JOHOR

Map of Johor in Malaysia

Johor's Flag

Shopping is a must in Johor. There are several shopping malls that one must visit. There are the City Square Johor Bahru, Aeon Tebrau City, Holiday Plaza and Plaza Pelangi. These malls offer various brands and range at affordable prices. The latest addition to the malls in Johor would be the Johor Premium Outlet which is a haven for those to crave for designer brands. Here you will be able to find brands like Coach, Fossil, Nike, LV and many more at a lower price. The Johor Premium Outlet is very packed on the weekends. Be sure to get there early if you plan to go there.

The Grand Straits Garden Seafood Restaurant is one of the most reputable Chinese restaurants in Johor. This is the place to go to for fresh seafood. The variety of seafood here is incredible. You can pick your own seafood as they are live seafood placed in tanks on display. The restaurant is a large one and can fit many people at a time. Dining here does cost a little more but it is worth the service and taste of the dishes.
Another famous place which locals usually frequent is the Ark Restaurant. This is an all-you-can-eat steamboat restaurant. You can try various types of foods here at only RM17 per pax. For western food, the place to go is the George & Dragon café. Many claim that the best steaks in town can be found here at George & Dragon cafe. The appetizers as well as the desserts are simply to die for. If you are in Johor, do drop by at this cafe.

Danga Bay is the largest recreational park in Johor. The park is situated close to the Istana Bukit Serene . Danga Bay is usually the choice of location for events during the festive season. Danga Bay is expected to be the next exclusive waterfront development as it offers high-end outlets, luxurious properties as well as entertainment. The Danga Bay is easily accessible through the network of main roads which makes this place a frequently visited spot by the locals.

If you like the outdoors, the Endau Rompin National Park is a must. This is the second national park after the Taman Negara in Pahang. The Endau Rompin is an 80,000 hectares of land occupied with lush greenery and a diverse group of fauna. A trek into the national park will give you the opportunity to watch the rare sights of the leaf monkeys, white-handed gibbons, long-tail macaques, tapirs and many more. Entry into the park will require a special permit from the Johor National Park Corporation. Thus, do make sure you have that before you visit the park.

Mersing

 Mersing town is situated on the east coast of Johor, Peninsular Malaysia. It is approximately 136km from the city centre of Johor Bahru. It acts as the main spot of departure of multiple islands on the South China Sea.
Mersing remains as a fishing village despite the developing cinty centre of Johor bahru. It is the main departure spot of many islands. One can access various islands from Mersing jetty such as Rawa Island, Dayang Island, Aur Island, Pemanggil Island and more. As it is a fishing village, purchasing seafood there is the best thing to do. You can get fresh seafood with affordable prices. There are also cafes and fast food chains around apart from the stalls of local delicacies.

Aur Island

The Aur Island is smaller compared to the other four islands mentioned. There are various species of amrine life underwater. You can open see some yachts anchor near to Aur Island, mesmerizes with the beauty of nature. The Aur Island acts as the stopping point for them fishermen. There are many activities one can do on the island. Although it is small in size, it has multiple spots to choose from for scuba diving and snorkeling.

Get yourself a room in ant Johor hotels or resort in Aur Island as a start to ypur amazing and breathtaking vacation is Aur Island. The chaletsand resorts on the island are mostly with air conditioned and excellent services with very friendly staffs and locals.

Zoo Johor

The Zoo Johor is locater at Jalan Gertak Merah. It is at the heart of Johor Bahru. It is situated near to the Royal Museum and the Johor Bahru Palace Grounds. Still, the nearest landmark to the zoo is a mosque named Masjid Abu Bakar.
Zoo Johor is considered as one of the oldest zoos in Malaysia as it was built in the year of 1328. There are more than 100 species of animals living in Zoo Johor including some endangered species og them animals. They are gorillas, elephants, flamingos, horses, lions and much more. The entrance fee is just RM3. The zoo is clean and well organized with clean food selling around the stalls. This is definitely one favourite spot for families especially the children. There are animal shows for the entertainment of you folks too.

Danga Bay

Danga Bay offers a lot of activities with luxury and glam. It possesses the high and retail outlets and fine dines restaurants. It is considered as the biggest recreation park in Johor Bahru as there are many activities that are suitable for all ages. The danga Park is suitable for children as it offers interesting activitiesexclusively for them. Danga Bay is too famous as a romantic spot for couples as there are top notch restaurants which offer fine dining with the awesome night view. Furthermore, Danga Bay showcases the culture of Johor, Malaysia. There, you can have a better picture of the different cultures in Malaysia. There is also have a mall, namely Danga City Mall. It possesses leisure, entertainment and food from the local as well as international. For accommondation, the Tunes Hotel Danga Bay suits the best. It is one of the famous Johor hotels.

Pineapple Meseum

The Pineapple Meseum showcases everything about the tropical fruit, pineapple. It focuses mainly on the cultivation of the pineapple, from scratches until the end. Apart from that, the museum exhibits the way pineapple is processed, and finally canned. Morever, you get to see all types of pineapple planted just outside the museum. If you are interested in getting some souvenirs there, they do sell products of pineapple, such as pineapple jam, pineapple fresh juice and more. In the meseum, it shows that the leaves of the pineapple are useful too. It actually can be used in making clothes. The admission fee for adults is RM2 whereas it is free of charge for children under 12.

 

Endau-Rompin National Park

 Endau Rompin National Park sits between Johor and Pahang.









Endau Rompin National Park is the second largest National Park in the Peninsular Malaysia, just after Taman Negara. The park is rich with unique flora and fauna, with rocks that are from millions of years ago. The park is mainly made up of lush green tropical plants with all sorts of varieties. There are a lot of activities that could be done when you are there. There are two waterfalls around which are the Buaya Sangkut Falls and the Mahkota Waterfalls. These two places are ideal for picnic. One can jungle trekking and camping in the park too. The park is normally closed from December to February as these are the rainy seasons of the year.

Legoland

 Legoland is located in Johor. The location of the park is strategic as the park is connected via various major highways which can be easily reached through both public transportation or through driving. The park is located in Iskandar Malaysia and it is situated next to Kota Iskandar, which is the current administrative center of the local government.
Legoland is perfect place for families to spend their quality time together. The park offers visitors with more than 40 rides, along with its different varieties of shows, events, and attractions. In here, visitors get to experience hands-on experiences via the various rides and attractions which require visitors to push, pedal, steer, and even splash. The interactive experience in the park will definitely leaves unforgettable memories for visitors. Legoland provides a total of seven types of theme parks for visitors to explore. this include the beginning, LEGO Kingdoms, Imagination, MINI LAND, LEGO City, LEGO Technic, and Land of Adventure. The main character of the theme park is MINI LAND. This park is must for visitors to visit as the park holds various Asian landmarks which are all made out of more than 30 million LEGO bricks. There is a huge range of accommodations and hotels for guests to choose from which are all located very near to the theme park. These hotels all offer value-for-money accommodation experience to complete guests' vacation.

Kota Tinggi Meseum

 

 The Kota Tinggi Museum is built in the year of 1997. It exhibits the history of Johor Sultanate. The museum is a two storey building, exhibits rare display throughout the years if the evolution of Johor. Paintings and waxes are displayed so that tourists will have a better undestanding towards the place they visiting. Apart from the glorious and interesting history of Johor, the meseum does highlight on the unique architectures. there is a curator taht is willing to explain and answer any questions at all regarding the tools and displays in the meseum. the admission fee for the Kota Tinggi Museum is free.

Gunung Ledang

 The park surrounds the fabled Mount Ophir, now called Gunung Ledang (Mount Ledang).\
The mountain is 1276m high. According to a sign at the entrance to the park, Gunung Ledang is Malaysia's 64th highest mountain and the 6th the most difficult to climb. Ledang is actually only the 134th highest peak and it does not rank in the top 20 peaks in terms of difficulty.
Be that as it may, it is the higest moutain in Johor state and its accessible location, being only a couple of hours drive from both Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, means that it is one of the most popular and frequently climbed mountains in Malaysia.

That does not mean that it is easy to climb. It is a 5 to 6 hour energetic hike to the summit for a reasinably fit person and there are some steep rocky faces to negotiate with the aid of ropes. Accidents happen and there have been some fatalities which is why it is compulsory to engage a guide from the Ranger's office.

The most popular trail from in front of the Gunung Ledang Resort is closed for climbers until further access so when I visited recently I had to content myself with a short 20 minute trek along stone pathways and steps to the Puteri Waterfalls, a cascade of about 60m with pools and a pleasant picnic and bathing area further downstream.

Food in Johor

Nasi Briyani Gam are specialty in Batu Pahat, Johor. It is rice cook with malaysian herbs and spice, very aromatic and mouth watering.

In true Johorean beriani-style, the colourful long-grained rice is immersed and cooked with assorted spices; not overly powering but the fragrance of the rice definitely whets the appetite. Nasi beriani gam means that the meats are cooked with the rice, whereas for normal nasi beriani the rice and meats are cooked separately.

Mostly famous from Muar, some restaurant even name the dishes mee bandung muar to let the customer knows that their mee bandung is indeed special. It is a dish of yellow mee with special gravy ussualy have slices of beef, prawns, dried shrimps, together with crushed peanuts.

I don't have the exact names of the dessert we had there but they don't have many selections so try them for yourself! We had the coconut with hashima dessert as well and it was quite nice!

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