Blogs from Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia, Asia - page 6

Day 298, 25th March Melaka - Muar - Batu Pahat We awoke at around seven, or was it eight, and went for a slap up breakfast dowstairs. This was the day that we would travel again together as one group, after 6 weeks apart. We packed our panniers, loaded our bikes, and - there was an amazing amount of arsing about before we set off just after eleven on our final leg… We had people from the hostel taking photos and waving us off as we left, it felt somewhat strange to me, I was just a guy on a bike, people at home don’t do this! Our route took us past the old part of town and onto route number 5 which ran south-east out of the city. It wasn’t long before Rory got a ... read more

hi all we have arrived!!! today is day one on 3 hours of non rem sleep. it will take a day or two to adjust but i am in paradise so i guess i will have to suck it up! i have some advice for long stretch travel periods. wear comfy clothing ie, yoga wear, sandals and have some great music!!!! i have never been so comfy after 29hrs of airplanes, airports. etc. i really need to relax at home the way i relax here. i strolled through the minneapolis airport with my john mayer, and the killers just a hummming away. it was bliss. i love my alone time. i will need to learn to do that at home for sure. i arrived in the utopic changi airport, in singapore with a smiling mike waiting ... read more

Malaysia, Truly Asia Our JB trip started late today. After meeting my friends (Yq and March) in Chinatown at 6pm, we proceed to drive up the causeway to cross the Malaysian border. March was doing this religiously every weekend, rain or shine because he could save 50% off his expensive petrol bills at his favourite Shell Station at JB's Taman Sri Tebrau. Like a typical weekend, the causeway was packed with vehicles - Malaysians rushing back home after a day's work and Singaporeans for their weekend seafood therapy. I do not know if the escalating crime rates in JB have deterred Singaporeans from visiting. All I know is that we were stuck at the Woodlands customs for a good 40 minutes before reaching the Malaysian border. It was about 7.45pm when we checked in the url=http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g298278-d302264-r5796526-The_Puteri_Pacific_Hotel_Johor_Bahru- ... read more

Legs aching, still tired, but had to get up to get to airport for flight back to Johor Bahru on the Malaysian mainland. Had a farewell meal at the bus station in JB with Mark & Lynn who were heading off to islands on the east coast. We boarded a bus to Melaka. After arriving and checking out a few tatty places we stayed at the very nice Travellers Lodge. Our legs are aching so much we can hardly walk but we still manage to get to a big shopping mall for dinner at a Kenny Rodgers Roasters restaurant!... read more

So, the world traveller has an embarrassing travel story!! It's better to get it out though right? So here goes.... First, you gotta know... when I was going from Singapore to Malaysia, we got to the border and had to get out just with our passports at this special "Woodlands Checkpoint" just before the first Malaysian train station - Johor Bahru - on the border. They asked if I had anything to declare way before I got on the train at a small customsy thing at the station - remember that little story I told about that funny weird conversation I had with that guy? So we just went through immigration, and there was no one at the actual customs area there with the scanners and everything and we got back on the train. There was ... read more