Latest Update: 22 APR 2026
Johor Bahru is a city in Malaysia immediately over the border from Singapore. These photographs are from a visit in February 2026, my first time in Malaysia. I was honestly shocked at how car dependent the city is—it was impossible to walk between nearby destinations without traversing freeways with no sidewalks. Public transit was almost non-existant, though taxi services and Grab (the local ride-hailing app) are very cheap. The first experience we had upon exiting the customs hall was being yelled at by a security guard multiple times for trying to exit and walk to our hotel (which was within sight from the customs hall!). Eventually we gave up and took a taxi because it was impossible to find a way to walk. The city is much cheaper than Singapore across food, transportation, lodging, but it also feels dead and empty. There were pedestrian areas set up with zero pedestrian traffic, giant squares with beautiful architecture but nobody around to enjoy them. I don't really have a point or a message other than to express my shock at a city this car-dependent in Asia and also that I wouldn't necessarily recommend visiting JB on a Singapore trip (especially since the border crossing takes at least 2 hours each way between the multiple busses required).
The panoramas below are captured with the Horizon Perfekt, and the square images with the Yashica Mat-124G.
