Day 2 : Singapore to Johor Bahru, Sunday 9th June 2024
Partly cloudy / hazy, 31°
NZ$1 = S$0.8 S$1=NZ$1.20 ( Singapore Dollar )
NZ$1 = MYR3. MYR1=NZ$0.33 ( Malaysian Ringgit )
Not the finest effort in travelling today.
Up at 7:30, downstairs for breakfast at 8am ( full buffet with western , india and Asian options ). Walked out to the river after breakfast as we had seen some otters playing / fishing in the river earlier but they had gone, and only a Water Monitor was out cleaning up the scraps from the otters.
Back to the room to pack then checked out ( paid for the room: NZ$339 ) at 9:30am, and then walked to Havelock MRT station, and caught train to Woodlands MRT.
As at 2024 you cannot catch a train from a Singapore Station to Malaysia; the process requires a MRT to Woodlands, then a bus to the Woodlands Checkpoint ( a train station with border control, inside Singapore ), and then a shuttle train ( a Malaysia train ) to Johor Bahru ( JB Sentral ). Travel onwards from there ( to Kuala Lumpur and beyond ) is on the Malaysia rail system. It is possible to do Singapore to KL in 1 day, but the timing of the trains / connections would mean a very early start in Singapore, and arriving in KL at 8 or 9 at night ( not helped by the fact that the ‘train’ from JB to KL is actually 2 trains with a stop and wait at Gemas to change ). We chose to break the journey at JB for a night and make the journey to KL a bit easier.
Starting in 2025/2026 there will be a new crossing between JB and Singapore at Woodlands and a single high speed train from Singapore to KL.
Up to bus interchange from MRT at 10:30am, and caught the 911 bus to ( we thought ) Woodlands Train Checkpoint where we would get our shuttle train to Malaysia. Unfortunately we caught the bus going the wrong way, so had to wait for it to loop back through the bus interchange, about 20 minutes later ) and then head in the right direction; just as well we had allowed plenty of time for our 1:45pm train to Johor Bahru.
Once at Woodlands Checkpoint we realised there were no facilities like seats or a café so decided to go back a little way on the bus to a shopping area / foodcourt in a residential area. Arrived about 12pm, and tried to buy some lunch, but then found that they didn’t take visa ( only local bank transactions ( comment from the future; a lot of countries seem to use a QR code based system of direct bank transfers for paymemnts)) and we had no cash. So we ate some yoghurts from breakfast, then back to the bus stop and back to Woodlands Checkpoint at 12:45pm.
We joined the queue for the train ( we had prebooked our tickets through KTMB ( Malaysian Rail ), as we had heard that they sell out on the day ( they had ), MYR6 each ). It is surprising given the demand for tickets and the short distance involved that they don’t run more trains but…. At 1:05pm the gates opened, and we first went through a passport / SAGC ( entry pass ) check , then walked 500m to the Singapore Immigration to leave Singapore ( passport check ) then another 200m walk to Malaysian Immigration ( we had filled in the entry card online but didn’t know when we were leaving Malaysia which caused some questions, but all sorted ), then onto the shuttle train at 1:25pm. Relatively easy process.
We think this is country 45 for us as we haven’t been to Malaysia before.
The train left on time and trundled the 5min/1.5km across the causeway and into JB Sentral Station. Up the escalators then across the road on a walkway, then through a shopping mall to Jalan Wong Ah Fook, then walked to Fives Hotel City Centre to check in at 2:10pm. They couldn’t find our booking ( we had booked and paid online ) and then we realised we had somehow booked for 3 June instead 9 June ( still no idea how; we are normally very careful about checking dates. We don’t remember ever doing this before ). So our booking was gone ( luckily only $80 wasted ) and we had to book and pay for a new room ( MYR320/NZ$106 ), and then up to room 621. Nice but small room, with a view over the construction works that are everywhere to create the new rail link to Singapore.
Out again and back across to the Komtar / JB City Square malls across the road. Walked around Komtar for a bit then found a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf café, and had a coffee and cake at 3pm. Spent the next couple of hours walking around the malls, Liz bought a Quecha backpack from Decathalon ( MYR25/NZ$8 ) and glasses cleaning cloths. Back to the hotel at 5pm and relaxed.
Out again at 6:30pm to walk to a nearby church for some photos then back to the hotel to drop of gear, and then back to JB City Square for tea at the food court ( “Share Dine Smile”, 2 chicken dishes and 2 drinks MYR57/$19 ). Very nice. We then walked to an ATM to get cash ( MYR300/$100) then back to hotel at 8:30pm to relax.
This walk reminded us that we are back in SE Asia; noisy, bit smelly in places ( food smells, grey water and sometimes sewerage smell ) and the place where footpaths are optional and make great places to park cars and motorbikes. We find it is often easier and safer to walk on the road than try to use the footpaths. Also the traffic crossings work on the basis that you go when you see a gap , even if there are crossing lights, and try not to be a target; vehicles will generally not try to hit you as long a you keep moving. Feels a bit like Frogger sometimes. If in doubt follow the locals.
This part of Johor Bahru feels like a real frontier town; it is full of people visiting for shopping from Singapore ( and the hangers on that a town full of visitors seems to attract ) and is in the midst of a massive construction project with rail lines and roads being constructed. It was good to stop here for 1 night, and it made the next days travel easier.