By Rough Guy’d
Thursday, 28th of May and I was to learn a little more about the differences between Singapore and home. I went with my cousin today to buy some classic board games. Though these games are normal for many of the people here, I had barely even heard of them back home, so I took a keen interest in learning more about the games and then having a go at trying them out.
The first of these games was known as Chinese Chess. Though many of us in the western world are familiar with the game of chess, Chinese chess is played just as vigorously here. The game is similar enough to normal chess for a beginner to pick up and learn but there are various differences that make it an interesting alternative and is something that I hope to learn in greater detail at a later stage. The biggest difference that I noticed is the use of the cannon, a piece that captures by leapfrogging over another piece and capturing the second piece in the path. The piece that was jumped is not removed and as such can be either a friendly piece or an enemy piece.
The second game is known as Go and though we didn’t have enough time to play (the game apparently takes hours and is a lot deeper than at first glance), it is similar to Othello but on a much larger scale. As well, when you place pieces you don’t have to flip pieces with every move, making the strategy more about setting up your pieces. The other major difference is that not every spot on the board need be filled and that most games are already decided before the board is close to full.
By Sunday, I had decided to visit Johor Bahru (commonly referred to as JB) in Malaysia. Though my visa for staying in Singapore was not due to expire for quite some time, I had to stay in Singapore for a while longer to avoid running out of time when in Malaysia. Also it was a chance to join my cousin and his friends for another long-time Singapore tradition. The trip to JB is one that many Singaporeans take. It is conveniently close to Singapore, has a very good bus system servicing it and is another shopping option. As I quickly learned about Singaporeans, most of their leisure activities seem to revolve around eating and shopping (each stop on their MTR is supported by an impressive shopping mall nearby and there are additional shopping malls everywhere else catering to all sorts of budgets).
Unfortunately, as with almost anytime with a largish group, there were delays as one of our number forgot their passport and by the time we crossed the border, there was only enough time to muck around a bit, do a bit of light shopping and then head back, though the bus service proved more than adequate to do the job and meant the cost of crossing the border was the same as crossing to the other side of the island.
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