SINGAPORE – When I think of Johor Bahru, I think of yummy food, medicine and beauty services – all at one-third of what they would cost in Singapore.
The time spent travelling to get these deals is set to decrease with the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link that is slated to begin operations in February 2027. The cross-border rail service will carry up to 10,000 passengers an hour in each direction, with a journey time of just five minutes.
With this, it would seem that I’d be able to go to JB more often. But I don’t plan on doing so.
I used to go there once a month with my husband, who loves JB.
For what we would pay in Singapore, we can visit more upscale restaurants and enjoy a wider variety of dishes that are harder to find in Singapore, such as herbal bak kut teh and lok lok – with the lok lok in Mount Austin being my favourite.
Venues in JB also tend to be a lot less crowded, as there’s just more space. I can easily book a badminton court or a karaoke room with free-flow food and drinks. Securing the same facilities in Singapore is far more competitive, often requiring a ballot just to get a badminton court.
As I manage my chronic sinusitis with long-term medication, which is far more affordable in Malaysia, my husband and I regularly pick up supplies for ourselves and his family whenever we visit JB.
I’ve also been able to attend a variety of craft workshops in JB that would typically be far too expensive to try here.
But cost savings aren’t always my only concern.
I once went for a perm in JB. While it cost only $200, the curls lasted a grand total of one week – and I was left with damaged hair. In comparison, the same perm in Singapore usually costs me a whopping $500, but my hair is undamaged and the results stay intact for at least half a year.
My visits to JB usually take up an entire weekend, so I can’t schedule anything else over those two days.
During our most recent trip, my husband and I headed over on a Saturday morning and returned on Sunday afternoon. By the time we got home, there was barely any time left before dinner, ruling out any possibility of scheduling other plans. Even our cat ended up with a late tuna dinner that night.
For all its cost savings and fun, trips to JB failed to give me what I valued most: time.
There are many things I want to do every weekend. As a broke university student, I loved heading to JB to have a good time on a budget. As a working adult with a steady income, however, I’ve realised that chasing the cheapest deal usually means giving up something that’s not money.
When I spend time in JB, I give up spending time with my family, my friends and my cat. Because I’m busy on weekdays, weekends are the only time I have to catch up with the people I love.
Choosing to go to JB on the weekend means I won’t be able to go for my regular barre session with my friends. I also can’t eat lunch with them afterwards or have dinner with my parents. And catching up on sleep is out of the question.
Even with the new RTS, it will still take a couple of hours just to travel to the Singapore terminus station in Woodlands North, take the train and book a private-hire vehicle out of Bukit Chagar. That doesn’t even include the time needed to reach your actual destinations in the city.
As a time-starved Singaporean, it has become important for me to prioritise what matters most – scoring a cheaper manicure is simply not as important as time I could spend with family and friends.
A couple of years ago, a lorry collided with the side of my dad’s taxi. Luckily, he survived with a few fractures, but it left him with a permanent leg injury. It made me realise that time with him is finite.
The cost of living has risen significantly in recent years, making it natural to try and get the best bang for our buck. But while money can always be earned back, lost time with our loved ones is gone forever.
In my pursuit of financial security and the next great money-saving hack, I hope I never lose sight of what makes life truly meaningful. And maybe I’ll finally get enough sleep, too.
Source : https://www.straitstimes.com/business/why-the-new-rts-wont-make-me-visit-jb-more-often
