The bee hive and trip to Hong KongThe cantus has just finished and it's just been twelve 'o clock. Despite this Joris and I thought it was a good idea to check the neighbourhood. Maarten gave us a tip for a club close by the hotel called the "Honey Hive", according to him a lot of beautiful ladies entered the club when he passed by. This was enough reason for us to check it out. After we entered it didn't took long before we were beckoned by some locals and provided with free drinks. This was a fully Chinese club, which meant that westerlings were a rare sight. It didn't take long until I was pulled on the podium by the singer. After the podium was cleared Bart and Ingo showed up. After a while a local girl utilised Bart as a dancing pole. This club also had a automatic paper towel dispensing machine (a.k.a. a chinese guy handing a paper towel). In the morning the daily routine of obtaining dumplings or noodles from the streetcorner started. After that it was time to say goodbye to Shenzhen and stuffing ourselves in a small van. After that our charming hotelreceptionist Vicky came to say goodbye to us and of course making a photo. Around nine 'o clock we travelled to the ferry terminal. After 45 minutes we reached the terminal. The tickets were not booked in advance, so we tried our luck and tried to obtain tickets. Luckily this was no problem. Now it was time to go through customs and security. This is the point at which we officially left China mainland. After an Hour on the bout we arrived in Hong Kong, and once again we had to fill in the departure cards. After a short subway ride we arrived in Kowloon, the first thing which we noticed was the busyness of the street. The entrence of the hostel was hard to find, but was hidden between an electronics store and a restaurant. The lobby was on the 14th floor. After we checked in we got to see our rooms, which were quite small. This means that some people had to sleep in one and a half person beds with two persons. So some extra rooms were booked to lighten the load. after checking in it was time to lunch and we searched for a local restaurant. In the afternoon a tour around Hong Kong was planned. We were collected in a nice bus (this time with more than enough room). The first stop was vitoria peak where you have a beautiful view of Hong Kong. Once we arrived we had half an hour to walk around. After that we went to the beach and somekind of temple. After walking around for some time and enjoying the nice views this bay had to offer, we returned to the bus and left for the next point of the tour. The final destination was the boulevard in victoria harbor on which we could enjoy the spectacular views of the hong kong skyline. During diner we were accompanied by Hugo's friend. It was quite standard chinese food. Eventually it was of course time for a bet. Or with other words a reward for the person who could eat a jellycube with his chopsticks. Of course the Chinese persons on table had to try first. After they failed, some SPOCK members decided to give it a try. Maarten was the lucky winner, since he came closest to picking up the cube. THe normal way to eat these things is to stick the chopstick in the cube and then eat it. Finally some people went to a bar. The rest decided it was time to have some rest. Robert Grootjans About studyproject Lián XìA group of 24 electrical engineering students at the University of Twente organized a three week study tour to China. During this tour the students visited companies, universities and other organizations in China. By means of this study tour the participants will gained insight in China's numerous technological advances and into its illusive culture. China was chosen as the destination for this study tour as it has the fastest growing economy in the world. With the investments in research, development and more important, higher education it is likely that China will be a one of the most important countries in the future of technology. It was interesting to see how the country is developing in such a high pace into a innovative high tech region. ThemeThe theme of the study tour is 'Connecting Technology', which emphasizes the social and technical sides of the study tour. This theme also refers to the connections between people all over the world, obtained by new technologies, like the internet and mobile phones.The rapid development of these technologies over the last few decades tickles the imagination on what would be possible in the decades to come. It is a good thing for students to get insight in other cultures and get a feeling of the methods used in foreign companies. Therefore the students will be more innovative and creative in this globalizing world. For the world in the general and China in particular, in order to keep the development in technology at the level that it is, there is a need for creativity and innovation. This study tour enables the students to connect the two continents together in terms of technology and social and economics issues.
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