Malaysia Transportation

BUSES IN MALAYSIA SUCK....BIG TIME!

On my second visit to Malaysia, I was only there for 3 days. I went directly from Singapore to Tioman Island (though the bus connections were terrible - more later), where I became scuba certified in 2 days.

Pics are in the travelogue...

While there is plane, train and ferry service from S'pore to Tioman Island, because of my late afternoon arrival, I only had one choice - the bus!

At the Pan-Malaysian express company (near Bugis MRT), I was told there were no seats left for another 2 days, so I had to head over to the Queen St. station to catch a bus to Johar Bahru. After waiting in a line that extended 2 1/2 blocks, plus paying for 2 seats because of my baggage, I finally got on and headed on my way. About an hour later I arrived at the border and as is customary at JB, my bus left and I had to grab another.

Unfortunately, by this time, factory workers had gotten off work and were cueing from here to eternity. I opted for sharing a cab service to the JB bus station. Upon arriving there, 3 different bus companies told me there were no more buses to my destination (Mersing) and this seemed to please the hustling cab drivers that were haranguing me. As a seasoned world traveler, I remained determined and ultimately found a bus to get me there (which was half empty).

From my initial difficulities in S'pore to my arrival in Mersing, took almost 7 hours - of which only 50% was time spent on a bus.

When I returned, I had reserved a seat on a charter bus, which headed directly from Mersing to Singapore. The bus was to leave at 12:30 and when I arrived at 12:22, I was told that it had already left, that it was full and that in fact, I had no reservation. (SS Servive Agency in Mersing). After growling and complaining that in fact I did have a reservation, that the bus had left early and that there should have been a seat for me...I was no further ahead. Plus, they were now saying that because I was a bad customer, they did not want to sell me a ticket on the 2:30 bus. YEESH!

Alas, I did get a seat on the 2:30 bus, but it was not without incident either. When I arrived at the border crossing, I told the driver where I wanted to get off in S'pore. At customs, Malays and Singaporeans are whisked through and for foreigners, we must cue up, complete a form and answer any questions. Well, it didn't take long but when I came out, I could see me bus pulling away. YEP - gonzo!!

Singaporean customer service was completely useless and could only tell me 'this happens all the time'. After exchanging some Malays dollars into Sing (at ridiculous rates), I paid for another bus to take me to S'pore. I was told it was the express, but in fact it was the 170 - not express. Take the 107 instead.

The buses had it in for me and made for rather frustrating travel. I have since spoken with other travelers and it seems the Malaysian bus service is notoriously pathetic, unreliable, a potential money pit and at least for one (not me)...unsafe.

TRAVLERS BEWARE!!
Avoid SS Service Agency in Mersing. It was the blue one that left the S'pore customs without me!

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