Playing Family Travels
Wang Wei’s high-flying birthday surprise
No Place like Home The Cheng-Wei family rediscovers their roots in Australia The Travelers
The Cost
The Plan Over the past October holidays, we traveled to Perth and Melbourne in Australia. Our son had never been to Australia despite being an Aussie citizen. For our daughter (who was born in Australia), it was high time to visit Grandma and Grandpa, who live in Melbourne and Perth respectively. We were based in Shanghai at the time, so we took the train to Hangzhou and flew to Perth. Then, we flew from Perth to Melbourne and from Melbourne back to Shanghai. We booked everything ourselves online after doing research on Aussie family forums
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beijingkids
Buggybuddys (buggybuddys.com.au) and Kidspot Australia (kidspot. com.au).
2013 May
The flights cost around RMB 15,000 in total for two adults, one child, and one infant. That includes the AirAsia flight from Hangzhou to Perth (via Kuala Lumpur), the Jetstar flight from Perth to Melbourne, and the China Eastern flight from Melbourne to Shanghai. (Editor’s note: At the time of print, the total price for roundtrip flights with Qantas between Beijing and Melbourne for two adults, one child, and one infant during the upcoming October holiday cost around RMB 32,000.) For accommodations, we only spent RMB 550 at the Hangzhou Renaissance for one night; we stayed with family the rest of the time.
photos: courtesy of the cheng-wei family
Mom Cheng Lei, dad Wang Wei, their daughter Ava Wang (age 3.5) and their son Alex Wang (age 1).