival.
From Bangkok, the family took a side trip to Krabi, Thailand.
Source: MaryLou Costa
Back in Bangkok, we swam in our hotel pool and visited the night market, where we tried banana fritters and barbecue skewers, and our oldest ate a whole bag of fried insects for dinner.
Cons: The busyness of Bangkok
Bangkok may not be everyone’s choice when traveling with two small children. The endless traffic makes it difficult to walk and the air quality is questionable.
However, we didn’t have the airport travel issues we experienced in Seoul. As a bonus, our flights to Krabi departed from Don Mueang International Airport, a less busy airport in the northern part of the city.
Stopover: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Pros: Lots of attractions
The world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, and one of the world’s largest water parks, Aquaventure in Dubai was an exciting place to take our then four-year-old, and it was a no-brainer to build family days out. these two sights.
MaryLou Costa’s family bridge the gap between the UK and Australia with stops like this one in Dubai where they spent time at Aquaventure Waterpark.
Source: MaryLou Costa
Staying at the 25hours Hotel was an attraction in itself. The lobby is a hive of activity and the rooftop pool overlooks the architecturally impressive Museum of the Future.
We were there during Ramadan and partook in the quick iftar buffet in the hotel’s main restaurant, which included a range of curries and sides, as well as a grill outside with freshly carved doner meat, served with rice and salads. It was popular with local families, who piled in for the special meal.
Cons: Expensive
Dubai is expensive. A family day pass to Aquaventure costs about $260, while entry to the Burj Khalifa, combined with the Dubai Aquarium, costs another $243.
Intermediate station: Singapore
Pros: late checkout, choice of flights
Our stop in Singapore was pre-kids, but we might repeat as it was such an easy place to visit. We sprung for a club room at the Mandarin Oriental, which included late check out, champagne breakfast and a complimentary dim sum afternoon tea. Late checkout would definitely be helpful for the kids, especially for showering and changing before the next flight.
Singapore also has the most connections to Australia of any Asian city we’ve traveled to. Changi Airport looks like it’s designed to keep kids busy, with its butterfly garden, koi ponds and free massage chairs.
Cons: Lacks buzz
Clean, easy to get around, variety of food options and excellent level of English — it’s hard to think of any downsides to a stopover in Singapore. If I had to be picky, I’d say it’s not as crowded as Seoul and Bangkok, and it’s also more expensive.