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Danga Bay – Rendezvous at Sunset

People, I found a new place to hang out in Johor Bahru — danga bay!

Danga bay is an awesome area by the sea, sort of like our equivalent of East Coast Park, only better. You can find all sorts of recreational activities here, be it cycling, skateboarding, kite flying or even paintball! There are also restaurants, food centres, amusement parks, live bands, a shopping mall and bars!

In the day, there aren’t too many peeps hanging out here. The whole place feels really peaceful and relaxing.

Kampong-style restaurant at Danga Bay

What never fails to capture my attention each time are these restaurants housed in wooden houses, a la kampong (malay village) style. It looks to be a very unique dining experience!

Kampong-style restaurant at Danga Bay

I love those little lights that they hang around each house. Very quaint, very charming, perhaps even a little Christmasy!

Danga Bay Festive Street Mall

The festive street mall is a single-storey shopping mall spanning a huge area. I think it is newly opened. There are many shops and cafés within, including a row of restaurants where people can dine alfresco. If you like cheesecake, there is a secret recipe outlet here too. Secret recipe has the best cheesecake in Singapore and JB!

Bazaar at Danga Bay

Other than the mall, there are also a few bazaars in danga bay. Sheltered under brightly coloured tents, the stalls sell mostly clothes, toys and food.

Oh yeah, in the photo above, I really dug the lanky guy with his big-ass afro do. Wonder if that hair is real?

Sundial at Danga Bay

We found this sundial at the park where there are people sitting around chit-chatting. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a sundial in real life. But we neglected to check if it could tell time accurately.

Shelter at Danga Bay

At night, this place comes to life! There are live bands performing their acoustic pieces as people sit around to eat, drink and be merry.

Danga Cruise at sunset

This small three-decker cruise is quite a big attraction in danga bay. It looks great against the sunset! I think there is a restaurant on board the cruise, although I can’t be sure.

Oh, this is a great place to watch the sunset, by the way.

Danga Bay food centre

The food centre has its white roofs built in the shape of boats. On the second level of the food centre, there are some gaming/internet shops where people can use the computers.

Tram that takes people around Danga Bay

Sightseeing trams like the one above bring people around danga bay. They looked cute, like bright red choo-choo trains. It’s not a free ride though. I think each ride costs 2 ringgit or something.

Street Lamp that resembles a tesla coil at Danga Bay

The street lamps looked pretty interesting, with the red, blue and green luminous lights. Don’t they resemble tesla coils?

So, now that I have highlighted all the interesting sights and activities you can find in danga bay, perhaps I should share with you the real reason why I would go there again and again…

The beer here is freakin’ cheap — 48 ringgit for 2 jugs of tiger beer! For me personally, that is the main draw of danga bay, although I must add that the beautiful sunsets by the sea are a huge attraction too.

(I just realised that all my photos depict danga bay as a ghost town! Besides the afro dude, there isn’t a single soul in my photos!)

Tags: Johor

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About the Editor

Veron Ang is the Founder and Chief Editor of Sparklette, a Singapore restaurants guide, lifestyle and travel blog. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in computer science from the National University of Singapore and runs a web design firm at Sparklette Studio. To get in touch, head on over to the contact page or follow @Sparklette and @VeronSG on Twitter.

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Responses Leave a comment

Jayson
44 comments

It’s such a cool place indeed!
If it’s not for your recommendation, I never knew it existed!
Nice pictures to go along with your nice write-up.
With that, your post gives me an inspiration to compose for you a haiku!
Relax by the Bay,
Enjoy the cool Danga Breeze
Nice place you should be
Jayson
Haiku Surfer
Reply
Posted July 17, 2007 at 4:52 pm
Daphne Maia
22 comments

dusk. salty sea breeze
blows across your face and you
gaze at your homeland.
there. a haiku for u!
the still-unknown-but-will-be-famous haiku princess,
daphne
Reply
Posted July 17, 2007 at 6:41 pm
malique
12 comments

oh my what the heck
try this haiku thing myself
okay im not good
Reply
Posted July 17, 2007 at 7:44 pm
Walter
72 comments

Sorry this is not a haiku… Suaku I know but not haiku!
Danga bay looks lovely and your photos plus prose certainly adds to the experience. 48 ringgit for two jugs of beer is certainly cheap…. Hmmm did u down both jugs yourself?
Reply
Posted July 17, 2007 at 9:42 pm
darren
10 comments

wow, I’m glad that Singaporeans like you actually like Danga Bay! Perhaps you didn’t try the speedboat cruise to kelongs, well not that kelong is anything special, but the view looking back to the entire Danga Bay from the sea is pretty interesting~!
What you see now in Danga Bay is only phase 1, less than 20% of what the whole 390-acre site is going to build. In the future, there’ll be water theme park, a mangrove park cum nature reserve, an aquaculture center, fishermen’s walk, an educational hub, a biotech research and development centre, bungalows, condominiums, and even a NEW cruise termnial cum customs and immigration complex with proposed direct water taxis from Sentosa! (so next time instead of entering JB from the messy and chaotic JB city center, you’ll be able to enter JB from Danga Bay, but that’s after many many years lah)
Check out more details at http://www.dangabay.com
Reply
Posted July 17, 2007 at 10:44 pm
Jacelyn
29 comments

Pretty! Looks fun. I wanna go, I wanna go! :o The afro guy is funny lol..
Reply
Posted July 18, 2007 at 12:19 am
Veron
3438 comments

Jayson: Haha “Haiku Surfer”. You really give yourself a new title each and every time! Love the haiku as always. Thanks!
Daphne Maia: Yay! My first haiku from Daphne! Thanks for the effort, princess!
malique: Wow, another haiku! I am really on a roll here. Thanks!
Walter: Of course not! I shared the two jugs with someone, and puked some into the sea too. lol! It was not a pretty sight.
darren: My gawd! Those Sentosa water taxis sound really cool! I’m totally looking forward to the development of Danga Bay. Even at 20% completion rate, the place already looks so promising!
Jacelyn: Yeah he’s funny! The moment I saw him my first instinct was to laugh.
Reply
Posted July 18, 2007 at 12:59 am
Dennis
12 comments

This saturday, I am heading in to Permas Jaya for a morning of go karting and your photos is enticing me to swing by Danga Bay for dinner and cool beer after a hot day. Pity about the beer you puked out..what a waste! haha… 2 big jugs for two, one jug too many to do, see hear smell the puke! =p Hope you did feel much better after puking then. Hmmm…now only if I can entice my friends to go.
Reply
Posted July 18, 2007 at 10:06 pm
Miccheng
90 comments

Looks like a nice place to chill out, relax and have a Pina Colata! I love the sea… the sound of ocean waves is very soothing.
Michael
Reply
Posted July 18, 2007 at 11:36 pm
Neo
29 comments

Dennis, do try out famous NASI LEMAK when u get to PERMAS JAYA. I’m sure u will love the rice. Trust me
Ting, there used to be a circus at Danga Bay one but now gone. if u wanna see fireworks, be sure to come here when there’s major concert like XIA RE BA DU or any celebration. eye-opening
Reply
Posted July 19, 2007 at 5:57 pm
Veron
3438 comments

Neo, you are like the Johor Bahru guru!
Hey I still remember it was 4-5 years ago when you brought me on my first ever trip to City Square!
Reply
Posted July 20, 2007 at 5:28 pm
VintageWine
1 comment

Hey i love your layout.. coolness!!!!
Reply
Posted July 20, 2007 at 7:06 pm
Neo
29 comments

Paiseh lah~ Not a JB Guru yet but spending all my weekends and public holiday in malaysia sure help a little to know about this country.
Ye man, already 4 to 5 years. Those were the happiest part of my UNI life with u and Junqian. I wish I still can stuff myself with that tonnes of food again, hehe. U are a Monster that time. Memorable =P.
If possible, do try out Permas Jaya Nasi Lemak and the beef satay near the seaside (ask around). U can forget about Changi Vilage or Punggol nasi lemak after that. I found a good map here http://www.realmalaysia.com/2006/05/09/dining-at-kampung-senibong-permas-jaya/
If your friend is able to get to Permas Bridge, it will be very easy to reach Kampung Senibong. Don’t miss it.
The waiter at Danga Bay very friendly but too bad I don’t touch liquor now after my pathetic dengue fever. If not, I will downed 3 jugs of Carlsberg cause it’s damn dirt cheap.
It’s been thousand of years since u last said u wanna venture into JUSCO Shopping Centre. When u going, the secret recipe there is waiting for u to patronise.
Reply
Posted July 21, 2007 at 2:32 am
eunice
1 comment

hi, can u tell me how to get to danga bay? the place looks very interesting indeed… thanks!
Reply
Posted July 24, 2007 at 2:31 am
Veron
3438 comments

Hey, you can take a cab there. From the customs or City Square, we paid RM10 for the cab fare. Remember to bargain with the cab driver!
Reply
Posted July 24, 2007 at 2:37 am
ivy
2 comments

how do you go here from singapore? hope you could help! :) thanks much!
Reply
Posted October 12, 2007 at 1:30 pm
Veron
3438 comments

You can take a cab from the Johor customs. That’s how we got there. It’s not too far.
Reply
Posted October 12, 2007 at 5:43 pm
dave
1 comment

hiya all over here from england for 7 weeks only 2 left to go though grrrrrrrrr. we use danga bay for food n drinks and find it very entertaining can sit and watch the world go bye ( or the lady) . loved visiting this place and hope to be there this sat (21st) for the rugby world cup. hope its on the big screen otherwise it will be the zon area then be feeling very rough on sun
Reply
Posted October 19, 2007 at 5:47 am
Edmund Ng
7 comments

hey Veron!
I just visited Danga Bay yesterday – i remember you blogged about it so here i am, checking back on your trusty blog!
yep, that place is cool.. there are 2 parts- Danga Bay and Danga Beach. Its so much more happening and hip than East Coast Park in Singapore. It seems like our M’sian neighbours really know how to entertainment and party – ECP in Singapore is so stale..
Did you visit the animal petting area? Its like an interactive zoo.
Anyway, it was my first visit to Danga Bay yesterday – will be going back there more.
That 3 story ship is a restaurant (just to confirm your question in the blog). How often do you hang our at Danga?
cheers
Edmund
Reply
Posted February 18, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Veron
3438 comments

Hey Edmund, good to see you here again!
Wow I’m surprised you checked out Danga Bay too. Not many people know of that place. Although I like it much better than East Coast Park in Singapore, it doesn’t seem that popular with the crowds.
There’s an animal petting area? What animals do they have there? I have been to Danga Bay a handful of times, but not once have I come across this place!
It’s been months since I last went there. Without private transport, it’s quite a chore to get there. Well, ’til the next time!
Reply
Posted February 19, 2008 at 9:05 pm