Danga City Mall - Johor Bahru

The press have been given too much publicity of this "infamous" Mall and I thought it is worthwhile to pay this Mall a visit. So yesterday, 22 March 2009 I took that train from Tanjong Pagar to Danga City Mall. Fare was S$5.00, so called Superior Class ticket with 'free seating'. Free Seating means that you can seat at any place you like provided that the seat you are seating is not assigned to long-distance travellers. Rather embarrass as I have to shift seats a couple of time and even change to another cabin due to the seat I seated is being reserved. So before embarking the train better check with Station-Master which cabins are UNRESERVED.

As for the immigration issue, it is a bit of inconvenient. The Malaysian Immigration officers at Tanjong Pagar Station will ONLY endorse your entry by stamping the date with "KTM Tanjong Pagar" on the "WHITE Card". At the Woodland ICA Check Point all passengers have to alight and does the normal Immigration clearing procedures, and the train need to be checked and cleared by Immigration Officers. It takes another 20 to 30 minutes before all passengers are allowed to board the train to continue the journey to Johore Bahru. At that time the train was only 20 percent occupied, else the waiting time would be prolonged.

The train stopped again at the Johore Bahru Train Station for another 10 minutes to pick up passengers before proceed to its journey. A short distance away from JB Station the train stopped again and I thought this time was due to 'technical reasons' never realised that I had already reached Danga City Mall. There is no announcement and no visible signage at the platform. Lucky I asked and get down fast else I will end up in an unexpected trip to KL..........

Too much hassle by taking train so decided to came back by bus through Johor Immigration check point.

At the Immigration counter the 'young' Immigration Officer refused to stamp-out for me and keep questioning why my passport was not stamped and portion of the "WHITE Card" not submitted during my entry into Malaysia. The delayed had caused a long queue behind me, making me look like a 'target man'. Finally his superior came and explained to him and get my passport stamped.

I am sharing this experience to 1st-timer fellow citizens wanting to visit this Danga City Mall by train, to be more aware of these immigration matters and train ticket issues.


Click onto the below Photos Link icon to view more pictures of this Danga City Mall.

Tan CS