Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Singapore's little bad brother

I've been to Johor Bahru today (in Chinese New Mountain or 新山), or JB as the Malaysians like to say. One would never expect how big JB is. It's the second biggest Malaysian city, with it's suburbs, stretched around the border with Singapore, the JB metro area has a population of 1.8 million. Compare that with 4.5 million inhabitants of Singapore, and you'll see JB, his small brother, is getting fatter and fatter. Sure, you can't compare these two cities in some other aspects, such as prosperity, safety and importance in the world. While Singapore is known for being a very safe and clean world-known economic hub, full of interesting things to see, JB is just crowded, not very well-known, has not plenty sights to offer. In addition to that, it has one of the highest crime rates in Malaysia (so I've been told by my Malaysian friends). Ok, I felt pretty safe, although I heard so many scary stories how people got mugged or even stabbed. So be cautious when you're heading there. Some parts look quite nice, remind me of Singapore, especially the architecture of some high-rise buildings and the way they pave the streets. Many say JB is very good for shopping. So enjoy it, while being cautious. Despite what I said, JB is worth to visit. At least once.

See my photos of Johor Bahru:

This is a suburb of JB. The suburbs are huge and long.

Inside JB the traffic is congested.

Looks a bit like Singapore.

One of the main roads is paved.

Malaysian styled high-rise building, a mix of Muslim elements with post-modern touches.

One of the taller buildings in JB. I don't know the name.

Another high-rise nearby.

This is a shopping mall, where my da jie and I went to have a drink.

High-rise buildings again.

A closeup.

A church, probably a remain of the British colonialization.

[My MALAYSIA page][Info: Source][All photos by MKL, 2007]