Backpacking around Asia is part of our long bucket list and it's been our dream and ultimate challenge to travel the world without my trusty stroller bag haha. Although we weren't able to do it this year, our Singapore-Malaysia trip can serve as a pre-backpacking adventure.
To be honest, when we booked our Singapore flight, crossing to another country was not what we had in mind. It was actually spontaneous! And through research, we learned that we can go to Malaysia (supposedly Kuala Lumpur but ended up in Johor Bahur due to time constrains) and so as Indonesia (forgot the name of the island!) by train, bus, or boat. However, we didn't push through with the Indonesian adventure because apparently, my Korean boyfriend is required to pay visa fees haha!--and yes I feel privileged to be a Filipino haha the perks of being part of S.E.A. country.
Directions:
There are 2 ways to get to Johor Bahru (JB) by land from Singapore:
1) MRT to Jurong East Station:
-Go to Jurong East MRT station.
-Go down the MRT station and go to the bus station to your left. Look for waiting area of Bus no. 170 or 160.
-Note that you can use your EZ Link Card from Singapore to pay the buses. Make sure you have more than SGD 5 load because there are no loading stations in Malaysia.
-Both buses will head to Woodlands Checkpoint. Once reaching woodlands checkpoint, get off the bus and go pass SG Immigration. Get ready with your passport and departure form (filled out in Manila upon entering SG).
-Go down the escalator and look behind the escalator for a waiting area of Buses no. 170 or 160. Ride the bus again for 5 mins.
-You will then reach MY Immigration. Go through it and head towards JB Sentral (look for sign or ask around). Afterwhich, exchange your money from Singapore Dollars to Malaysian Ringgit in the area (a lot of money exchange and convenient store within the area).
-Go down the escalator. When you finally see the food court on your left, go towards that direction then turn left again for the bus waiting area.
-For Johor Premium Outlet Store, ride bus JPO1. Travel time is about 1 hour. FYI: Make sure you have exact change for the bus fare because a bus ride going to JPO will cost you MYR 4.5 and the bus driver will not give you change at all so if you don't have any small bills, buy some snacks or drinks beforehand :).
2) MRT to Kranji Station:
-Follow all steps above, but instead of going to Jurong East station, ride MRT only until Kranji Station. Go down MRT and cross footbridge to other side. Ride bus no. 170 or no. 160 from there.
Guidelines:
-It is better to go to Kranji Station since it's about 5-10 minutes faster. Total time for travel from SG to MY including immigration checkpoint is around 1 hour.
-However, Kranji route will be more confusing since it has no Bus station (only bus stop) so you might miss the bus stop, but for Jurong East there is a Bus station so easier to locate the bus.
-For return trips, follow the same guidelines.
-If you plan to go to Kuala Lumpur or any other city, it would take around 3-4 hours by bus. Look for bus station from JB sentral going to these places.
-Finally, it is ALWAYS better to leave earlier and avoid rush hours (Friday night, Sunday night, and Monday morning) if you do not plan to spend the night in MY because people travel back and forth to MY and SG due to work.
Along the way, we saw some historical sites of JB. We initially planned to go to each of these buildings but our "pagka kuripot" (thriftiness) kicked in and decided not to haha anyway, we were able to pass by it for FREE!
We arrived just in time for the outlet opening hour. We were literally the first two customers there at that time. For a moment, I felt like I was Mrs. Imelda Marcos shopping exclusively for some luxury items haha! Stores are similar to Orchard Rd's but this time with around 30-70% off and some stores are similar to Paseo Greenfield in Sta. Rosa outlet stores but minus the luxury brands!
At the end of the day, of course we didn't buy anything! Well...almost! I almost bought a Michael Kors bag for I think less 30% and Gucci wallet BUT I resisted temptation!!! :) YES! discipline, discipline, discipline.
I exchanged my MK bag and Gucci wallet for a Korean soccer jersey from Nike outlet store. I Bought it because 1) I FELT I NEEDED TO PURCHASE SOMETHING FROM JPO 2) it's a rare aka phased out design and 3) my boyfriend has one too back home so...couple jersey ang peg.
Before heading back to Singapore, we made sure we ate some authentic Malaysian cuisine :) We ate Popia Otak (like pancake) for MYR 1.7, Crispy Popoa (like lumpia) for MYR 2 and huge yummy Laksa good for 2 for MYR 28.6 due to language barrier!!! haha I believe it should have only cost us MYR 7 but what the heck! It was yummy anyway.
Disclaimer: This is an old post from my Blogspot account dated October 11, 2012.
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