The
Ringgit has depreciated such against other major currencies in the past year
that for the first time in years, I won’t be going to Singers for the sale this
year. I decided to instead give Johor Premium Outlets another chance and, availing
the Firefly anniversary offer, I bought flight to Senai for last Saturday.
We
were supposed to land at 09:40 but due to the busy air space (at least that was
what I understood from the captain’s announcement), we only touched down at
09:55. We had planned to make a short trip to JB before going to JPO and the next
bus from the airport was at 10. We rushed out and hurried through the terminal
but when we walked out only a couple of minutes past 10, there was no bus. We turned
back to ask at the bus counter. I certainly didn’t want to wait another 58
minutes for the next bus to the city so I asked what other options we had. The friendly
and helpful lady told us we could take a bus to Kulai or Larkin and then change
for a bus to the city. So we thanked her and went out again to wait.
We
didn’t have to wait long. A bus drew up about five minutes later and we asked
if we could take it to Kulai (I saw the destinations on a board in front of the
bus) and from there, changed for another to JB. He confirmed that indeed we
could, so we paid him the RM1.30 fare and settled in. It was a short ride. He stopped
the bus like five minutes later and told us to take a bus from the bus stop across
the road so we got down and crossed over. And luck was again with us for a bus bound
for the city came within less than five minutes. And a local woman told me that
it was easier for us to take the bus to JB from there than from Larkin as there’s
only one bus from Larkin to JB whereas there are a few services from Kulai to
JB. We paid RM3 this time. The direct Causeway Link bus from the airport to the
city would have cost us RM8 and like I said earlier, would have caused us to
spend a long waiting time at the airport.
We
reached Jalan Wong Ah Fook at 11:11 and everyone went down as it was the last
stop. It was threatening to rain and as we had seen half of JB from the bus –
in the air-conditioned comfort no less – we decided to head for City Square. We
wandered around then went to check out the food court. As it was still early,
we decided to cross over to JB Sentral to see if it had any eatery.
It
was pouring by the time we crossed over to JB Sentral but we were dry as there is
a covered overhead bridge linking City Square with JB Sentral. We weren’t
impressed with the dining options and I looked across again and spotted Komtar.
So we crossed back and headed for Komtar. It looked recently renovated:
everything looked shiny, clean, modern and new. And the crowd was not large
either. We went to the food court and although there were not as many options
as there were at City Square, we decided to have our lunch there. I’m glad we
did as the kuay teow bandung I ordered was prepared from stretch and was richly
spiced (but not spicy!) and tasteful.
We
went to use the washrooms and as the prayer rooms were nearby and it was
already time for Zuhor prayers, we decided to perform prayers there (we had
planned to do so at JPO). And again, I’m so glad we performed prayers there as
the prayer room was clean, spacious and comfortable. The one at JPO was very
much smaller and had no feet mat. Ugh.
We
hurried back to JB Sentral as we were going to take the 13:30 JPO1 bus to JPO. The
bus arrived at 13:27 and we queued up (some had to be told to queue, but of
course. Lovely Malaysians with manners huh). The fare was RM4.50 and I settled
down for a kip as I was already up before 04:00 a.m. It rained along the way.
We
arrived at JPO just before 3 p.m. and took our time walking in and out of
stores. I think I must have gone into 90% of the stores there. There were
stores that I went to twice. In the end, I bought a leather belt from Hugo Boss
as it was in my size (surprise, surprise. It’s always been hard for me to buy a
European brand belt in Malaysia as they always seem to sell the bigger sizes). That
was it. I must have walked miles at JPO and had only that belt to show for it. Ah
well, I’m a wise shopper heh.
We
went to the bus stand for the 18:35 bus to the airport. The bus arrived early
and the driver told us of the complimentary ride to and fro Senai Airport but
that we needed to get the vouchers for the centre’s information office. We rushed
back to the information office, asked for the complimentary bus vouchers then rushed
back to the bus. Phew! I think you can get the complimentary bus voucher at the
bus counter at the airport.
We
went to get the airline sticker for our brolly and then walked out to A&W beyond
the roundabout just outside the airport for dinner. The flight left on time, we
landed on time but had to endure a long wait for the bus back to KL.
Anyway
shoppers, no reason to head down to JPO anymore: Mitsui Outlet Park KLIA Sepang
opens from 30 May 2015!!! There are stores common to both outlets and there are
stores that exist in one but not the other. For me, two visits to JPO are enough.
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