Since Jan 5 of this year, the same train opened a terminal at the newest Mall in JB - Danga City Mall. For a limited period, people from Sg can now travel to this Mall via KTM for only $3. It was Che, our housemate who saw the ad from Today Newspaper and asked us if we are interested to go, of course! So we planned a trip to go there with the whole household. I also told Diane & our other friends from work about this. Finally we have all decided to do it on the first day of CNY (Chinese New Year), which was yesterday 26Jan2009 since it was a holiday in Sg.
A lot of people were discouraging us, mostly Sg locals because they say that Malaysia is not a safe place & that there was nothing much to see there. Even Filipino friends were telling us this, but they were all missing out the point. We just want to go there to experience what it feels like to ride a train & that going to the mall was just a plus. Unfortunately, Miller (Che's hubby) became hesitant to bring his kids there because the Uncle cabbie told them all this. Likewise, Diane was still tired from our Sentosa trip the other day so in the end it was only Zarah & me who went.
The terminal was very near our place so it was very convenient for us. You can take buses 10, 30, 80, 97, 100, 131, 145 & 57 & alight at the Railway Station Bus Stop or the Opp Railway Station Bus Stop if you're coming from the other direction. The nearest MRT Station is Tanjong Pagar, if you are keen on walking. If not I suggest that you take the MRT going to Harbourfront & from the Opp Vivo City Bus stop take the bus numbers below. The Railway Stn Stop is just 3 stops from Opp Vivo City.
Thanks to the bloggers who posted their feedback & suggestions I got a few tips on what to do because as expected, there was nothing in the paper, brochures or even the train station itself that explains the necessary details of the limited offer package. The train schedule was not even posted on the station itself. Luckily it can be accessed thru the mall's website http://www.dangacitymall.com
I purchased 2 tickets for Zarah & me. (Note: See the stamp SEATS ARE NOT GUARANTEED, which will be relevant later). 
There is no round trip ticket sold at this station. The trip back has to be purchased at the 2nd Level counter in side the mall
Since we did not bring any luggage or bulky things we did not have to go thru the Customs checking. But if you do, you have to go thru the checking first. But we still need to fill out the White Immigration cards. Hmmmmm, where can we find them? In most ports or immigration offices they are conveniently stacked near the ticket booth or information counter, but not this place. The people who were there before us said that there was a staff who was giving them out earlier, but he is now no where to be seen. So we did our own searching... we had to go inside the Departure are & had to go inside an office, which has the CLOSED sign posted on the door but the we were later told that its actually open & we can just take the cards there. Very informative right?
Then we had to go out again, fill out the card, queue up, get our tickets punched, go thru Malaysian immigration & board the train. The train had a few coaches labelled alphabetically. Since there was no indication on the ticket for which coach to take, we took the nearest one that we could find (K5 coach). But we later saw that it was crammed so we alighted and boarded the next one. So if it says SEATS ARE NOT GUARANTEED one would think that it is a free seating right? Thus, one can just take whatever seat that you can find. But unfortunately, it has a different meaning for KTM (lost in translation!?).
After taking our seat, one rude man approached us & asked to see our tickets. So we confidently showed them to him. He asked us, (in broken English) do you see what is written there? No seats guaranteed. Do you know what that means? I told yes, No seats guaranteed (smartass hahaha). He then told us that we should remain standing at the connecting hall of the coaches and see if those with guaranteed seats would be taking their seats first. So i asked him where we should stay, he just rudely pointed there! just there! waaaaaaaaaa. Of course I had to clarify everything & believe me I was really practicing my patience until my lungs were about to burst. But he retorted : Do not argue. waaaaaaaaa! Apparently his English was not very good so there was no point in talking to him. A few other pinoys heard this & got worried. They all stood up & followed us out of the coach because they were also holding the same ticket. Apperently, going to Danga City mall for a cheap price has its set backs. And this is the major issue of all, you would have to stay on the Buffet coach or stand in the regular coaches & wait if there will be available seats until the train is moving. How pathetic! The more irritating fact is that we were not even given an option to purchase tickets with guaranteed seats. Once you tell them you're going to Danga City Mall they would just issue the $3 ticket without any explanation on the terms & conditions of buying this ticket.
I then asked the more reasonable staff about the terms of using the ticket, they explained to us that we should take the Buffet Coach which was after the K1 coach. It was already 2pm & the train was about to leave so my sister & I ran towards the front of the train to find the Buffet coach, as expected it wasn't labelled so no one would really know where the hell it was. We were just able to figure it out because it looked like a mini-food court. It could take about 40 seated passengers. Lucky for us there were still a lot of vacant seats. So apparently a lot of people did not know about this. Whew! (After going thru Woodlands Immigration, a few other people joined us, so the place was quite crammed with people standing up)
The train left at 2:20pm we still had to stop at Woodlands to complete immigration requirements. All the passengers had to alight at the immi point, queue up & go back. It probably took us about 20-30 mins to do this & after 10 - 15mins we finally arrived at the Danga City Mall.
Since it was still new, there was nothing much to see there. The clothes are still expensive if you think in terms of SGD & Peso. For shoppers of expensive clothing they have the Metrojaya, which is like Rustans in the Philippines. But the groceries, toiletries & small appliances were quite cheap. There was a Bowling Alley where you can play 1 game for RM4.80 (P62 or SGD2.40), Billiards Hall & an Archery area (something different huh?). [I still like the Jaya Jusco Mall http://www.jusco.com.my/JuscoHome/html/jusco/scinfo/sc_tc.php that we visited last time because they also have shops of International brands Giordano, Bossino & the likes]
Our trip back was supposed to be at 8:08pm but the train was (again!) delayed so we ended leaving at 8:50pm. The only good thing is that we did not have to alight at the Malaysian Checkpoint for Immigration formalities because the Immi officers were the ones who boarded the trains & signed our passports. Cool! But of course we still had to alight at the Woodlands Immi. But I was so glad to be back to the very organized way of life in Singapore, where every important information is clearly posted (in understandable English) & you have reliable people at the Information counter who can explain rules to you in detail.
So at 10:55pm we finally reached the KTM Train Station where we ate one of the most amazingly cheap & tasty Nasi Lemak ever.Tips & relevant info to make your trip a bit easier:
1. It's good to be at the terminal at least 1 hour earlier.
2. Buy your tickets & fill out the Immi card.
3. Stay near the boarding gate so that you can board the Buffet Coach ahead, otherwise take the trip while standing for almost 90 mins to JB =(
4. Quickly go thru the Woodlands Sg Immigration formalities & stay in front of the closed Boarding gate (for about 30 mins) quickly find the Buffet Coach once it opens.
5. Buy your return tickets upon arriving & be at the Departure area at least 15 mins early. No point going there early because there the train is already packed. You'll be lucky if you can find a seat before you reach Woodlands. And most probably, it will arrive late.
6. It is not advisable to bring kids along, but if you will make sure that you bring games for them to play with because the trip is quite boring because all you would see are rocks & trees.
P.S. Effective Feb 1, 2009 the fare for Danga City one-way trip is now $5.00
