A Jaunt to Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Malaysia as viewed from Singapore with the causeway on the right of the photo. 

Yesterday, my friend Miss C. and I went to Johor Bahru, Malaysia for a spa day. These are my first impressions.

Johor Bahru is like a discordant song. There are several competing elements vying for attention. The buildings poke up through patches of verdant greenery that belongs more to the native rainforest than the cityscape that is trying to grow up there. Poverty and affluence are both evident there and not too far apart physically. In one area, the buildings are dirty and their exterior walls are beginning to crumble. Drive for a few minutes and you will arrive in an area of town where advertisements for posh products cover every available building surface. There are so many of them that's it's not possible to read them all, even if one is stopped at a red light. The malls we entered seemed new, but to our surprise, even at peak times, they were empty. There was hardly anyone there besides the vendors and a few wandering groups of friends. It was strange.

Compared to Singapore, products and services in Johor Bahru are cheap. We got a two hour massage, a jacuzzi session, and a steam room session for about $62 USD. It was super cheap as were the pedicures we got ($31, including callous treatment). However, if one wishes to partake in these kinds of services, it's best to plan ahead. Navigating Johor Bahru took a little doing. It is certainly not as easy as to get around as Singapore.

The other thing I noticed,  is that despite being a Muslim majority country, religious piety didn't seem as evident as I expected.  I didn't see many mosques or veiled women (although we did hear the call to prayer as we were leaving the country). Perhaps this is because Malaysia is a multi-ethnic place.