Johor Premium Outlets - Discounted Branded Goods @ Malaysia

My experience with outlet shopping in Hokkaido has opened up a whole new world and I am seeing it with a different light even though I am still not that willing to spend my hard earned money on branded goods!

Nevertheless, I was willing to check out Johor Premium Outlets (JPO) when I traveled to Kluang last December and we happened to chance upon the weekend with additional discounts dispensed at JPO! 

As expected, the place was packed with customers and compared to the cool comfort within our air-conditioned car; it was insanely hot in the open-air shopping mall. 

Even the mist fans failed to bring down my temperature; they should have installed big ass fans instead for better air circulation! Oh well, no point complaining when we were the eventual decision makers in paying JPO a visit.

Navigation at JPO was pretty straightforward; three long buildings spread over two floors but the interesting design with wide aisles gave the impression you are always on the ground floor.

JPO first opened in December 2011 and got to its current size with 130 stores in 2013 with its Phase II expansion. There's actually another premium outlets branch in Malaysia that started operations in June 2017; the Genting Premium Outlets!

I bet the second branch would be nicer to shop as it's at Genting Highlands where the climate would be way more comfortable than Johor! At JPO, i almost wanted to jump into the water fountain to cool myself down.

As it was close to Christmas when we dropped by; there were festive decorations like Christmas-themed LED lights in the bushes although it wasn't as elaborate as in the case of Singapore.

There were play areas for kids but i thought it was pretty small and might not appeal to kids nowadays, given how reliant we are on ipads and tablets.

Another playground was also under maintenance then.

A lot of familiar brands for you to shop around; we allocated two hours which proved to be sufficient yet insufficient. Sufficient for the fact that i really couldn't stand walking under the hot and humid weather and insufficient as i actually didn't step into many shops!

Those i am interested in had a long queue and i dislike having to queue to shop! Queuing for good food is another matter altogether, by the way.

I did join at one point and give up in less than 10 minutes when the line didn't seem to have moved. My time can be better spent in other less popular shops.

Especially when i can enjoy the air-conditioning for a short moment, before the salesperson came over and asked if i need any help.

Did i manage to get anything? Of course i did; a shirt from G2000, a pair of shoes from Hush Puppies and a few candle holders from Bath & Body Works!

Random photos of JPO for your viewing pleasure. Numerous dining options were available at JPO but please keep in mind that the crowd on weekends would mean a longer waiting time during peak mealtimes.

I finally got a seat and an ice-blended coffee at Coffee Bean! In my short "stay" at the cafe, i noticed many people were hogging the seats on behalf of others. For example, it could be a family of six at first but four would disappear to do their shopping while the rest would just play their phones.

In all, i am glad to have visited JPO despite the hot weather and might actually return in the future with a longer allocated time and equipped with a portable fan! 

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Location

Jalan Premium Outlets, Indahpura 81000 Kulai,

Johor Darul Takzim, Malaysia

Map

As above; search under day 2 for Johor Premium Outlets.

Website

https://www.premiumoutlets.com.my/johor-premium-outlets/

Store Directory

As above. 

To read more about my short 2-day, 1-night road trip to Kluang, click here!

My Second Mark of Honour (or Shame as some prefer to call it) from the Electric Kettle!

The scar on my forearm that I got from the car accident on Jeju Island is quite faded now and a colleague has been encouraging me to post an update on this blog. But before I could do that (due to massive procrastination), another mark had staked its claim! 

Well, it's a burn mark once again and its origin was deemed as a mark of shame according to a couple of my friends as the injury was not a result of my baking or cooking. 

To keep the long story short - I was boiling water in an electric kettle and needed to move a tray of eggs to behind the kettle. The water reached the boiling point when my forearm was across the kettle's mouth and the steam scalded it. 

In my haste to withdraw my arm, I brushed it against the kettle's insanely hot metal mouth. Double whammy but I didn't freak out. Such incidents are not uncommon and I immediately slabbed Bao Fu Ling cream on the affected spot. 

The pain subsided although the rapidly formed water blister remained intact.

Given how much I moved my body while sleeping, it's almost a guarantee that it would burst the next morning! Thinking it would heal in no time, I put on some cream and went to work. 

Wrong! More water blisters formed! 

I didn't feel much pain until I took a bath and even then, it was just a sizzlingly hot sensation for just a few moments. At that time, I had clean forgotten that water is a literal nemesis for fresh burn wounds. 

With the skin peeling off and exposing the flesh, I knew the situation was bad yet I was too afraid to visit my family's doctor in case I were to get a verbal thrashing for not managing the burn in the first place! 

Thinking the cream might worsen it at this stage, I opted for my second best treatment; the topical skin healer from Pharma House. It's actually for pets but it's a fantastic product for the humans in the household! 

Uh oh - the wound had dried up although it's obvious that the surrounding area had turned bright red; a sign of infection that could be disastrous if not treated in time.

Stubbornness runs in my blood and I decided to give it a few more days! As you see from the above, the situation had improved in the next two days with the formation of new layers of skin.

Within long, the scabs started falling off! Hurray！ 

This is the look of my second mark of honour three weeks after the electric kettle incident. It's definitely going to scar but time would fade; as it did with the Jeju Island car accident mark next to it.

Kluang Coffee Powder Factory - The Store That's Opened on Sundays! @ Kluang Town [Johor, Malaysia]

Kluang Coffee Powder Factory is usually the last stop for visitors leaving Kluang but it's not opened on Sundays! Thankfully, i found out that the factory has a retail outlet nearby that's not closed on weekends!

Classic tins of coffee powder adorned the space and coffee lovers would likely enjoy the irresistible coffee aroma that literally filled up the entire shop.

Even though the brand is known officially as Kluang Coffee, there's another name tagged to it; Sultan coffee as the state sultan was said to be a huge fan of the coffee that started operations back in 1966!

There's a pretty decent selection of coffee; from beans to powder to 2-in-1 and 3-in-1. The issue i faced was that there's no sampling! I love Southeast Asian coffee style and in fact, prefer it over western brew but without any samples, i wouldn't know if i should buy more.

I figured i should just buy one pack of White Coffee 3-in-1 and if it's indeed really good; i wouldn't mind driving back to Kluang again to stock up! Got a container of kopi-o, 2-in-1, for my parents too as they love checking out new kopi brands.

To enhance the coffee-drinking experience, you may wish to buy the traditional cups. If i recall correctly, each cost RM 11. So how did i find Kluang coffee? Not bad even though i enjoy my old town 3-in-1 white coffee better.

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Location

Jalan Wayang, Kampung Masjid Lama,

86000 Kluang, Johor, Malaysia

Google Map

Look under Day 2, Kluang Coffee Powder Factory Store (居銮咖啡粉厂销售点)

To read more about our short two days, one night trip to Kluang, click here!

The Jaw Dropping Lavender Garden @ UK Farm Agro Resort [Kluang, Johor, Malaysia]

My trip to Hokkaido was an enriching experience and i guess i have had enough of lavender fields at both Farm Tomita and Shikisai-no-Oka (四季彩之丘) to know how a stalk of lavender flowers looks like. 

Therefore, i was excited to see an archway leading to a lavender garden at UK Farm in Kluang! How did they even manage to get lavender to bloom in such bloody hot weather?!

Stepping closer and closer; i can unconsciously feel my jaw dropping wider and wider. This is no lavender garden; at least not the same kind of commercial lavenders that i am aware of! And it looked so sparse; i thought the goats had taken a palatable liking to them. 

Close-up of the flowers; flower expert can comment if it's indeed lavender flower, given that there are 47 known species of lavender in the world. 

There's a shimmer of hope in the midst of disappointment. p.s. not the flowers though as they were, simply put, incomparable with those i see in Hokkaido. 

The brightly painted bird houses that dotted the ground were that 'hope' - given their attractiveness in the open space, i didn't see any bird taking shelter in the shade. Guess 'business' may be better at night.

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Location

Within UK Farm Resort,

Kluang, Johor State, Malaysia

Google Map

Check out my google map (look for UK Farm under Day One) as above.

Admission Fees

Entry is complimentary, just like the mini zoo, as part of the tour package that cost RM 47.70 an adult. 

To read more about our short two days, one night trip to Kluang, click here!