After another fabulous breakfast buffet, Hubby and I got the car packed up and off we went. First stop was a Petronas gas station where I got a toll card, though it took some time to get the young man at the counter to understand me. I think they all know some English when it's written, but when it's spoken, they're not used to the way it sounds (particularly from an American), so it's a bit of a challenge. Anyway, I gave them $200 ringgits, but in the end they sold me the card and put about 150 ringgits on the card, then gave me change. Not what I asked for, but we'll see how it works out. Not sure how many ringgits it will take to get to Johor Bahru, just north of Singapore, but we should have plenty. Anyway, once that job was done, we headed out onto the expressway. Just to be on the safe side, the first time I reached a toll booth, I went through on a lane that had a person manning the booth, just in case it didn't work, but I flashed the card on the wave-pad and sure enough, the gate raised, yeah! Another lesson learned (the hard way, maybe, but learned)! We had an uneventful drive down to Johor Bahru, with miles and miles of highways with plantations of palm trees along each side. I had noticed when we were flying in that there were miles and miles of these plantations as soon as we were over land. Not sure what they're growing, but they're growing a LOT of it! We stopped once at a rest area hoping to find something to eat, but it all looked like high sodium, high soy sauce kind of noodles and local fare, except for a Baskins Robbins, so we ended up with chocolate milkshakes. Had a shock when I went into the rest rooms, though. Half the stalls had toilets, the rest just had pits with a hose. Don't even want to imagine how that's used, though I'm sure it's quite ordinary for the locals. I was prepared to use the toilet until I discovered there was no paper in the stall, so I abandoned the idea altogether. I did notice a tissue dispenser near the entrance, I guess you're supposed to get what you need before you go in. Not many women I know would find THAT particularly useful! Anyway, my phone map was excellent, and got us right to the hotel, arriving around 3:00, so we had plenty of time to get in and relax for the afternoon. The neighborhood around the hotel was older and more dilapidated, but the hotel itself was nearly brand new. It had a smaller, more compact lobby than the elaborate Everly, and the room itself was a bit smaller, but there was no musty smell, it was fresh and clean, and we were looking forward to spending some time in the bed getting caught up on our sleep. We debated about whether to go out to a restaurant, but in the end decided tiredness trumped hunger, so Hubby went to bed early while I finished up on some logistical challenges that needed to be faced tomorrow. Apparently, trying to cross the border into Singapore with a rental car is very difficult (not to mention, our car rental agreement clearly stated no cross border travel), so I had to figure out a way to get in and out of Singapore. It turned out there was a bus called the Causeway Link that had a stop directly across from the hotel where we were staying, and that would take us across the border, through the checkpoints, and into a stop in the city where there was a subway station, which would then get us into the heart of Singapore. From there, we would be able to get to the start of the HopOn bus again, and go where Hubby wanted to go. It looks like it's going to be a tiring day, but it seems very straight forward. We'll see soon enough!
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