Monday, September 3, 2007

Warning for Fellow Travellers: Johor Bahru!

I'm not trying to ruin a reputation of a tourist spot, but we have been harassed in Malaysia!

We crossed the border from Singapore to catch a glimpse of the Petronas Towers in Malaysia. We planned to catch a bus or taxi after clearing our passports.

Upon entering the border of Malaysia, no one knew how to speak English, to our pleasant surprise! It took us longer to have ourselves cleared because we had to fill up documents for clearance, which we had to get somewhere else, and then go back and submit them. All through sign language!

Getting out of that mess, we got out of the border finally. We were welcomed by beggars everywhere, even a man who had his right leg twisted back! It was so gross. And the place was so filthy! We were looking for a taxi but suddenly these taxi drivers all came to us and saying we should take him or another guy. We decided to just postpone Petronas for another trip.

Walking around Johor B ahru, we were shouted upon by two groups of Indians, mocking us, saying, "Hey, you!" loudly. Each group was around ten or so. We were so terrified we decided to just go around the block and head back into the border post.

I will never go back to Malaysia. If that's the hospitality we expect to see, then, good riddance! Maybe this is an isolated incident, but it happened, and it ruined our trip. Singapore is much friendlier. And that's a fact!

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