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Friday, November 17, 2017

7 Best JB Cafes That You Can Walk From City Square

Johor Bahru's cafe-scene seemed to be blooming in recent years. The reason is pretty simple - Singapore's cafe food is too expensive. One plate of egg benedict and a cuppa at a decent cafe costs probably SGD$25. With the exchange rate now, that is equivalent to RM$75 and that can settle a pretty good 3-person meal (thank you Malaysia, truly Asia). That's why Singaporeans flock over during the weekends or holidays, and THAT IS WHY JB prices are rising as well. Wah lao. (Sorry ah, limbeh Singaporean so need to complain a bit.)

My mother always told me "ah boy, you siao (crazy) ah, go all the way to JB and eat, worth the time and money meh?" Okay, I don't go to JB all the time. Sometimes, the customs queue is a huge turn-off, but I do catch some movies and restock my own contact lenses there (damn cheap wei - but that's another story). So whenever I'm there, might as well go try cafes, yeah?

No car? No time? No problem. Here are 7 cafes that you can walk from City Square - the mall just after the Malaysia customs (if you're going from Woodlands Checkpoint).

Disclaimer: Cafes are not ranked in any way. Just that the first picture makes a good cover photo.

1. The Replacement Lodge and Kitchen
33, Jalan Dhoby, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 Johor Bahru

This dainty, modern cafe sits at a prominent spot in Jalan Dhoby (aka Jalan Cafe or Jalan Hipsters, just kidding) and features an exterior of clean white walls - now this is worth mentioning because buildings are generally old and torn down around the area. The design of the cafe is minimalistic - pretty wooden furniture paired with white-washed walls. Sibei hipster.. and so much inspiration for my future home. To start off, The Replacement is seriously, and I'm saying it with a serious face, seriously insta-worthy. OMG, damn it, just look at this.

Friday, November 3, 2017

9 Days Iceland Summer Road Trip Itinerary: Day 6 & 7 - North Iceland

North Iceland is home to two magnificent waterfalls (save the best for the last eh) and the Mývatn geothermal area. Wake up early on Day 6 to prep yourself for what's to come. Lady M and I headed to the supermarket, Bonus, in Egilsstaðir to get some bread, juice, yoghurt (and chocolate) - yeah that's like our standard road-trip snacks. It's a 2 hour-plus drive to the day's first attraction - Dettifoss, so you better be prepped.

The largest waterfall in Europe
Egilsstaðir > Dettifoss (2 hours 10 mins)

Besides carrying the title of the largest waterfall in Europe, do you know that Dettifoss is known as "the beast" as compared to Godafoss, which is "the beauty"? People have told us that Dettifoss is so powerful that you will hear the gush and feel the tremble of the ground before you even come close to the waterfall. Well, there might be some exaggeration on the "tremble" part, but I shit you not, this waterfall is crazily strong with an average of 96,500 gallons of water crossing its bow every second! Most paths to Dettifoss are gravel roads (meaning unpaved), but the journey is definitely worth it.

Trivia time! If this waterfall looks a tad familiar, it has appeared in the opening scene of Alien: Prometheus (2012), where the pale-looking being swallowed some shit and fall into the fall. Fall into the fall (see what I did there?)
Would you just look at the mist?