Day 103 - Crossing the border to Johor Bahru, Malaysia

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Woke up early by the noisy chatter of the girls-only dorm. The hostel is nice but the walls don't go all the way to the ceiling, hence noise travels quickly. Checked out and took the bus for the huge sum of 2.4 Singapore dollars (90p) to Johor Bahru in Malaysia. After 2 checkpoints we lost the bus, then found another one which took us 5km out of town to Larkin bus terminal. We then realised we should have just ditched the bus after the border crossing as we were near the centre of town! Ate some lunch at a bakery in the bus terminal consisting of sweet buns containing anything from jam to hotdogs! Took a bus back to town and checked out a couple of places to stay as recommended in the Lonely Planet. The Downtown Hotel was a filthy cockroach infested nightmare! Fortunately the 2nd place was the Gateway Hotel opposite which was ok, although the view (and smell) out of the window wasn't good, but that goes for anywhere in JB. Did some shopping in a big western-style mall where Louisa bought flip-flops and the four of us all ate in Pizza Hut. Not very authentic for our first day in Malaysia, but it was cheap. Later we found a local bar in the top floor of an older shopping mall where the drinks were cheap and the locals stunned by our presence, but very friendly.

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