"Johor Bahru -- Nice Town, but beware of Cons" Johor Bahru by Ewingjr98

Village near JB

Despite my being very kind and full of praise for the locals, I was lucky enough to be ripped off and have my life threatened in Johor Bahru (JB). Why? Because, according the jerk I spoke to: I am an American, therefore I am at war with all Muslims. That was news to me, but I guess I can deal with it!

I was at the end of a few days in Singapore. My travel companion, DW, woke up early and departed from the Singapore International Airport. I had one last day in Singapore and decided to take a side trip to Johor Bahru. My friend from S'pore warned me that it was a dangerous place... but I'm an experienced traveler, so no problem!

I took the bus from Singapore across the bridge to Johor Bahru. After arriving I walked through customs and wandered toward town. As soon as I arrived, I exchanged a few Singapore Dollars for Malaysian Ringgit. Then I walked to the waterfront area and to the State Secretariat Building to have a quick look around.

At the State building, a man approached and told me he was from Singapore. After a few days there, I learned to trust Singaporeans, so I was eager to take advantage of the advice he offered. I told him I was just in JB for the afternoon, so he offered to flag down a taxi and have the driver show me some of the key sites. I asked how much... he said "not much" and said we'd figure it out once he found me a taxi. After he found a free cab and gave him directions, I expected him to leave, but he sat down in front and acted as my tour guide (of course, I was becoming a little suspicious by this time...).

We took the taxi to the Mosque, Royal cemetery, a small village on the outskirts of JB, the Palace, and finally the Abu Bakar Istana Bezar Museum.

Throughout the drive, I got the feeling my "guide" was feeling me out to see how naive I was and how much money I had. Several times I asked him how much the ride would be, but he always answered the same: not much. My alarm was raised, so I looked at the fare chart on the door and calculated the worst case scenario: for the 45 minute ride (including stops) the max fare should have been under US $10. I was thinking if they gave me trouble, I would be more than willing to part with US $20. When we arrived at the last stop (the museum) my guide calculated my fare... he said I owed US $80 -- $10 for each stop on the tour! I told him that was outrageous and I pointed out the sign in the window that said I owed less than US $10. First he said the sign was old, then he said it was for Singapore not JB, then he gave me another story or two... I was not amused. I offered US $20 as I had planned, and I pointed out that this was more than adequate for the ride.

That is when my guide pissed me off. He told me I was an American in a Muslim country, and that we were enemies at war. I told him I was not his enemy, and I again thanked him for the ride, but offered only US $20. That's when he said I was being disrespectful and told me about the American who was murdered in JB a few years back. I wasn't in the mood for any more of his crap, so I gave the driver US $25 and walked away.

Gate to Abu Bakar Museum

I ended my visit with a great walking tour of the Abu Bakar Museum. It was very nice and cost US$7. Unfortunately no photos are allowed inside, but you can see the throne room, the treasure rooms, and the hunting room.

Finally, I walked back to the waterfront, central market area, and then caught the bus back to Singapore.

• Cons:Con artists, having your life threatened by extremists
• In a nutshell:Beware the cons.