Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Hejhej!
It's Thursday morning noon here in Singapore and I'm drinking instant coffee in my room while listening to the "Your Favorite Coffeehouse" playlist on Spotify. Just now getting back in the swing of things after our short and spontaneous weekend trip to Malaysia! Let me walk you through the line of events and illustrate with photos.
The bus was only 4 SGD (24 SEK). It was also incredibly hot and dropped us of about 15 kilometres away from our hotel. Luckily, we found wi-fi and could order an Uber for the humble price 27 SEK.
Boomer, Elin, Josh and I looking happy and somewhat confused in the Uber.
Where we stayed - 150 SEK per night and person!
OK so, these towel swans are soooo tacky but amazing at the same time?! We had a good laugh about them and I've decided to learn how to make one!
The night-time view from our room.
The number one difference from Singapore that I noticed was the traffic! In Singapore, it's ridiculously expensive to own and drive a car (you need to pay a lot to even get a permit to own one, from what I understand). Of course this would lead to less traffic, but I never really thought about it until going across the border.
A beautiful Chinese temple that we were allowed to enter. The people taking care of the place were welcoming and warm and invited us to have a look at the traditions in there. I always end up in places of worship when I go to a new city! It's so rewarding to just observe, and to be in that peaceful environment for a while.
Just me being a touristy tourist, posing on a landmark-thing.
Just Boomer and Elin, looking like they are on a serious journalistic mission.
Met a cat, couldn't pet it :(((
Met a snail, wouldn't pet it!
Keep in mind that the swastika is an ancient religious symbol, long used in several Indian religions. I knew this, yet it was strange and felt unsettling to see it like this, staring at me in the streets.
Apparently a government building/home of the local Sultan. Grand, huh?
The temple was closed on Sundays so we unfortunately couldn't enter.
Apparently this exists? I have no further comments.
Saturday evening, we went to a night market! It was open really late and all kinds of goods were sold there.
Cheap copy-cat shoes for example (100 SEK). I got myself a pair of "Adidas", though I was really on the hunt for something less warm than sneakers.
Let me wrap up with this indie-band-cover-like photo. Off to lunch I go! And oh, my dear friends Hampus and Therese are landing in Singapore soon! So excited to spend the weekend with them and I will definitely tell you more about that in another post.
Til next time! / Julia