Johor Bahru Warnings Or Dangers

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Traffic Jams Do Not Only Occur In Singapore But Also In Johor Bahru Especially During Weekends Or School Holidays.
Beware Of Some Irresponsible And Impatient Drivers (Regardless Whether They Are Malaysian Or Singaporean) That Just Cut In Queues And May Causes Accidents.
Some Singaporean behave totally different in J.B…They are arrogant and drive as though they are the king of the road!
There Are Also Times When Beggars Just Stand In The Middle Of The Road During Traffic Jam (Between Cars) Asking For Money.

We came here for a supposed 1 day visit, but it turned out we only stayed for a few minutes. The place was a total mess! Beware of toilets and wash room areas as hygiene is not the city's priority. You might want to consider going to pay CR, but no diference at all!

There is this TA MA Hawker Centre in Jb which is famous for its goody cheap seafood. I usually go there with my family for seafood during weekends. However, I have met with an unpleasant incident there today and would like to share with you guys.

If you guys happen to know where the hawker centre is, you will probably find a SHELL station there. We parked our vehicle opposite the SHELL Station and after our dinner at the hawker centre, we proceed to return to Singapore. As we were approaching our car, a man (late 40s) came out of nowhere approach my boyfriend saying that he needs his help within seconds, the man was already pointing the syringe (supposedly containing the aids virus) and he trys to threaten us for RM100, and saying that if not, he will inject the virus into his body.
After a whole day of shopping, we were left with only RM50 dollars and my boyfriend managed to persuade him to accept and finally got rid of him.

Hope this serves as a warning to all of you going to JB. Please be alert of the surroundings around you in that area, and if you are going to leave your vehicle, always remember to park your vehicle in a well lit area, if not, you have to bear all the consequences.

Didnt manage to take a pic of the place.Will do in my next trip.

Don't jaywalk in JB. Johor Bahru is taking a leaf out of Singapore's book and now there are fines for a few different civic misdemeanours. Enforcement appears to be a bit of a problem because only a small number of people I saw actually didn't jaywalk. At least the intent is there I guess. In any event, 500 ringgit seems a bit steep to me. I wonder what the fine in Singapore is for the same thing?

Everyone seem to think that goign to JB is like skydiving without parachute. Tell ppl your going to JB and you get the kind of reaction as if you tell them you like to play Russian Roulette. IT REALLY ISN'T THAT BAD...

Having said that... JB is a big city and suffers all the usual problems that big cities do... so:

1. The area immediately aroudn the causeway is the main red light district. As such, if your female, at night.... DON'T walk down the sidestreets, DON'T accept lifts or offers from strangers. If your male, DON'T accept any offers to try anything... just be sensible! In the daytime this area is OK, but at night it's pretty seedy.

2. Hotels around the casueway area are generally used by prositutes and their clients. Make sure you have a room with a secure lock AND chain so it can't be opened from outside. Don't leave any valuables in the room, including ID, especially if your from Malaysia or Singapore (a lot of illegal immigrants in JB would do a lot to get hold of a usable M'sian or Singaporean IC!)

3. Taxi touts around the checkpoint can be not so good. If you need a cab, use the taxi rank between City Square and KOMTAR. Or flag one down that's driving or dropping off a passenger.

4. Dont carry a lot of cash or your wallet/purse in easy reach. Keep it beside your skin where you can feel it. Keep wallet/purse (wihtout cards and IC) seperate with a small amount of ready cash in it. If mugged by someone with a weapon, dont fight, just hand over your wallet with the small cash in it.

5. Mobile phones get taken (It's happened to me more than once).Keep it secure and out of sight.

6. Give an impression of knowing your surrondings.

7. Remeber. It's not that bad a city, really. More than a million people live and work here every day and don't get chopped up with knives, stuffed in a bag, and dumped in the Strait, so it's probabaly not going to happen to you either! Keep a sence of proportion.

There has been an increased spate of crimes in the city of Johor Bahru, just across the causeway from Singapore. Snatch thefts are common. Motor cycle syndicates will snatch away handbags from ladies walking along the streets, some resulting in serious injury. Armed robbery is increasing especially near the immigration checkpoint. At least three Singaporean men driving Singapore-registered cars were held up at gunpoint while filling up gas at a popular gas station near the immigration checkpoint during the past year. The armed robbers fired and killed two of them.
Car thefts are also common. Cars parked in major shopping centers and hotels have been stolen. There are car theft syndicates that operate with car park attendants and staff at these hotels and shopping centers. Even if you make a police report, nothing can be done - the police are just as corrupt and are probably also in cahoots with the syndicates.

I was caught speeding (Yes I am guilty ) and the cop who stopped me gave me an option to pay the fine on the spot or travel 10 km to a police station if i wanted formal documents. I was asked to give him a offer for a fine !!. Then he gave me a book so that i can place RM50 into the pages and gave it back to him.
Friends of mine also paid the "fine" even though they were not speeding or had committed any offence. My advise for anyone driving there is to drive like F1 driver as you still pay the same amount even if you do not commit any offence. Just pray that you do not see any cop in JB - which is common in this southern town of Malaysia.
One tip is to carry only RM50 in your wallet so that you can show the cops that you only have that much to pay the fine if he demand more.

P.S. Please do not offer more if you are caught to control the inflation

Duty Free zone offers alcohol at much cheaper rates so there is an influx of those who like to imbibe from singapore and JB to concentrate in this area in front of the regency hotel. there is a mall, with food stall and easy places to get a drink..
official warnings are posted everywhere..