Cuti-cuti Malaysia: Johor Bahru, Johor



KM 0 marks the spot! We are officially in JB!

We had a fun 2-days, 1-night trip to Johor Bahru, affectionately known by locals as JB, during the Christmas holiday in 2010. Lots of sight-seeing done, especially at the Johor Zoo. And not to mention staying in a unique boutique hotel! :) All this for a total all-in cost of RM375.45 for two persons, inclusive of transportation from Shah Alam, accomodation, food, and souveniers! Find it hard to believe? Follow me on our journey through JB! :)

Day 1

We began our journey from Shah Alam, via North-South Highway. Transportation cost for toll and NGV are RM55.30.

Upon reaching JB, we started our journey with a walk around the shopping district. The largest shopping centre in JB city centre area is no other than JB City Square. Located between Jalan Wong Ah Fook and Jalan Tun Abdul Razak, it is a stone's throw from the Johor Bahru KTM train station. The office tower of City Square also makes it the tallest building in JB. It also houses a 5 screens Cathay Cineplex. But what draws our attention the most is a section of the shopping complex called the Inner City. It contains a unique mix of small shops selling clothings, souveniers, food, and others, with a touch of rustic feel to the architectural design of this section.



JB City Square

We had our lunch here for RM24.65 and managed to shop for a couple of souveniers as well for RM25.90.

Zoom Inn Boutique Hotel

We then checked-in to our hotel, Zoom Inn Boutique Hotel which is located at Danga Bay. A night at the hotel is at RM78.

This hotel is simple yet unique in a way that each room has its own special quotes written on the wall. The room comes with a large LCD tv. Another interesting 'feature' of this hotel is its bathroom's sliding door that is shared with the toilet. When the door is slide to close the bathroom, the toilet opens, and vice versa. Therefore, at any one time, only one of the bathroom or toilet can be used. And the door can't be locked. Aha! :o



Toilet Opens!

Bathroom Opens!

After taking a look at our hotel, we continued our journey around Danga Bay. There is a fun fair located here, which comes to life at night. There is also a marina here with some number of yatchs docking, as well as some restaurants. There is also an abandon site here that once houses The Royal London Circus.

Danga Bay Marina

We then headed back to the city centre and take a stroll to some landmark locations around JB. Among the locations visited includes the Sultan Ibrahim Building, which is the former state secretariat building of Johor, and the Royal Abu Bakar museum.

Royal Abu Bakar Museum



Sultan Ibrahim Building


 

Our next destination is the Night Bazaar along Jalan Segget. The difference between this night market with other night markets that are normally found in Klang Valley is that the stalls only start opening at 8pm until the wee hours of the night. Didn't managed to see much while we were there as it was drizzling.

We had our dinner at one of the stalls along Jalan Meldrum. There are quite a number of stalls located along this back lane selling all sorts of delicious food at a decent price. From claypot chicken rice, bak kut teh, and kuihs to white wine chicken, indian food, and sugar cane drinks, the variety of choices are simply mouth watering. Overall, we spent RM14.90 for dinner.

Day 2

After checking out, we had our breakfast at a Chinese coffee shop located along Jalan Tan Hiok Nee that is famous for its Nasi Padang during lunch hour. This outlet is a corner shop that is opposite Hiap Joo Bakery (an outlet famed for its charcoal-baked bread). The nasi lemak with fried fish here costs only RM1.50. Total spent for breakfast - RM19.80.

Nasi Lemak with Fish

After breakfast, we headed to the Johor Zoo. Entrance ticket is at RM3 per person, which includes a non-negotiable, non-cancellable fee of RM1 for its animal show. The price is pretty fair, in fact, it is the cheapest zoo that I have been to so far, considering the number of species of animals that are on display here. Among others are lions, tigers, elephants, snakes, crocodiles, and tapirs.

Malayan Tapir

Loving couple

Crouching tiger

What are you staring at? Grr...

Flock of pelicans

If you smell what the Croc is cooking..

Python

After the zoo visit, we pay another visit to the Nasi Padang coffee shop, this time for its Nasi Padang. The crowd is huge for this stall. Price for two person is at RM14.50.

Nasi Padang Jalan Tan Hiok Nee

After lunch, we dropped by the Zon shopping complex, which is a Duty Free mall. It is quite a small place compared to the large shopping complexes in Klang Valley. Bought some chocolates here for RM59.80.

Before bidding farewell to JB, we bought some snacks and drinks for RM14.70 for consumption on our journey home. Total transportation and toll for the journey home - RM61.90.

End of Johor Bahru trip... :)