Cycle Route: Little India, Singapore to Johor Bahru, Malaysia

November 02, 2013

GPX Track

Distance

The total distance of our route was 26.37 miles (42.44 km). We took a 10.8 mile (17.38 km) detour (round-trip) to the Kranji Countryside to check out some of the agricultural projects in the area.

Elevation

Max Elevation	275.59 ft	84 m
Min Elevation	6.56 ft	2 m
Total Climbing	1945.54 ft	593 m
Total Descent	1925.85 ft	587 m

Terrain

The first segment of our ride was through the city; we left early to avoid heavy traffic, and would recommend others to do the same. Aside from a few short but steep climbs up highway flyovers on both sides of the border, the elevation was mostly flat and easy.

As you might expect, road conditions in Singapore and just across the border in Malaysia were excellent.

Accommodation

As this was our first ride, it covers two hotels.

In Singapore, we left from Hotel 81 Dickson, located on the outskirts of Little India. We paid 105 SGD per night. We enjoyed this hotel because it was comfortable and we could fit our bikes in the room. It was very clean, had AC, a big window, hot water and free bottled water.

We spent the night at Hotel CIQ in Johor Bahru, just across the border in Malaysia, for 99 ringgit. The room was nice enough, with AC and hot water, but they would not let us keep our bikes with us. We locked them up in hotel’s laundry room with U-locks and cables.

Food

We had lunch at Bollywood Veggies. It was pretty tasty but also a bit expensive. 2 dishes and 2 drinks cost us 30 SGD. The fig iced tea is well worth trying.

We had dinner in Malaysia around the corner from our hotel at a local Chinese restaurant. A group of jovial and inebriated old guys at the next table shared some of their meal with us when we told them their dinner smelled good, so we bought them a beer. Our meal cost us 35 ringgit.

Points of Interest

We took some time to explore the Kranji Countryside before heading into Malaysia. Bollywood Veggies was a beautiful little farm. They had almost every variety of tree imaginable, many vegetable gardens, and even a nudist lotus “sanctuary”, though we didn’t see any naked bodies during our visit!

We also visited Max Koi Farm. Land-strapped Singaporeans with a passion for raising koi are forced to rent small ponds to practice their hobby. You have to love koi to pay for the privilege of driving 20 miles from the city to stare into a small tank! The facilities were very nice, and they had many kinds of fish in addition to koi, including some gorgeous arowana and even a few massive Amazonian arapaima!

A giant, endangered Amazonian fish called an arapaima. It can grow longer and heavier than a human adult!

There are a number of other farms in the area, including dairy, crocodile and frog, all of which were closed by the time we found them. A full list of the places you can visit in the Kranji Countryside can be found here.

Border Crossing

The border crossing between Singapore and Malaysia is relatively painless. When you cross the bridge, stay to the left, in the motor bike lane. When you reach the checkpoint on the Malaysian side of the bridge, they will give you your visa. Americans get a free 90 day visa on arrival. For more information, check out our visa requirements guide.

Costs

Our night at Hotel 81 and lunch cost us 114 SGD. Dinner and our room at Hotel CIQ cost 134 ringgit. Altogether, we spent around $133 USD on our first day touring. Yikes.