The Travelers
Josefine Rein (15), her sister Elisabeth (13), and their parents Ursula and Ralf. Josefine and Elisabeth are both students at the German Embassy School.

The Plan
During Easter break, the Reins traveled to Tibet and Nepal for two weeks. They landed at Xining Airport in Tibet and took the train to Lhasa, where they stayed a few days. They then hired a driver and took a six-day road trip by Jeep to the Tibet-Nepal border. They crossed wonderful mountain passes, blue lakes, and interesting temples and monasteries that taught them about Tibetan history and culture. After walking around the Mount Everest base camp, they crossed the border and continued to Kathmandu. After a few days of sightseeing around the capital and visiting Chitwan National Park, the family flew back to Beijing via Chengdu with China Air.

The Cost
The Reins combined three one-week trips into one big trip through TUI China (www.tui.cn), which cost around RMB 20,000 per person. The price includes flights, trains, entrance tickets, accommodations, a driver, a tour guide, visas, and most meals.

The Best Part
One of the best parts of the trip was when the family finally arrived at the Mount Everest base camp after a long car journey and an exhausting hiking trip. The Reins sat down, breathless from the high altitude, and simply enjoyed the view. They saw yaks, many prayer flags, a few tents, and a huge mountain with a white peak – Mount Everest.

The Worst Part
The worst part of the journey was the altitude sickness (which caused many headaches), as well as the cold nights – especially since not every hotel had a radiator. One night, everyone was freezing although they wore three pairs of pants and thick gloves. However, all was forgotten when the Reins saw the breathtaking views at the Mount Everest base camp.

Unexpected Moments
The most unexpected moment was when the Reins entered the library of the Sakya Monastery in Tibet. It was dimly-lit with only a few lights set along a cavernous hall. Right in front of them were huge 100m shelves that reached all the way to the ceiling, stocked full of old books. Before this, Josefine and Elisabeth would never have thought that they’d be so impressed by a library.

Family-Friendly Factors
The trip gave the Reins the opportunity to spend more time together – a valuable thing, especially when older children are involved. Because there was no TV or Internet access in most of the hotels, they simply sat together in the evenings to talk and drink tea.

Travel Tips
• Although the trip was exhausting, it was completely worth it because of the wonderful landscapes. However, it’s best for families with older kids because they won’t have trouble keeping up.
• Tibet is perfect for those looking to escape Beijing city life; it has clean air, unspoiled nature, and the bluest lakes you’ve ever seen.
• Pack a mix of warm and light clothes if you’re traveling to both destinations; the wind in Tibet can be very cold, while the climate in Nepal is very warm.
• Summer is the best time to visit Tibet, because it’s not as cold. Keep in mind that it’s not easy to get a visa right after the Tibetan New Year (usually in February or March).

This article is excerpted from beijingkids Jun/Jul 2012 issue. View it in PDF form here or contact distribution@beijing-kids.com to find out where you can pick up your free copy.

Did you know that you can “paint” with light in the air?

After watching a few tutorial videos, my friends and I decided to try it out light painting.

It’s quite simple to do. First, you need a camera, a tripod and different-colored light like glow sticks. You can also use LED-lights or flashlights and attach colored transparent papers on them. If you don’t have a tripod, you just have to find something to put the camera on.

At night, stake out a good location. Pictures are best when it’s a dark night, but it might be good if there is a little bit of light so you can capture some of the background.

Secure your camera on the tripod and set the exposure time, which needs to be about 15 to 30 seconds, or even longer. When “painting” with your light source, try different movements, colors or different objects. Be creative! You can write words (known as light graffiti), paint, or create interesting patterns.

When nightfall comes, grab your kids, your camera and just have fun with this photo activity! To get more inspirations and ideas, click here.

beijingkids intern Josefine Rein (15) is a Grade 9 student at the German Embassy School. She’s from Braunschweig (Germany) and has been living in Beijing for two years. She plays basketball and football, and likes hanging around with her friends

Photo courtesy of StandUPP of flickr

Photos by Josefine Rein.

If you’ve never played laser tag before, it’s a game in which two teams wearing vests with different-colored sensors try to score points by “shooting” their opponents with laser guns. Every time someone gets hit, the equipment flashes, vibrates, and deactivates for a few seconds.

When my friends and I first entered StarTrooper, we were excited to see the themed arena made up of two large rooms with different objects to hide behind. There are effects like fog and green lighting that make the game even more challenging. We were around 12, but you can easily bring more people since the place was huge. Besides, the more, the merrier (4-24 players allowed simultaneously). One piece of advice: Don’t wear white clothes. I did, and everyone saw me too well in the half-dark.

StarTrooper offers different kinds of set-ups for their laser games. You can decide how you want to play: in teams, in a free-for-all, more complicated games for experienced players, or simple games for kids.

We decided to play two different kinds of team games. The first one was the basic game with unlimited shooting and hits. The second one was more complicated; after getting hit five times, we had to run to our team’s “reload light,” hold our gun under the light, then the gun’s display reloaded our “lives” automatically. I was quite amazed by how well the equipment worked.

Before the game, players get a quick briefing about the equipment. After each 15-minute bout, everyone gets a sheet with the number of hits that they scored and how many times they got hit. Afterwards, we rested in the waiting room and enjoyed free drinks while comparing our results. One friend, who was always running around in the enemy zone during the game, scored zero hits – out of over 1,000 shots.

A 15-minute game costs RMB 40 per person. You can reserve a birthday celebration for RMB 1680 per hour. StarTroopers’ opening hours are from Tuesday to Sunday 9am-8pm, but Tuesdays and Fridays are by appointment only.

It was my first time playing laser tag, and I really enjoyed it. It’s an activity that everyone should try at least once with a friend. Even though it was expensive, I really want to do it again.

Address
Wang Jing West Garden, Bldg 316, Wangjing, Chaoyang District

Contact
Call 6475 8329 or email info@startrooper.net to make a reservation. To find out more, check out the StarTrooper website.

beijingkids intern Josefine Rein (15) is a Grade 9 student at the German Embassy School. She’s from Braunschweig (Germany) and has been living in Beijing for two years. She plays basketball and football, and likes hanging around with her friends.

Photo by shawnzrossi via Flickr

Once a week, my friend and I go to kickboxing classes at Black Tiger Fight Club in Liangma Qiao. We like the no-frills nature of this location; the “changing room” is just a curtained-off area and you don’t have to buy expensive gloves – you can just borrow them at the club.

When we had our first class, I really liked that it wasn’t a big deal that we were beginners and the other students were advanced. The teacher was very friendly and considerate; he gave us other exercises to do and explained the important things to us.

What’s a typical lesson? First, we warm up with jump rope and stretching. We’re usually pretty tired by the time that’s over, but then the real training begins. We split off into pairs and concentrate on a specific kick or punch; depending on our level, the trainer gives each group different tips and exercises. (To be honest, most of the time he ends up helping my friend and I.) Then, we practice what we learn on the punching bag and finish off with sit-ups, push-ups, and other exercises. In the end, everyone is totally exhausted – in a good way.

Black Tiger has a range of different classes, like kids’ classes, women’s classes, MMA (mixed martial arts) classes, and fitness classes. One gym is located at Riviera Plaza and the other one on Xiaoyun Lu. The first lesson is free, if you want to try kickboxing without making a commitment.

You can pay for three months (RMB 2,800) or six months (RMB 4,500) at a time, but since my friend and I just go once a week, we bought the punch card for RMB 1,200. It gives us access to 10 classes whenever we want, so it’s very practical because we haven’t got much time and just want to go to a class in the evening.

When we started doing kickboxing, my friend and I were in the women’s class, which focused more on the abdominal muscles. But then Black Tiger changed its class schedules, so now we’re in the men’s class, which involves more arm muscle exercises like push-ups.

I think kickboxing is always very fun and it’s perfect for keeping your body fit. I remember the first time we went, it was very hard for me to finish all the sit-ups and push-ups; now, it’s still exhausting – but I can make it.

For more information, call 136 1071 2576 or email info@blacktigerclub.com.

beijingkids intern Josefine Rein (15) is a Grade 9 student at the German Embassy School. She’s from Braunschweig (Germany) and has been living in Beijing for two years. She plays basketball and football, and likes hanging around with friends.

Photo by Claudio Gennari via Flickr

This Children’s Day (June 1), Xiang Junior is celebrating its first anniversary at Shangri-La Hotel Beijing from 2-4pm. Xiang Junior is a kids’ club that offers different activities for children, kid-friendly foods, a playground, and a range of programs.

Children from the ages of 3 to 12 are invited to join this event for free, where they can share a huge birthday cake with playmates, sing songs together with the mascot Baby Bear Tong Tong and paint their interpretation of childhood fun on a 25m scroll.

Kids are welcome to send in their pictures on the theme of “Childhood fun” until Monday, May 14. After judges have selected the best pictures, the winning entries will be exhibited at Shangri-La Hotel Beijing and an award ceremony will take place on June 1. The winners will get prizes such as family coupons for S.T.A.Y. and Café Cha.

At this event, Xiang Junior members can take part in activities like a sushi-making class, DIY t-shirts, pumpkin lamps, and more. These activities are designed to give children the opportunity to show their dexterity and imagination.

For more information on Xiang Junior activities, call Shangri-La Hotel Beijing at (8610) 6841 2211 or send an email to esteemclub.slb@shangri-la.com.

Photo courtesy of Shangri-La Hotel, Beijing