Blogs from Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia, Asia - page 2

Friday, 20th February 2015 Second day of Lunar New Year. We were on our way to Johor Bahru this morning to spend a short weekend staycation. The traffic at both sides of the Causeway was incredibly smooth as we took minimal efforts to clear the customs. Our bus ride to the url=http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserReviews-g298278-d4227651-r255587765-Renaissance_Johor_Bahru_Hotel-Johor_Bahru_Johor_Bahru_District_Johor.htmlRenaissance Hotel at Permas Jaya took a little more than 30 minutes as it made its way across the waterfront along Berjaya Hotel. By 11.15am, we were greeted by the beautiful hotel lobby. Since our room could only be ready after 3pm, we popped over to a nearby coffeeshop for our brunch. Surprisingly, there were quite a number of Chinese eateries opened for business even though today was a very important festival observed by the Chinese. It ... read more

Hello my fellow travellers! After a good (and long) nights rest me and Bruce kicked off our day with a brunch at a local Chinese restaurant. The food was amazing and they just kept it coming, tray after tray with deliciousness. I thought I was going to explode after a while, but it set me up for a good day of traversing Johor Bahru. Now, to be honest there isn't all that much to see here, it's mostly an industrial town these days even though it is an old Sultanate. The Sultan still holds immense power here and I've heard that their palaces (yes, plural) are wonderful. They are unfortunately not open to the public. There are a few things here though worth checking out, our first stop was not one of those places though, it ... read more

Saturday, 27th December 2014 Before we begin our weekend staycation at JB Tebrau City, we decided to stop by at Coffee Valley for breakfast. This was a nice, independent coffee house located along Jalan Trus, about 10 minutes walk from the Johor Bahru Customs. Coffee Valley occupied the second level of the pre-war shophouses in JB's historic core. With its high ceilings and warm hues, the environment made me relaxed the moment I stepped into the café. I could probably spend my entire day here actually. I ordered the Egg's Benedict with Waffles. The breakfast set came complete with a generous serving of fresh fruit platter and of course, a nice dose of the daily brew. This was certainly a great start to our staycation as we welcomed a nice, idyllic weekend in the Johor State ... read more

Saturday, 27th September 2014 After our gathering at NUS in the morning, it was time for me to make my way to Johor Bahru for the rest of the weekend. H would only arrive at the hotel around seven plus in the evening. So I did the check-in on his behalf while taking a quick rest at the url=http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserReviews-g298278-d3359745-r231310824-AmanSari_Hotel_City_Centre-Johor_Bahru_Johor_Bahru_District_Johor.htmlAmanSari Hotel. Located directly behind the newly opened Komtar JBCC, the hotel was an easy walk from the customs complex. Our room at the top level 17 came with a good view of the city's skyline. While this was just a basic, no-frills hotel, it had most of the things that ensured a comfortable stay - strong WIFI connection, cable TV, nice air-conditioning and clean bathroom. All these ... read more

So after our couple days in Singapore (we felt like we were in New York pretty much) it was time to really start exploring Asia. Next stop Johor Bahru - just across the border in Malaysia. After exploring many options as to how to get there we settled on a bus. We read that taxis are pretty popular too, but it sounded expensive. When we travel I always look for the cheapest, best option available. That allows us to spend money on other things. So we were up early and off to the bus station. The locals helped us and soon we were on the bus after paying our $3 fare, packed in with the rest with 2 big bags and many other side bags. Some of the locals were not happy with our arrangement. We ... read more