A trip to JB
by nigel on 21-Jan-2010
JB is Johor Bahru, Malaysia, and is situated at one end of the causeway, the original road and rail link between Singapore and Malaysia.
It is a very busy border crossing as, apparently, many Singaporeans go there for cheap petrol (although there would appear to be S$500 dollar fine if you leave Singapore with your tank less than half full), shopping and the sheer thrill of being somewhere not so safe.
Additionally, a number of people live in JB and cross into Singapore each day to work and there is a steady flow of trucks as well.
We caught a bus to Boon Lay, the MRT to Jurong East, and then, after a long wait, the 160 bus sauntered along, eventually arriving at Singpore Customs & Immigration. When you swipe your EzLink card as you get off the bus the reader says "Journey Suspended", but you are quickly through the formalities and another 160 bus appears and it is "Journey Resumed".
Across the causeway and then into the twisty road system that takes you to the Malaysian Customs & Immigration. Once again off the bus, through the system and back on the bus. After another twisty ride we get off the Singaporean bus outside the City Square shopping mall. It is about 3 hours since we started off.
After coffee and a bit of book buying we check into the Puteri Pacific Hotel and discover we have been upgraded. This is a very nice hotel.
After lunch we head to the Royal Abu Bakar Museum, which is well worth the visit, and once that closes, we sit in the gardens for a while.
Next day, and we wander round the town centre a while, admiring the assorted temples, the old shop houses and the municipal buildings, have lunch and then back to the City Square mall for some more shopping and relief from the heat.
Having been given to understand that the crossing into Singapore on a Sunday evening is very busy, we have opted to come back Monday morning. Through Malaysian immigration and off to find a bus. We walk past a queue of people, find the stairs (with queue) to descend and then down to the far end of the platform (more people queueing) to discover that the hundreds of people queueing are waiting for the same buses we want. But eventually we're on the bus, slowly across the causeway, off the bus and up to Singapore immigration. I completely fail to spot the immigration cards and am sent back to fill one in. Then there is the delay as Singapore X-rays your baggage and metal-detects you, so I have to rearrange everything. Back on the bus, change to the MRT at the first opportunity, and home. Surprisingly despite the causeway being busier, we have got back in about 2 hours.
So we have done JB and survived, and although we do not feel we need to visit again soon, and despite the rigours of getting there, it was actually a much pleasanter place than we expected, and quite photogenic.
It is a very busy border crossing as, apparently, many Singaporeans go there for cheap petrol (although there would appear to be S$500 dollar fine if you leave Singapore with your tank less than half full), shopping and the sheer thrill of being somewhere not so safe.
Additionally, a number of people live in JB and cross into Singapore each day to work and there is a steady flow of trucks as well.
We caught a bus to Boon Lay, the MRT to Jurong East, and then, after a long wait, the 160 bus sauntered along, eventually arriving at Singpore Customs & Immigration. When you swipe your EzLink card as you get off the bus the reader says "Journey Suspended", but you are quickly through the formalities and another 160 bus appears and it is "Journey Resumed".
Across the causeway and then into the twisty road system that takes you to the Malaysian Customs & Immigration. Once again off the bus, through the system and back on the bus. After another twisty ride we get off the Singaporean bus outside the City Square shopping mall. It is about 3 hours since we started off.
After coffee and a bit of book buying we check into the Puteri Pacific Hotel and discover we have been upgraded. This is a very nice hotel.
After lunch we head to the Royal Abu Bakar Museum, which is well worth the visit, and once that closes, we sit in the gardens for a while.
Next day, and we wander round the town centre a while, admiring the assorted temples, the old shop houses and the municipal buildings, have lunch and then back to the City Square mall for some more shopping and relief from the heat.
Having been given to understand that the crossing into Singapore on a Sunday evening is very busy, we have opted to come back Monday morning. Through Malaysian immigration and off to find a bus. We walk past a queue of people, find the stairs (with queue) to descend and then down to the far end of the platform (more people queueing) to discover that the hundreds of people queueing are waiting for the same buses we want. But eventually we're on the bus, slowly across the causeway, off the bus and up to Singapore immigration. I completely fail to spot the immigration cards and am sent back to fill one in. Then there is the delay as Singapore X-rays your baggage and metal-detects you, so I have to rearrange everything. Back on the bus, change to the MRT at the first opportunity, and home. Surprisingly despite the causeway being busier, we have got back in about 2 hours.
So we have done JB and survived, and although we do not feel we need to visit again soon, and despite the rigours of getting there, it was actually a much pleasanter place than we expected, and quite photogenic.