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.
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!
I love those little lights that they hang around each house. Very quaint, very charming, perhaps even a little Christmasy!
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!
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!)
Feb 28, 2008
72
Hi Veron
i just visited Danga Bay again (2 times in 2 weeks, hehe).. had to finish off my shopping trip since the first visit didn’t give me enough time to splurge!
(if u need private transport, i can give you a ride on my motorbike)
All’s good in Danga bay, love that place.
I only have 1 complaint – that is against the Animal Petting Zoo (located just behind the amusement rides and stonehenge sundial thingy).
I have already written in a formal complaint to ACRES and its chairman, Louis Ng, to get the zoo investigated for animal cruelty. I was there on the weekend and was appalled at some of the enclosures used to keep the animals!
Reasons are as follows:
Yes, most of the cages were clean and well stocked with water/food. However, the puny size of the cages made it nothing short of a prison for the animals!
-Primates were all stressed- cages were no more than 3 ft x 3 ft. Monkeys looked scared, hugging each other through grills of cages.
-Raccoons were stressed, jumping and climbing up and down repetitively.
– Sunbear was constantly gnawing on cage, trying to escape.
-Reptiles – monitor lizards, iguanas etc.. no space at all. The head and tail of the monitor lizards barely can fit in the cage!
Tiger – juvenile tiger named Simba – was being dragged around on metal chain. The “keeper” (more like a glorified security guard) was smoking and even tried to put the lit cigarette in the tiger’s mouth (I scolded him to stop).
-Birds & Parrots – the “keepers” were constantly tormenting them – poking them with fingers etc. Over-crowded cages.
-Horses: definitely hungry and not well feed. They went crazy the moment I bought some hay into their enclosures because they were starving.
-All the cages were bare metal grills – not good for the footing of the animals. No mats, shelter, blankets etc provided for the animals.
– Most cages kept under the bright, glaring spotlights. Animals can’t sleep at night.
** I even suspect a lot of the animals were caught and smuggled illegally into the “zoo”
Let the readers of your blog know about the atrocious conditions in which the animals are being kept. Just like you petitioned against Bee Cheng Hiang, i’m sure something can be done against Danga Bay Zoo. Veron, being a cat lover yourself, you may be keen to know they have many Bengal cats in captivity there as well..including kittens.
May 21, 2008
1
Hi alll…am glad to see that all of u to some point in time enjoyed your trip to Danga Bay. I would say this is not a too popular place for the locals Chinese here & majority it’s a hangout place for the Malays & Indians. However, for short trips…this can still be considered the place to enjoy !!
Have a nice day…..
Sep 8, 2008
1
I was just there last nite at Dangar Bay. Not many people around, the rides were mostly empty, could not locate any food stalls and most of the facilicites were not up yet.
Maybe the public is not aware of its existence yet. What a pity cause the area is big enough to accommodate a good crowd. Looks like a great place for kids too.
Mdm Shilla
Singapore
Jan 27, 2010
1
bestkan pergi danga bay jor .saya pergi bersama keluarga saya best.saya tinggal di hotel puteri pacific hotel best gila lah
Jan 27, 2010
1
hi aeron ang nice to meet you .
love to go to johor bharu if yes you are like same ,if not sorry goodbye aeron ang
from:
sitijusna@sitisharifah bt.muhammad
Sep 24, 2010
1
Its a dead town in fact, both day and night. Nothing much to see and do there for locals though but should be fascinating enough for tourists. Best to go at night because on day time, you could end up being an overdone steak.
Mar 10, 2012
1
Grandkids njoyed the place so much, it was difficult getting them away!! want to take theem there again soon. We live in Selangor, Malaysia.