Johor Bahru, Malaysia: Dec.6, 2015

I had a short trip to Johor Bahru, Malaysia, during my stay in Singapore.

There were many things to talk about. What was most impressive for me was “co-existence” of different cultures, religions and lives in the city.

They have a Hindu temple in central Johor Bahru (top photo) There are shops around the temple to sell flowers and other decorations (to offer them to the temple).

There stands a Sikh temple next to the Hindu temple. 

Then, there is a Buddhism temple in the next corner. The Koran announcement began when I was walking in the area. 

At least four religions, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism, live together there.

I also found the co-existence of the old and the new. Modern high buildings stand behind the temples and old stores.

Old traditional houses and stores remain in many places. 

The area around Jalan Dhoby (Dhoby Street) is now famous as a place with many old buildings. I found tourists walking there. 

Constructions were taking place in many places. I found many roads in the map of my tourist guidebook no longer remained because of recent developments.

The City Square shopping mall in the central city was crowded. Unlike the shopping centers in Singapore, they do not have luxury-brand shops such as Hermes or Gucci. 

Instead, they have H&M, Uniqlo, and other popular stores. The restaurants were crowded with families. Snoopy, Hello Kitty and other characters were used for the Christmas sales.

I saw some women in Islamic cloths, but I also saw ladies in miniskirts and in hot pants. I found many mobile phone shops in the city like many other cities in the world.

It took only about 30 minutes by bus from central Singapore to Johor Bahru. However, it also took another 30 minutes to wait the bus in a long cue. I was also in long lines at the border controls of both Singapore and Malaysia. The situation on the way back from Johor Bahru to Singapore was worse in the evening. The border scenes are always interesting.