Johor Bahru: Baby's 1st Passport Chop

The hubby decided to take us to Johor Bahru (JB) the day after we got back from Taipei as CNY is approaching and all of us needed haircuts and new clothes. Whenever we are in JB, we usually go to Johor Bahru City Square where the carpark is the safest in the area. Security personnels patrol the premises regularly so we can be assured that our car is less likely to get stolen. We go there very often when we were preparing for our wedding as the bridal packages cost half of those in Singapore so we knew the place pretty well.

As my in-laws will be going along as well, we brought baby J along with us on this trip. This was therefore the first time that baby J is going overseas, albeit just across the causeway. Her passport was ready for use as I had initially gotten her passport ready for our Taiwan trip (which did not materialise).

1st chop on her passport

Baby J was really excited. She was in a good mood throughout the whole trip and kept looking out the window. She stared intently at the immigration guy as he stamped on our passports. He caught her staring at him and smiled at her.

After clearing customs the first order of business is always to pump petrol at the Shell station located along the road to City Square. And Vpower, no less, since it's infinitely cheaper than Singapore.

The next thing we always do after reaching the mall is lunch. After trying many different restaurants, my personal favourite is the Hong Kong Kim Gary Restaurant located at basement 1.

Having lunch at Kim Gary Restaurant

The variety of foods here is enormous, with 4 different menus to choose from. I especially love their cheese mushroom. Yum! Baby J was also so tired from all the excitement, she fell sound asleep on her stroller, leaving us to enjoy a peaceful meal, which happens very rarely so we really enjoyed ourselves. 

Baby J after awaking from her nap

The next order of business was the hair salon. The hubby, his youngest brother and I needed a haircut for the new year so we proceeded to my favourite hair salon, Protrim, located at level 4.

The first time that I was customer there was in 2009 when I wanted to give my hair a makeover before my wedding day. It was also the first time I have had any chemical treatment done to my 'virgin' hair. Curling, treatment and highlighting of my hair took the longest 6 hours I have ever spent in a hair salon. Their excellent service and reasonable price made me their loyal customer ever since. You won't believe it, but I don't cut my hair in Singapore anymore as I only do it at this hair salon. The highlights they did in my hair in 2009 can still be seen till now. That's how good their coloring is. They have seen me about to get married, married, pregnant and now with my baby.

This time, I got a haircut, treatment and red highlights, which cost about RM250 (roughly S$100). Everytime I'm in there, I walk out a happy gal. This time was no exception =)

Everyone bought tons of stuff especially the brother-in-law. The only bad thing is probably the lack of a nursing room as I didn't see one anywhere. Had to feed baby J using my nursing cover in a corner in McDonalds.

We'll be back again soon when my hair starts to become messy. Till next time =)