Johor Bahru, Malaysia

On Tuesday evening, Nat and I flew from Bandar Seri Begawan to Singapore.  On Wednesday morning we got up early for a day trip to Johor Bahru.

Johor Bahru sits on the Straits of Johor and it is the southernmost city in the Malay Peninsula.  It was originally founded as Tanjung Puteri in 1855, gaining city status in 1994.  With 497 000 people it is the 9th biggest city in Malaysia.  There are more than 1,6 million people in the greater metro area making it the country's second-largest metropolitan area behind Kuala Lumpur.

The causeway between Singapore and Johor Bahru was completed in 1923.  The train ride between the two cities only takes five minutes.

What can take a while is going through customs and immigration leaving one country and entering the other.

The JB Sentral train station is connected via an overhead bridge to the City Square Mall.  Our first stop was a Din Tai Fung for an early lunch.  The Michelin-star awarded Taiwanese-based restaurant chain is famous for it's Xiao Long Bao - soup dumplings.

The first step is to pour 1 part soy sauce and 3 parts vinegar in a dish with fresh ginger.  Using chopsticks, dip a dumpling into the mixture and then place it in a soup spoon.  Poke a small hole in the dumpling to release the broth inside.  Then enjoy.  Absolutely delicious!

Then it was off to explore the city.


The Arulmigu Rajamariamman Devasthanam temple is one of the oldest Hindu temples in the city.  It was built in 1911.  The temple honours the Goddess Mariamman, the deity of fertility and rain.




The Gurdwara Sahib Sikh temple was built in 1921.





Masjid India is the main place of worship for the city's Indian Muslim population.

The four-storey Tiong Hua Chinese Heritage Museum was recently renovated.  Chinese first came to this area in the 14th century.  

The Old Chinese Temple was built in the 19th century.  The temple symbolises unity as it hosts five deities from five different Chinese dialect groups - Hokkien, Cantonese, Hainan, Teochew, and Hakka.



The Sultan Ibrahim Building was built in 1940 as the secretariat building for the British colonial government.




The Old Railway Station was built in 1932 but closed in 2010 when the Sentral station was built.  The old station is supposed to be used as a museum in the future.




The Kilometre Zero marker is located in front of the General Post Office.  It is one of the few markers in the world where the national zero marker isn't found in the national capital.

Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

On Monday, I flew from Kuala Lumpur to Bandar Seri Begawan and met my favourite Kiwi for a new country adventure.

Bandar Seri Begawan, بندر سري بڬاوان, is the capital of Brunei.  The city has a population of 100.700 with the greater metro area is home to almost 280.000 people.

Until 1970 it was known as Bandar Brunei which translates to "Brunei Town."  Locals simply call it "Bandar" or BSB.

The city lies on the northern bank of the Brunei River.

The Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque was built in 1958.  It is regarded by many as one of the most beautiful mosques in the world.

The mosque has an artificial lagoon with a replica of a 16th century barge.  The barge was completed in 1967.

The 1968 Coronation Arch commemorates the coronation of the sultan.  It was originally built somewhere else moved here in October 1993.

The Timepiece Stone Monument was built in 1959.  It functions as a zero-mile-clock to indicate the distance starting point from BSB and other places in the country.

The Al-Muhtadee Billah Mosque is known as the pyramid mosque.  It's huge and sits on the southern bank of the Brunei River.

The Brunei History Centre opened in 1982.  Lots of information about the history of the royal family.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs is responsible for the propagation of Islam and for upholding it as the state religion.

Tamu Klanggeh is the open air market that dates back to the 1980s.  Lots of fresh local produce.

The Raja Ayang Mausoleum honours a couple who were severely punished for committing adultery.

The General Post Office was built in 1952.  Inside is the Brunei Stamp Gallery.



The Taman Haji Sir Muda Omar 'Ali Saifuddien is a large stadium used for ceremonial events.  This is where the country proclaimed independence in 1984.



The Royal Regalia Museum is all about the sultan.  It was built in 1992 to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Sultan's accession to the throne.  It documents the sultan's life and is full of display about his coronation and Silver Jubilee.  It's a shame that photography isn't allowed because the chariots used for his coronation have to be seen to be believed.



The Teng Yun Temple is the only Chinese temple in the country.






The Brunei Legislative Council was established in 1959.





The Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha Bridge opened in 2017.  It is the 2nd longest single-pylon cable-stayed bridge in the world.



Kampong Ayer is the water village built on the Brunei River.  It's been called the "Venice of the East."  It's basically stilt homes that are connected with wooden and concrete bridges and walkways.




The village was founded 1000 years ago.  It's the world's largest stilt settlement with about 2000 homes and 30.000 residents.



One of the easiest ways to get around is by water taxi.  There are jetties along the river.

We hired a chap to take us out on the river for a bit.  We had a few stops under the mangrove trees to see the endangered proboscis monkeys which are only found in Borneo.

We also got a glimpse of Istana Narul Iman which is where the sultan lives. It's the world's largest residential palace but it is not open to the public.

Chicken feet for lunch

BSB was an interesting place.  With the whole controversy about the sultan making homosexuality punishable with death by stoning, several of my mates were really shocked that I was going to visit.
Granted I was with Nat but I didn't see or hear anything about it.  What I did love is that once I showed up there was a big gay rainbow.

Batu Caves, Malaysia

The Batu Caves are about 13 km (8 miles) from Kuala Lumpur.  It's basically a limestone hill with caves and temples inside.  The caves are one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside of India.






It is home to the world's tallest statue of the Hindu deity Mungan.
The statue is 42,7 metres (140 feet) tall.

The limestone forming the caves is supposed to be around 400 million years old.

Besides the caves, the other popular attraction are the monkeys.  Long-tailed Macaques hang out along the steps leading up to the caves.  Everyone wants a selfie with the monkeys.

It's a hike up the stairs to the caves but it's worth it.  The caves and temples are interesting.  This is an easy half-day trip from the city.

Plus...there are monkeys.  Here's me and the monkey.  Sounds like the best cop-buddy-mystery-crime-solving TV show ever!

Putrajaya, Malaysia

Putrajaya, officially the Federal Territory of Putrajaya, is about 35 km (22 miles) from Kuala Lumpur.  It's near Cyberjaya which is the Malaysian version of Silicon Valley where most of the IT companies are.

Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaysia but Putrajaya is the seat of the government with most federal ministries located here.

Putrajaya was established in 1995 and it became a federal territory in 2001.






It was a planned city with lots of parks and eight bridges.  Putrajaya is home to almost 92.000 people.  I believe that federal employees receive free housing here.  If I'm not mistaken they have to leave when they retire but I never got a straight answer on this one.

The Putrajaya International Convention Centre overlooks the city.  Construction was completed in 2003.

The Perdana Putra is the Prime Minister's office complex.

The Putra Mosque, next to Putrajaya Lake, was completed in 1999.  It can accommodate up to 15.000 worshipers.

The Seri Gemilang Bridge is the ceremonial bridge.






The Seri Saujana Bridge is a futuristic cable stayed Arch bridge.



The Wawasan Bridge is the other main futuristic bridge made to resemble the sails of schooner.




At night the bridges are lit up in different colours which makes for a nice sightseeing trek around the city.