Danga Bay & Johor

 

Danga Bay is a massive mixed residential and commercial development which stretches for 25km along the waterfront facing the Straits of Johor across from Singapore. It's still very much under construction with what looks like huge hotel complexes, condominiums, shopping malls and entertainment areas as well as luxury private homes.  From what we've seen, it appears that there's a lot of land reclamation in progress as the waterways are full of dredging equipment turning the already muddy waters into something indescribable.  And this is where we are at the moment - not exactly the crystal clear blue waters we were hoping for.

The Johor State New Administrative Centre, Iskandar, is part of this development and houses the government department offices spanning over 320 acres of landscaped gardens and parks. The state administrative capital will eventually be moved here from Johor Bahru.

All of this is intended to draw investments and businesses to Johor, probably in an attempt to rival Singapore, and will be among the biggest development projects in Malaysia.  Everywhere we've been, there are just dozens and dozens of cranes decorating the skyline and earthworks in progress for more and more buildings, unfortunately somewhat to the demise of miles and miles of mangroves.

We were taken on a day trip through all this then on down to the Tanjung Piai National Park which is the southernmost tip of mainland Asia.  During the tour, we were hosted by a homestay village with traditional dancing and an excellent lunch of local fare. 

 

A visit to the pineapple museum was also on the cards (don't laugh, it was actually quite interesting) and, at the end of the tour, we were taken to a small fishing village where again, entertainment and delicious local foods were served up by the villagers.  

 

This particular village was down some very narrow roads where our bus became somewhat stuck, caught between a tiny bridge we couldn't pass and a huge plantation of palm trees.  After a long survey, our driver who remained very cool, calm and collected, backed it all the way up the winding road between the palms trees without incident and was rewarded with a standing ovation for his efforts.

Like Indonesia, the Malay people are ever so friendly and welcoming.  They sincerely seem to enjoy having a bunch of ragtag yachties visit their villages and homes and go to great effort to greet and entertain us.  

The following evening was our rally welcoming dinner which was held at the convention centre at the marina.  It was a 5-star venue with excellent food and entertainment.  All the participating yachties spruced up beautifully for the occasion, some to the point of being almost unrecognisable.  This is just the start so it looks as though Malaysia will be promising more great things in the next few weeks.

PHOTO ALBUM:

Part of the welcoming committee at Tanjung Piai Park

At the southernmost tip of mainland Asia

A type of lichee called rambutan was plentiful & delicious

Beautiful young girls in traditional costume

Kota Iskandar