DAY 1
The holiday was a bittersweet experience because it was an impromptu decision. Not much preparation was done.. I mean not as much as I wanted to.. On our first day, we spent the day by driving to JB and made a quick stop at Batu Pahat to taste the famous mee racun. Yes, you read it right.. the name is mee racun.. :0 It tasted more like mee bandung only the soup is thicker with potato and an egg in it. The stall received a good review from a forum on the net and I agreed with the writer. We continue on our journey to JB and found a cheap hotel which is within our budget. Haha! :D Well it was the first day and we're going to be on foot for most of the time, so why waste money? ;) We got a nice hotel (Tian Jin Hotel) for a merely RM59 per night. I think it was a good bargain as it was on school holiday and few days before xmas.. It has a hot shower, a tv, hot and cold water, maggi mee and coffee. It was better than what I expect for RM59. Later that night, we indulge ourselves with nasi ayam penyet at Benafe Cafe which also had a good review in forums on the net. :)
DAY 2
The next day was the big day as we were heading to Singapore for the next 2 days. We park our car near the pasar borong Larkin which is situated beside the bus terminal. It was RM2.50 per day which is affordable. ;) We took the Singapore-Johore Express (SJE) bus for a merely RM2.50 per person. We bought 2 tickets and continue our journey to Singapore. We had to stop 2 times before we reach Spore. The first was at JB Sentral - huge and very modern architecture. We check-in at the immigration Malaysia and straight towards Spore and had to stop again for the Spore immigration in order to continue our journey. It was exhausting to queue up every time you're at the terminal. I am surprised how the people that lives in Johor commute daily to Spore. Unfortunately, I had seen ugly scenes of people who cut queue and being kiasu at the terminal. We were not in rush so we gave in but it was shocking to see it personally. There was a lady standing beside me pretending to check if the bus has arrived and then, just stand there pretending not to the lines beside her and somehow the newcomers not knowingly just queuing up behind her and forming double lines. My mistake was I didn't confronted her earlier and it was too late when I did. She was being ignorance and kiasu. I hated the situation but I hated even more to be step on for such matter! That was my first impression of Singapore and I only can hope for the better. Fortunately, I met a Singaporean girl named Suriyanti while on the bus and she was very helpful on describing places, things to do on the island. Thanks to her, I'm able to plan my trip well. When we reached at the bus terminal at Bugis street, we walked to nearby MRT station. We were surprised with the MRT sytem that they have. The definitely have a good public transportation on their hands. We bought 2 Ez-Link cards for SGD30 and they're refundable. However, SGD5 was charged per card and that's not refundable but since they offer discounted price if you use EZ-link that's a good bargain for me. :)
Upon recommendation by Suriyanti, we made our way to Geylang by stopping at Paya Lebar station. The people are helpful in giving direction and we found our hotel in no time. We decided to stay at Hotel 81 Opera which situated at Joo Chiat Road. It's Singapore largest top value budget hotel chain at various locations. It cost us SGD59/night and it's a walking distance to a bus stop. :D After refresh ourselves at the hotel, we decided to make a move to Mustafa Centre. We took bus 33 from Joo Chiat Place and heading to MRT station. When we reached Mustafa Centre which is situated in Little India, little did we know that it's a 24 hours mall and anything that you need, you can get it there. The concept is more or less like Mydin but they stacked up branded expensive stuff such as Clarks like it only cost SGD5 while actually it was SGD100. :0 Finally, our last stop for the day was Orchard Road. We stopped at Wisma Atria - Orchard MRT station and we just stroll along the street with the beautiful lights and decorations along the street. :D
DAY 3
We had our lunch at a resraurant not too far from the hotel. We met a nice lady who's the owner of the restaurant. She was telling us on the high utility bills and rental that she has to pay. The rental alone cost her SGD11k. >.<>.< style="font-style: italic;">factory busses just took on pasengers over the limit and people keep on pushing to get in.. - in the middle of the road.. >.< style="font-weight: bold;">
DAY 4
Before we leave, we had our lunch at Singgah Selalu. They have a wide range of Malay food. Then, on our way to KL, we made a quick stop at Coconut Shake near Tg Keling, Melaka. There were a lot of people queuing up for it. It was good and refreshing! ;) Heavy downpour of rain welcoming us back home - just like when we left it.. :D
