As a family, the Cliffords are used to traveling long distances. Mom Kim and Dad Aaron first met in their home country of Canada then jetted off to set up their new lives together in China just 40 days after their wedding. They welcomed their son Lachlan to the clan in 2013, and have since enjoyed exploring Thailand and Malaysia as a family, as well as taking a very special trip with their ayi to her hometown of Nanchang for Chinese New Year.
When it comes to finding great family travel advice, Kim says you just can’t beat the local expat community for the great wealth of information available, so we quizzed the young family for their best travel tips.
When Lachlan (middle) goes on vacation, he knows exactly what t-shirt to pack!
Kim
Pack food! You never know what will or won’t be available after you pass through security and it is better to have things you are sure your child will eat. Once when transferring flights in China we went through security to find there were no food places at all, so I made my husband go back to get McDonald’s. Also, let your children carry their bags or pull their luggage. It slows the little ones down!
Aaron
Download episodes from Netflix before you leave and turn the device to airplane mode so they aren’t lost. You never know which flights won’t have entertainment. And don’t forget your headphones.
Lachlan
Bring your stuffed animals to play with. I like to bring my camera too, then I can take pictures of everything!
KEEP READING: How to Make Traveling Fun and Stress-Free for the Whole Family
Photos: Uni You
This article appeared in the beijingkids 2020 June issue
