Bright Lights Big City (Johor Bahru)

Member Name: mattheconsumer

Product:	Johor Bahru
Date:	22/09/09 (7 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic Value Accommodation

Disadvantages: Some locals say its dangerous

I spent a few nights in Johor Bahru in July 2009. The city is literally a taxi ride away from Singapore.

Johor Bahru is not really a tourist destination and the city itself has no main shopping street as such but rather has several massive malls scattered about the city.

While there I was strongly advised against going out at night due to knife weilding gangs, it seems the most common crime there was motorcyclists snatching handbags and there were even police posters warning people to be vigilant against this. All that said I never had any problem and it didnt stop me going looking for snake charmers in the Indian area of the city, unfortunately I never found any.

Since Johor Bahru is not really a tourist destination the hotel rates are much better than typical Malaysian destinations. I booked into the Mutiara (formerly Crowne Plaza) for about £25 a night and that place was fantastic.

Its hard to recommend Johor Bahru as a city to visit but if you are entering Malaysia from Singapore then it can be a decent place to stop off or night or two en route to more costly destinations.

Summary: Good stop off point