Travelling with a toddler from the UK to your home country
I recently went on a three day trip to my home country, Pakistan from the UK to attend a wedding.
I am going to share my experience and some tips in this blog.
MY TIMINGS
DEPARTURE
1. Slept at 2000 and woke up at 0400 on Thursday.
2. Left the house at 0600
3. Took the 0630 train to York - transferred to another train to get to Manchester airport at 1035.
4. Checked in at around 1100
5. The plane took off at 1400
6. Landed in Doha at 0010
7. Took the plane from Doha at 0205.
8. Reached Lahore at 0735 PK time
9. Got out of the airport at around 0900 PK time on Friday.
ARRIVAL
1. Left for the airport from our house at 2300 on Sunday night
2. Arrived at the airport at around 0000
3. Checked in at 0030.
4. Our flight took off for Doha at 0410
5. Arrived at Doha 0615
6. Took off for Manchester at 0800.
7. Arrived in Manchester at 1225 PM on Monday.
8. Cleared immigration and got our luggage by 1330.
9. Took the 1445 train to York
10. Missed the 1647 train from York to Scarborough and then took the 1746 train to arrive in Scarborough at 1845.
11. Got home at 1900 on Monday.
ANNUAL LEAVE.
I am allowed 27 days a year as annual leave, excluding bank holidays and weekends. As I knew the dates of the wedding ceremony beforehand, I booked my annual leaves before I actually started in the trust as a ST3 trainee registrar and requested my leaves as soon as I received my rota. Unfortunately I was on nights during this time and the rota team very kindly swapped me out to do vacant nights which were unfilled on the rota by sitting with me and deciding what options I had.
My tips:
1. Talk to the rota team ASAP when you get your rota.
2. Sit with the rota team rather than just emailing them. A face to face conversation is always better. However email them later just to ensure that both of you are on the same page plus this keeps a trail of your conversation and hence no one can change your rota at the last minute.
3. Ensure you have at least 2 days off the day after you have traveled back to the UK ( treat a trip night like a very busy night shift and give yourself a break).
BOOKING THE FLIGHT.
We did a lot of research on the best flights for babies and toddlers which go to my home country and it came out to be Qatar Air.
Tips:
1. Book your tickets in advance ( as soon as you get your annual leave ) as they will be cheap. Also check for any promotions ( you can get up to 10 to 20% off on tickets).
2. Some airlines have flights which fly twice a day. Book the flight which allows you to have a full nights rest before you leave and a full nights rest when you fly back. For example, in my case, the flight was at 1400 ( hence we slept the night before travelling) and it landed at 1400 ( and we slept the night of landing- we also had enough time to buy urgent groceries from the local grocery store which usually closes at 2300)
3. Ensure that you have a rewards loyalty card for that airline which is free( you can also make it online after purchasing the tickets). Once you have accumulated a certain number of points, you can upgrade for free to business class/ get tickets for free.
4. Call the airline and confirm if you have a bassinet seat ( even if it is not available to book on the website, you can call and confirm this with the airline). In our case, they suggested that they have booked my wife's seat as a bassinet seat and if we go early, they will book my seat as a bassinet seat as well ( in which case we were at the airport 4 hours in advance).
5. Even if your toddler does not fit in the bassinet ( as was our case), it has a lot of legroom and hence your toddler can roam about in that area. Plus the other passengers sleep in peace because this is usually where the "young and rowdy" crowd in the plane is.
PRE-PLANNING
This takes ages so be well prepared. I was on call and then working on the ward, attending a mandatory training day the week I was about to fly and hence my wife and I started packing earlier.
We made a tick off list ( We use this app on our phones - https://evernote.com/ ) and kept ticking off whatever we had packed.
We made sure that we had enough food for the train trip and till we boarded.
My tips:
Make sure you have cooked and frozen some food in the freezer ( or just order some take-away) to have when you come back.
Empty all of your bins - the last thing you want to have is a smelly house.
Do the laundry a night before so that you do not have any previous clothes to wash.
PACKING
We had one large suitcase, one small hand carry suitcase in which had the toddlers food, milk, clothes exchanges, diapers, etc , a travel stroller ( https://www.mothercare.com/strollers/mothercare-jive-stroller--hearts/LRA087.html?cgid=summer_strollers&dwvar_LRA087_color=hearts#start=6 ) , a backpack ( which had my important documents, an exchange of clothes for us adults) and my wife's purse.
We checked in the large suitcase and gave the stroller to the aircraft staff before boarding.
HOW TO GET TO THE AIRPORT.
I live in Scarborough, which is a 2.5 hour drive from Manchester. Although I could have driven to Manchester airport, it would have been impossible to drive back after a long flight. Staying at a hotel for the night near Manchester airport would have just made things worse as my toddler would be exposed to another new environment just making the trip longer. Hence we decided to take the train.
My tips:
1. Book tickets in advance
2. Book your seats as well - you can see the carriage map and select the seats close to the luggage rack.
3. Do not worry if you do not get seats near the luggage rack. I left my suitcases on it and sat a few seats away from it ( and kept the important documents in my backpack with me ).
4. Keep an eye on the platforms you need to take the other train from if there is a changeover as you may not have a lot of time.
5. If possible, book a train directly.
6. Everyone is very friendly and will help you to put and take out luggage from the train onto the platform - even if it is very busy.
AT THE AIRPORT:
CHECK IN
1. Arrive as early as possible. Get the toddlers MOT done first ( like a cars MOT - this includes filling the baby with fuel ( food/ milk), getting the oil filter ( diaper) changed ). There are 2 baby changing areas before the check in counters at Terminal 2, Manchester airport.
2. Stand in the queue for the aircraft beforehand - this way you will be checked in earlier and you will get your seats of choice.
3. Ask if they could upgrade you to business class regardless of how many points you have ( if they have empty seats, they may consider this).
4. Pack your warm clothes in your suitcase before checking in ( the temperature in Manchester was 10 degrees that day and it was 30 degrees in Lahore). This will save a lot of space in your hand carry.
SECURITY:
Be prepared to show the security staff everything. They wanted us to take the bottles containing liquids out of the baby bag. They were very quick and we were through in 10 minutes. Read this as well:https://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/help/passenger-guides/security/
FOOD:
We were unable to find any full fat milk at the airport for our toddler however luckily we had brought enough for the journey and the bottles were in insulated bottle holders.
There are plenty of restaurants at the airport so make sure you eat as you will get food in the plane an hour later after you have taken off.
THE JOURNEY:
The Qatar airways A350 is an amazing plane - the seats have a lot of legroom and the staff really take care of you- especially with a baby.
Given that we had infant seat, our toddler sat in my lap and they gave us an extra buckle to strap her in.
Once the flight took off, we brought the small suitcase containing her various things on the floor and it was very easy to get things out.
For diaper changes, we took whatever we needed in our hands (Changing mat, diaper, cotton wool, tissues, sudocrem, plastic bag to dispose all of this) to the toilets and one of us changed her diaper whilst the other person stood in the doorway giving things/assisting.
She slept through most of the trip ( as she woke up at 0500 and usually sleeps till 0900 AM).
The flight had full fat milk and hence we refilled the baby bottles.
THE STOPOVER.
Our stop over was at Doha airport and we had around 1.5 hours to get to the next check in counter.
The security counter at Doha airport was very efficient and we were given priority as we were with a toddler. This took us around 10 minutes.
We then did the toddlers full MOT and managed to get to the next check in counter on time.
These are the facilities at Doha Airport for kids and infants- we really liked the strollers they give their passengers ( our stroller was in the booked luggage even though we handed it to the staff before boarding the plane) :
https://dohahamadairport.com/airport-guide/facilities-services/children-infants
THE NEXT PLANE:
If you have been on a middle eastern plane, you may have realized that this is the worst flight - regardless of which airline company you choose. The planes are old, you are very tired and the crowd is not the best.
We all just slept through it.
LANDING AT LAHORE :
They now have a functional counter for NICOP holders/overseas Pakistanis and for once, there was someone there. He quickly stamped our passports, took a picture and we passed through this within 10 minutes.
We got our checked in baggage ( including the stroller) within a few minutes and we were out of the airport at 0900 AM.
OUR TIMETABLE IN LAHORE:
We were here to attend a wedding. It was on all 3 days ( Friday, Saturday and Sunday)
We planned to sleep on Friday - however the toddler did not like the change of environment however we managed to get 4 hours of sleep.
MY EXPERIENCE OF LAHORE:
The traffic in Lahore has definitely got worse ( I visited after 4 years)- Everyone has a car with at least a 1.6 liter engine and they drive like crazy. There are loads of flyovers and underpasses and hence the traffic jams are less. You do not see a lot of VIP movement either.
The city seems to be more secure- there are a lot of police bikes and cars patrolling the roads and the policemen are actually looking out for any crimes (unfortunately crossing a red light does not count as a crime but at least you do not have to worry that someone will snatch your phone at gunpoint ) .
There are loads of malls and cinemas now.
And the best part - the food is amazing!
However I did notice that there was a huge social class divide which has not improved. The government healthcare systems remain horrible and the private hospitals are booming.
Also, I forgot that baby changing areas are virtually non existent there but that was not an issue.
My tips
I would strongly advise that you SHOULD NOT drive there and when someone else is driving, play on your phone or read a book. DO NOT look on the road. It is scary!
Do the laundry before you leave - this way you will just have the clothes you wore on the trip to wash. Plus take advantage of the warm sun in your home country to wash and dry your clothes within an hour!
MANAGING THE BABY:
There are plenty of family members around to help so that gives the parents a reasonable break.
We bought Prema Milk which worked fine and she had the usual food she had in the UK ( Lentils and rice are her favorite !)
There are no baby changing facilities anywhere ( I may be wrong as I had limited time- 2 days to be precise).
MY TRIP BACK:
If you have been to Lahore airport, you will realize how crazy it is. The traffic is horrible and the queues for checking in are quite long as all flights to the Middle East leave at the same time. So ensure you go to the airport 4 hours in advance.
My tips:
1. Ensure that you check into the CIP lounge - it costs a bit but it is worth it. You get to sit on comfortable sofas.
2. Avoid the toilets to change nappies unless you really need to. The ones on the plane are way cleaner.
3. Pack your jackets in your checked in luggage if it is warm in your home country ( Manchester airport is centrally heated all the way to the baggage collection point)
MANCHESTER AIRPORT :
The immigration officer took a minute or 2 to go through our passports, ask us why we were crazy enough to do a 72 hour trip with a 24 hour door to door travelling time and then stamped our passports.
We collected our luggage, thanked our lucky stars that we were back in a country which had clean baby changing facilities, cursed the cold weather and took our jackets out.
Tips:
1. Always change your baby's diaper before leaving the airport. There are toilets in the baggage collection section as well as near the train station.
2. You can get full fat milk from various grocery stores in the waiting area section of the terminal.
3. There are a few cafes which can warm your bottles by putting them in boiling water.
THE TRAIN TRIP BACK
The train journey was very tiring - so tiring that we got confused and missed the train from York to Scarborough - luckily they had another train leaving in an hour.
UPON GETTING HOME
It was freezing cold as usual and I put the thermostat at full heating ( Next time, I will set a timer ) , gave the baby a bath, showered and managed to get into bed at 2100.
POST TRIP
We all felt a bit groggy, viral-infection like ( make sure you drink plenty of water on the plane - I may consider having dioralyte solution after my next trip ), the toddler had loose stools ( which is a common occurrence and hence we made our mandatory trip to the GP who did the usual examination, gave us a stool collection pot and I am sure it will come back to be negative)
As mentioned above, take enough days off as annual leave AFTER you come back ( I took 2 days off) - It is just like a very busy night shift.
I hope this blog helps. I will add other important things which I can think of later. Also comment below with your advice and tips.
I am going to share my experience and some tips in this blog.
MY TIMINGS
DEPARTURE
1. Slept at 2000 and woke up at 0400 on Thursday.
2. Left the house at 0600
3. Took the 0630 train to York - transferred to another train to get to Manchester airport at 1035.
4. Checked in at around 1100
5. The plane took off at 1400
6. Landed in Doha at 0010
7. Took the plane from Doha at 0205.
8. Reached Lahore at 0735 PK time
9. Got out of the airport at around 0900 PK time on Friday.
ARRIVAL
1. Left for the airport from our house at 2300 on Sunday night
2. Arrived at the airport at around 0000
3. Checked in at 0030.
4. Our flight took off for Doha at 0410
5. Arrived at Doha 0615
6. Took off for Manchester at 0800.
7. Arrived in Manchester at 1225 PM on Monday.
8. Cleared immigration and got our luggage by 1330.
9. Took the 1445 train to York
10. Missed the 1647 train from York to Scarborough and then took the 1746 train to arrive in Scarborough at 1845.
11. Got home at 1900 on Monday.
ANNUAL LEAVE.
I am allowed 27 days a year as annual leave, excluding bank holidays and weekends. As I knew the dates of the wedding ceremony beforehand, I booked my annual leaves before I actually started in the trust as a ST3 trainee registrar and requested my leaves as soon as I received my rota. Unfortunately I was on nights during this time and the rota team very kindly swapped me out to do vacant nights which were unfilled on the rota by sitting with me and deciding what options I had.
My tips:
1. Talk to the rota team ASAP when you get your rota.
2. Sit with the rota team rather than just emailing them. A face to face conversation is always better. However email them later just to ensure that both of you are on the same page plus this keeps a trail of your conversation and hence no one can change your rota at the last minute.
3. Ensure you have at least 2 days off the day after you have traveled back to the UK ( treat a trip night like a very busy night shift and give yourself a break).
BOOKING THE FLIGHT.
We did a lot of research on the best flights for babies and toddlers which go to my home country and it came out to be Qatar Air.
Tips:
1. Book your tickets in advance ( as soon as you get your annual leave ) as they will be cheap. Also check for any promotions ( you can get up to 10 to 20% off on tickets).
2. Some airlines have flights which fly twice a day. Book the flight which allows you to have a full nights rest before you leave and a full nights rest when you fly back. For example, in my case, the flight was at 1400 ( hence we slept the night before travelling) and it landed at 1400 ( and we slept the night of landing- we also had enough time to buy urgent groceries from the local grocery store which usually closes at 2300)
3. Ensure that you have a rewards loyalty card for that airline which is free( you can also make it online after purchasing the tickets). Once you have accumulated a certain number of points, you can upgrade for free to business class/ get tickets for free.
4. Call the airline and confirm if you have a bassinet seat ( even if it is not available to book on the website, you can call and confirm this with the airline). In our case, they suggested that they have booked my wife's seat as a bassinet seat and if we go early, they will book my seat as a bassinet seat as well ( in which case we were at the airport 4 hours in advance).
5. Even if your toddler does not fit in the bassinet ( as was our case), it has a lot of legroom and hence your toddler can roam about in that area. Plus the other passengers sleep in peace because this is usually where the "young and rowdy" crowd in the plane is.
PRE-PLANNING
This takes ages so be well prepared. I was on call and then working on the ward, attending a mandatory training day the week I was about to fly and hence my wife and I started packing earlier.
We made a tick off list ( We use this app on our phones - https://evernote.com/ ) and kept ticking off whatever we had packed.
We made sure that we had enough food for the train trip and till we boarded.
My tips:
Make sure you have cooked and frozen some food in the freezer ( or just order some take-away) to have when you come back.
Empty all of your bins - the last thing you want to have is a smelly house.
Do the laundry a night before so that you do not have any previous clothes to wash.
PACKING
We had one large suitcase, one small hand carry suitcase in which had the toddlers food, milk, clothes exchanges, diapers, etc , a travel stroller ( https://www.mothercare.com/strollers/mothercare-jive-stroller--hearts/LRA087.html?cgid=summer_strollers&dwvar_LRA087_color=hearts#start=6 ) , a backpack ( which had my important documents, an exchange of clothes for us adults) and my wife's purse.
We checked in the large suitcase and gave the stroller to the aircraft staff before boarding.
HOW TO GET TO THE AIRPORT.
I live in Scarborough, which is a 2.5 hour drive from Manchester. Although I could have driven to Manchester airport, it would have been impossible to drive back after a long flight. Staying at a hotel for the night near Manchester airport would have just made things worse as my toddler would be exposed to another new environment just making the trip longer. Hence we decided to take the train.
My tips:
1. Book tickets in advance
2. Book your seats as well - you can see the carriage map and select the seats close to the luggage rack.
3. Do not worry if you do not get seats near the luggage rack. I left my suitcases on it and sat a few seats away from it ( and kept the important documents in my backpack with me ).
4. Keep an eye on the platforms you need to take the other train from if there is a changeover as you may not have a lot of time.
5. If possible, book a train directly.
6. Everyone is very friendly and will help you to put and take out luggage from the train onto the platform - even if it is very busy.
AT THE AIRPORT:
CHECK IN
1. Arrive as early as possible. Get the toddlers MOT done first ( like a cars MOT - this includes filling the baby with fuel ( food/ milk), getting the oil filter ( diaper) changed ). There are 2 baby changing areas before the check in counters at Terminal 2, Manchester airport.
2. Stand in the queue for the aircraft beforehand - this way you will be checked in earlier and you will get your seats of choice.
3. Ask if they could upgrade you to business class regardless of how many points you have ( if they have empty seats, they may consider this).
4. Pack your warm clothes in your suitcase before checking in ( the temperature in Manchester was 10 degrees that day and it was 30 degrees in Lahore). This will save a lot of space in your hand carry.
SECURITY:
Be prepared to show the security staff everything. They wanted us to take the bottles containing liquids out of the baby bag. They were very quick and we were through in 10 minutes. Read this as well:https://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/help/passenger-guides/security/
FOOD:
We were unable to find any full fat milk at the airport for our toddler however luckily we had brought enough for the journey and the bottles were in insulated bottle holders.
There are plenty of restaurants at the airport so make sure you eat as you will get food in the plane an hour later after you have taken off.
THE JOURNEY:
The Qatar airways A350 is an amazing plane - the seats have a lot of legroom and the staff really take care of you- especially with a baby.
Given that we had infant seat, our toddler sat in my lap and they gave us an extra buckle to strap her in.
Once the flight took off, we brought the small suitcase containing her various things on the floor and it was very easy to get things out.
For diaper changes, we took whatever we needed in our hands (Changing mat, diaper, cotton wool, tissues, sudocrem, plastic bag to dispose all of this) to the toilets and one of us changed her diaper whilst the other person stood in the doorway giving things/assisting.
She slept through most of the trip ( as she woke up at 0500 and usually sleeps till 0900 AM).
The flight had full fat milk and hence we refilled the baby bottles.
THE STOPOVER.
Our stop over was at Doha airport and we had around 1.5 hours to get to the next check in counter.
The security counter at Doha airport was very efficient and we were given priority as we were with a toddler. This took us around 10 minutes.
We then did the toddlers full MOT and managed to get to the next check in counter on time.
These are the facilities at Doha Airport for kids and infants- we really liked the strollers they give their passengers ( our stroller was in the booked luggage even though we handed it to the staff before boarding the plane) :
https://dohahamadairport.com/airport-guide/facilities-services/children-infants
THE NEXT PLANE:
If you have been on a middle eastern plane, you may have realized that this is the worst flight - regardless of which airline company you choose. The planes are old, you are very tired and the crowd is not the best.
We all just slept through it.
LANDING AT LAHORE :
They now have a functional counter for NICOP holders/overseas Pakistanis and for once, there was someone there. He quickly stamped our passports, took a picture and we passed through this within 10 minutes.
We got our checked in baggage ( including the stroller) within a few minutes and we were out of the airport at 0900 AM.
OUR TIMETABLE IN LAHORE:
We were here to attend a wedding. It was on all 3 days ( Friday, Saturday and Sunday)
We planned to sleep on Friday - however the toddler did not like the change of environment however we managed to get 4 hours of sleep.
MY EXPERIENCE OF LAHORE:
The traffic in Lahore has definitely got worse ( I visited after 4 years)- Everyone has a car with at least a 1.6 liter engine and they drive like crazy. There are loads of flyovers and underpasses and hence the traffic jams are less. You do not see a lot of VIP movement either.
The city seems to be more secure- there are a lot of police bikes and cars patrolling the roads and the policemen are actually looking out for any crimes (unfortunately crossing a red light does not count as a crime but at least you do not have to worry that someone will snatch your phone at gunpoint ) .
There are loads of malls and cinemas now.
And the best part - the food is amazing!
However I did notice that there was a huge social class divide which has not improved. The government healthcare systems remain horrible and the private hospitals are booming.
Also, I forgot that baby changing areas are virtually non existent there but that was not an issue.
My tips
I would strongly advise that you SHOULD NOT drive there and when someone else is driving, play on your phone or read a book. DO NOT look on the road. It is scary!
Do the laundry before you leave - this way you will just have the clothes you wore on the trip to wash. Plus take advantage of the warm sun in your home country to wash and dry your clothes within an hour!
MANAGING THE BABY:
There are plenty of family members around to help so that gives the parents a reasonable break.
We bought Prema Milk which worked fine and she had the usual food she had in the UK ( Lentils and rice are her favorite !)
There are no baby changing facilities anywhere ( I may be wrong as I had limited time- 2 days to be precise).
MY TRIP BACK:
If you have been to Lahore airport, you will realize how crazy it is. The traffic is horrible and the queues for checking in are quite long as all flights to the Middle East leave at the same time. So ensure you go to the airport 4 hours in advance.
My tips:
1. Ensure that you check into the CIP lounge - it costs a bit but it is worth it. You get to sit on comfortable sofas.
2. Avoid the toilets to change nappies unless you really need to. The ones on the plane are way cleaner.
3. Pack your jackets in your checked in luggage if it is warm in your home country ( Manchester airport is centrally heated all the way to the baggage collection point)
MANCHESTER AIRPORT :
The immigration officer took a minute or 2 to go through our passports, ask us why we were crazy enough to do a 72 hour trip with a 24 hour door to door travelling time and then stamped our passports.
We collected our luggage, thanked our lucky stars that we were back in a country which had clean baby changing facilities, cursed the cold weather and took our jackets out.
Tips:
1. Always change your baby's diaper before leaving the airport. There are toilets in the baggage collection section as well as near the train station.
2. You can get full fat milk from various grocery stores in the waiting area section of the terminal.
3. There are a few cafes which can warm your bottles by putting them in boiling water.
THE TRAIN TRIP BACK
The train journey was very tiring - so tiring that we got confused and missed the train from York to Scarborough - luckily they had another train leaving in an hour.
UPON GETTING HOME
It was freezing cold as usual and I put the thermostat at full heating ( Next time, I will set a timer ) , gave the baby a bath, showered and managed to get into bed at 2100.
POST TRIP
We all felt a bit groggy, viral-infection like ( make sure you drink plenty of water on the plane - I may consider having dioralyte solution after my next trip ), the toddler had loose stools ( which is a common occurrence and hence we made our mandatory trip to the GP who did the usual examination, gave us a stool collection pot and I am sure it will come back to be negative)
As mentioned above, take enough days off as annual leave AFTER you come back ( I took 2 days off) - It is just like a very busy night shift.
I hope this blog helps. I will add other important things which I can think of later. Also comment below with your advice and tips.
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