Causeway

Well, I'm back to work tomorrow after a short break but long weekend. I didn't really do much over the weekend except going for some nice lunches and dinners in JB, shop around with family, took afternoon naps while waking up late in the morning, attended a nice Sunday church sermon, watched two DVDs (Clash of the Titans and Wolfman) till late nights and got myself a new specs. And, I just reached home an hour plus before I started on this new post. It's also a smooth passage at both JB and Singapore customs since it's a Monday night and lots of cabs too, waiting at the CIQ.

However, it was not the case on Friday nights and eve of public holidays, as well as public holidays. It was a nightmare crossing to JB during these times as you will experiences crowds of people doing the same thing as you. After all, the new JB CIQ officers prevents folks from walking across the causeway since it's opening. thus there are more folks queuing up for buses to ferry them over. A queue line can be in the shape of  'U', where the queue can be as long as to the end of the custom and then it curls up to another line. You can easily queued for 30-45 minutes before boarding the bus.

The crowd is actually common during these times as there are more 'groups' of travelers over the causeway during weekends or public holidays. During weekdays, it's the same 'one group' of  folks which are usually workers who commute between JB and Singapore. Come these special occasions, another three groups of travelers added in - the holiday makers( usually Singaporeans), the 'weekend folks' (those who goes home to JB or nearby places during weekends) and the homesick Malaysians (Malaysians who stayed far away like KL, Penang, Ipoh, Melaka and etc, and took the opportunity to go home during weekends or public holidays).

Thus, my advice is if you are traveling to JB to catch a coach for your vacations, try taking a half day off on a Friday and travel early before 5pm. You can shop around City Square shopping complex to pass time or opt to take an earlier coach. This is better than stuck with a terribly massive crowd and especially if you have children or elderly folks, and rushing for your coach. Alternatively, drive along the second link or take a coach in Singapore.