The State of Johor

We had a great tour of the southern state of Malaysia called Johor.  In a mixture of new and old, where jungle meets brand new buildings, here is our pictorial tour of Johor. We skipped some tourist attractions like Lego Land and Hello Kitty Town.  

 

 

Danga Bay Marina is a luxury destination in Malaysia. It is located next to seafood restaurants and fancy bars. This multistory lobster makes sure that nobody gets confused on what is being served here.

 

Here is Ali climbing to the top of Gangung Panti. The last bit to the top is called the wall and we had to climb our way up. Note those super fashionable leech socks. Leeches are the zombies of the parasite world. Once they sense you, they just keep coming your way. While I did not have any bite me I did had one crawl up on my camera lens.

 

The Sail Malaysia rally started with a  tour of Johor’s state buildings. The state has a sultan as well as a democratically elected parliament. The parliament meets here and it is built like a palace. I guess it has to look like a palace since the sultan has to preside the meetings. Absolutely beautiful buildings.

 

Then we went to a pineapple farm. It is a museum and research center.

 

There we found beautiful tasty pineapples.

 

 

Then we were off to the southmost point in continental Asia. Deserving of a big monument.

 

That’s it. If we keep going further south we fall in the water.

 

We were received in a village with traditional dances and lunch.

 

Of course Ali was asked to come up and dance.

 

Next we were taken to a fishing village - we were received with more dances. 

 

Traditional Malysian dancers waiting to go on stage for their next performance.

 

The Malay girls like big Omar!

 

The next day we were invited to a feast and more dancing. 

 

These performers had some of the most intricate outfits and jewelry I have seen so far. I struggled to get good pictures of this dancing troop but the outfits were amazing.

 

Dreamy girl wondering what sushi to pick up from an endless line of dishes parading next to her. Our days off were spent at the mall and we even went to the movies. What a splurge.

 

And so we leave Danga Bay. This is a causeway that unites Malaysia to Singapor. I spent the morning steering the ship in between both countries and off to our next destination.