Author Archives: Curious Cat

Putrajaya Architecture

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Putrajaya is the home of the Malaysian government. It sits approximately 25 km south of Kuala Lumpur, next to Cyberjaya. Planning and construction of Putrajaya began in the early 1990s. The seat of government shifted to Putrajaya in 1999, from Kuala Lumpur.

The area does include housing, which is wise, but is dominated by large government building, many with interesting architecture, and wide causeways. 38% of the city is reserved for green spaces (including waterways).

photo of Malaysian Prime Minster's Office Building

Prime Minster’s Office Building, Putrajaya, Malaysia

photo of the pink Mosque, Putrajaya

Putra Mosque, Putrajaya, which is adjacent to the Prime Minister’s Office Building.

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JB to Singapore by Taxi

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I just found out taxis can be booked to bring you from anywhere in Singapore to Kotaraya (in JB – a few blocks from CIQ), or from anywhere in JB to Queen Street in Singapore. Call +65-62967054 (Singapore) or +60-7-2246986 (Johor Bahru), and be sure to get the taxi’s number, driver’s name and his phone number. They can take you to designated spots instead of the designated spots for an additional fee.

The price from JB to Singapore is 60 MYR.
The price from Singapore to JB is 60 SGD.

This is a very good deal from JB. The best I had been able to find before had been 150 MYR. It is crazy how the price is almost 2 1/2 times more from Singapore to JB than the reverse. The cost from Queen street to JB is 40 SGD for the full taxi. They can also be shared between 4 people so you can wait until a cab is full at Queen street and each pay $10.

The 150 MYR prices are for nice cars (they are not cabs) and the driver’s speak very good English and are very good. They will go pretty much anywhere in JB to anywhere in Singapore (the prices might be a bit higher for longer distances). I don’t really understand the way they relate to the taxi rules, they seem to be exempt from some reason. They are really still the best deal from Singapore to JB (as of today 60 SGD = 150 MYR).

But 60 MYR for JB to Queen Street is an excellent price, I wish I had learned about that earlier.

The biggest problem now is how congested the bridges will become. That they are so backed up now, with only a fraction of the anticipated Iskandar traffic due in the next few years, I find is an extremely bad sign. I don’t know how people can trust that enough capacity will be added fast enough to allow buying in JB and commuting to Singapore every day. The traffic is already bad and lots of new traffic is being planned (a large number of new high rise condo with lots of commuters to Singapore jobs and new attractions such as the recently added Legoland). It seems to me a third is needed today (and they haven’t even started construction or even confirmed a third link) and the MRT extension should be under construction (which will take years to bring online). The MRT is going to help a great deal, but it is not going to be usable until 2018, at the earliest.

Related: Taxi Between Johor Bahru and Singapore – Taking the Bus from Johor Bahru to Singapore – Taxis in Johor Bahru

Quality of Life and Personal Safety International Rankings for Cities

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Mercer Quality of Living Survey, Worldwide Rankings, 2011. Selected cities to put Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpor’s rankings in context (in SE Asia and the world).

Rank City, Country
1 Vienna, Austria
2 Zurich, Switzerland
3 Auckland, New Zealand
4 Munich, Germany
5 Vancouver, Canada
11 Sydney, Australia
18 Melbourne, Australia
25 Singapore, Singapore
30 Paris, France
30 San Francisco, California, USA
43 Washington, DC, USA
46 Tokyo, Japan
47 New York City, NY, USA
70 Hong Kong, China
76 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
80 Seoul, South Korea
83 Athens, Greece
85 Taipei, Taiwan
88 Cape Town, South Africa
95 Shanghai, China
97 Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
101 Brasilia, Brazil
101 Johor Bahru, Malaysia
109 Beijing, China
121 Bangkok, Thailand
121 Mexico City, Mexico
128 Manila, Philippines
135 Cairo, Egypt
140 Jakarta, Indonesia
141 Bangalore, India
143 New Delhi, India
147 Hanoi, Vietnam
186 Phnom Penh, Cambodia – Phnom Penh Travel information
196 Yangon, Myanmar

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Bangunan Sultan Ibrahim

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photo of the Bangunan Sultan Ibrahim government building

The Bangunan Sultan Ibrahim is a government building in the CBD of Johor Bahru. The building housed the Menteri Besar’s (Chief Minister) office and the Johor State Legislative Assembly before both were moved to Kota Iskandar.

photo of close up detail on exterior of Bangunan Sultan Ibrahim building

Detail on the exterior of the Bangunan Sultan Ibrahim

Related: Arulmigu Sri Raja Kallamman Indian Hindu Glass Temple – Johor Bahru Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine Complex (CIQ) – Basketball Courts In Johor Bahru CBD – Johor Bahru Zoo

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Good Malaysian Chinese Food Delivery in Johor Bahru

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Update – the phone number no longer works for me. A decent alternative is Restaurant Rong Hwa.

My favorite food delivery in Johor Bahru Central Business District (CBD) is Gerai Makan Laut Chun Siang – it is Malaysian Chinese Food.

My favorite dish is Fried Brocoli. I also really like the various sotong (squid) dishes. The long bean omelet is good also. They also have other interesting looking dishes: black pepper deer meet, red wine chicken, egg flower soup and cantonese style kuay tiao. And they have at least 1 dish I have no desire to try: pig stomach soup.

My last meal was Tom Yam Prawn – about half of the order is shown on the plate.

photo of my mean with full prawns

Related: Mee Bandung at JB Station Kopitiam – Sala Huddin Bakery, Old Town of Johor Bahru – Chez Papa French Bistro, JB CBD

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Dentist in Johor Bahru

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I needed to get a regular teeth cleaning, so I searched for a good options the way any internet user would – online. Which reminded me, yet again, that the businesses in Johor Bahru should do better using the internet to market their businesses. One option I found never replied to my email so I moved on to the next: Roland Lin DDS. Again no response to email, but I called them and got an appointment.

photo of external of Lim Dental Surgery office

Exterior of Lim Dental Surgery office inside Holiday Plaza

I found him to be quite good and will go back. I chose him based on recommendations of 2 other bloggers: Dentist Recommended to Expats – Lim Dental Surgery, Johor Baru…I entrust my smile to him.

Location: Holiday Plaza, Johor Bahru (Holiday Plaza is the old mall one block from KSL Mall)
Telephone for dentist: 07 331 1858

Related: Vaccinations and Medical Services from the Clinic Australia – Great Cheap Cell Phone Plan for Malaysia – City Square Mall, next to CIQ

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The 9th Johor Bahru Arts Festival Packs the Calendar Events For the Month of September

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JB Arts Festival includes many events during the full month of September. Most the events are free, some require purchased tickets. It does take a bit of work to find out what you want to know using the web site, but it looks like it is worth the effort.

A calendar of events lists the events by day (it is a bit hard to read – just a jpg image file so it doesn’t increase in size very well). Separate pages provide details on the many arts related events (but those pages don’t tell you when or where the events are). Some highlights:

photo of dancers for Culture Malaysiana
Culture Malaysiana showcases and represents the vibrancy and richness of the Malaysian community, and truly achieves unity through the arts. The seamless transitions between the many dances are also representative of how elements of each culture are mixed together to create a unique Malaysian culture, a whole which is truly more than the sum of its parts.

Maskara Shorties is a marathon screening of short films curated amd selected by Sindiket Sol-jah. Sindiket Sol-jah is an arts activist group based in Rumah PENA (Persatuan Penulis Nasional Malaysia / National Writers Assosiation Malaysia). The event will showcase rarely-seen short films for your viewing pleasure produced and directed by passionate filmmakers from Malaysia and Singapore.

photo of 24 Festive Drums

The inspiration for the 24 drums was based on the 24 festivals in the Chinese lunar calendar throughout the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter, which has guided the traditional Chinese agricultural community for thousands of years. A full troupe therefore consists of 24 drums, each bearing two bold Chinese characters representing each of the 24 festivals. The music and choreography are arranged to harmonise gracefully into a performing art that depicts the cycles of the 24 seasons in music, calligraphy and the rhythm of life.

From its humble beginnings here in Johor Bahru, the 24 Festive Drums has garnered recognition and acclaim both locally and internationally. The performing art is not only popular in Malaysia, but has also become popular and gained a following in Singapore, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States

photo of Akasha (Malaysia music group)

Using various instruments, Akasha ventures into many different genres, including blues, bluegrass, latin, bossanova, middle eastern, classical, old western and Irish.


AkashA is a 7-piece Malaysian band, playing world fusion music with a distinctly Malaysian twist. Like Malaysia itself, AkashA is a fusion of four cultures โ€“ Malay, Indian, Chinese, and Western. Watch YouTube video highlights of an AkashaA performance.

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SE Asia Travel: Siem Reap, Cambodia

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One of the many advantages of living in Malaysia is the number of great tourist destinations that are fairly easy to travel to. The plane trips are so much better than the horrible system now in place in the USA (much better service, no TSA security theater, many fewer delays…). Prices are reasonable also. I will gladly pay $50 US to fly on the airlines like Malaysia Airlines (which I flew this time) and Singapore Airlines over some of the budget airlines. I just don’t want to deal with companies that are going to try to rip you off any chance they get and have much less reliable flights (cancelling them more often, etc.). I will fly Firefly.

The flights from Johor Bahru are not very good, pretty much you have to go through Kuala Lumpor, which is fine, but you can be stuck with long waits which I don’t like. Still often it is preferable to flying out of Singapore (though not always). On this trip, to avoid that long delay I was able to fly JB to KL to Siem Reap and then on the way back fly Phnom Penh to KL to JB. These both had short layovers but Siem Reap to KL to JB had over 4 hours wait. I took the bus from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh.

photo of the outside of the airport at Siem Reap, Cambodia

Siem Reap, Cambodia Airport

The Siem Reap airport is nice, new and small. You need a passport photo for your visa (which I just happen to carry with me from my memories as a child of needed them, but I hadn’t read anything about needing them). Those with passports from many countries you can get a visa at the airport (you don’t need one in advance) but you should make sure this is true for your country in advance. The cost was $20 US. I would imagine that you can get the photo there (for a high price, I would guess) but even more annoying is probably the delay it would add of waiting in another line).

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