In short: Take the 123 Permas Jaya bus – running more or less every 20 minutes and costing RM2.60 to JB Sentral. The journey is about 20 minutes long.
At JB Sentral you cross the pedestrian bridge to go through the mall. You enter on the 3rd floor, turn right, go down to the 2nd floor and straight on to some eateries. Turn a little right and find the magazine shop. Go through and across the pedestrian bridge. As you get off the bridge, just walk straight on till the big sign that says Tmn Perling. In that area, search for the Bukit Indah bus. You travel past Sutera and then Perling which is just before Bukit Indah.
I found it quite challenging to travel by bus in Johor Bahru. The very first thing I learnt is that there is a bit of confusion – well for the likes of me there is. The only very clear thing is that any bus from any suburb goes to JB Sentral. So that part at least makes that one does not get lost so easy. JB Sentral is my other challenge. I am not very good with direction and after being at JB Sentral a couple of times, believe me, I still get lost in the mall. When you arrive with the Permas Jaya or 123 Bus, you get off and go across the pedestrian bridge to JB Sentral. If you are prone to lose your direction, you’ll end up facing security guards who check if you have a passport for going on to Singapore. Then you just turn around and try find your way backwards. Somewhere you walk across the road (on the pedestrian bridge) that seem to have all the teksis parking there.
Then you should get into the mall. The first good sign is the Nyonya food stall. Ok’lah, you cannot just walk past, the kuey is way too nice. It took me quite a few times of going to realize I come in on floor 3. From there you have to find some exit to another pedestrian bridge. My sign there is a magazine shop. I was told to go there and I will find the bus. Well, I could not believe it, but went there all the same. Then I discovered that one walks through this small magazine shop and then you’re on the pedestrian bridge that takes you to the other busses. If you are prone to lose your direction, you will battle for a number of times to find this illusive magazine shop. It’s like it just disappears into the walls and appears when it feels like it. This week I was searching for the Larkin bas – in the mall – asking a cellphone cover salesman – who teased me for not pronouncing Larkin correctly. He solved my magazine shop puzzle. It is actually on the 2nd floor.
Once you are on the right side of the mall and actually where the Bukit Indah bus is meant to be, then there is another challenge to face. Where is the Bukit Indah bus? There are what feels like hundreds of busses coming and going.
There are huge boards saying the names of the suburbs, but do you think Bukit Indah is there? No’laaah. You ask someone, he sends you to the right. You walk all the way up till there are no more busses, then you ask someone else. He sends you to the left. You walk all the way to the left until there are no more busses, then you ask someone else. I once had this man stopping me and every time sending me into the wrong direction and actually getting irritated with me coming back his direction after 5 or 10 minutes of searching. I eventually got the right answer – almost at the end to the left if I stand with my back towards the pedestrian crossing with the magazine shop. You have to look for the bus that might or might not be there with many suburbs written on it, one of them being Bukit Indah. Once on the bus, all is ok. I get off at Jusco Bukit Indah as it is a huge landmark, not easily missed and the bus stops there and I can meet a friend there.
Coming back is no sweat. You catch any bus as they all go from there to JB Sentral. Once at JB Sentral I must just struggle through my directions and the mall to find the bus terminal where I get the 123 Permas Jaya bus.
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