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| Johor Premium Outlets |
I have been reading about the planned opening of Johor Premium Outlets, one of the branches of the Premium Outlet Centers that are very popular in the United States, since last year, but whenever I googled it, it seemed like it was just almost about to open. I think I may have read somewhere that it finally opened early this year, but because of my hectic schedule, I just made a metal note to myself that I wanted to check it out when I had time.
When I woke up this morning at around 1030am, yaya Naling (Sofia's Nanny) and I were talking about what to do with no Sofia to tell us what she wanted to do, when I just mentioned that maybe we could try visiting the Premium Outlets in Johor. Since she was game, I just googled it, you can visit their website here, and followed the link with directions on getting there. It's very helpful, the give you directions by car and by bus, both from Singapore and from KL. I found that the easiest option was to take a bus from either Resorts World Sentosa, Swissotel The Stamford, or Royal Plaza on Scotts. A return trip which takes around 2 hours one way (including crossing Singapore Immigration and Malaysia Immigration) was only SG$15. You need to call Transtar Booking Hotline (+65 6297 9009/ +65 6299 9009) to book. I called them to inquire and the lady I talked to just told me to go to the pick-up point at Royal Plaza on Scotts for the 11:15am bus. They only had one bus today (they have more trips if more people pre-book) but she was pretty sure that if there were only two of us, we would be able to ride.
I immediately wolfed down my breakfast, dressed up, hurried yaya to do the same, caught a cab (normally it's a direct bus from our home, but I didn't want to be late!), and we got there with time to spare to grab a Warm White Mocha from Starbucks.
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| The bus stops at the BUS STOP right in front of Royal Plaza on Scotts so don't wait in front of the hotel lobby. |
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| The seats were big and comfy and were able to recline better than business class seats on older planes. |
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| The bus even has an entertainment system (that does not work)... hahaha... but think of the potential. |
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| This was me getting comfortable. |
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| In almost no time, the bus stops are the border (no pics allowed) and everyone disembarks to pass through immigration. This barely takes five minutes because there are no lines. |
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| That's Malaysia. The picture was taken while we were on a short bridge in no man's land. You need to pass immigration and customs but this also barely takes five minutes. |
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| We got there in an hour and a half because our pick-up point was the last stop in Singapore. |
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| If you're considering driving, parking space will not be a problem. |
VINCCI
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| The first thing I saw when we got there was a VINCCI outlet. Yay! When I went to KL, the only shopping I did was in Vincci. |
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| It looked like the had sale stock, and super sale stock. |
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| I started with this pile, where I found loads of stuff. |
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| Then I worked through these piles, where I also found loads of stuff. |
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| Then I realized that some of these pairs were also 70% off!!!! |
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| I was also able to get a pair of office pumps from here. |
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| This pile was my shortlist post yaya's quality control. Everything was so cheap I didn't have the heart to leave something out. |
The loot from VINCCI
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| Strappy Wedges in Black and Mustard |
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| Strappy sandals with giant flower |
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| Flower print wedges with light brown strap |
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| Strappy sandals with animal print wedge. Rawr!!! Hahaha... |
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| Peeptoe pumps with gold buckle |
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| I told yaya to also get everything she liked. Blue Sandals White Sandals with zipper and skulls (yaya is cool!) |
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| I couldn't resist these sandals because they were only RM9.50 (SG$3.90 or Php133) But when I was looking at my receipt I felt quite bad because it was only 50% off |
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| I love having a sister with the same shoe size, because it means I can buy everything in my size, even if the style is the same. Black strappy heels (not prictured separately) |
I loved VINCCI, the staff is not really helpful though, they were just standing all together and chatting!!! I asked them if they had any baskets, and they had none, but at least they offered to carry it to the cash register. I paid RM201.90 (SG$83 or Php2,830) for 12 pairs of shoes. I was in heaven!!! Hahahaha...
When we got off the bus at 12:45pm, we were told that we had to meet back at the same place at 4:15pm. That was 3 and a half hours to shop. I think we spent more than an hour in the first store we entered.
Here are some of the other shops.
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| The Padini Outlet Store This is the mother company of VINCCI, selling clothes primarily. |
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| Samsonite, Bonia and Oroton. I thought the stores were NOT THAT Premium... |
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| Then we got to the High Street end where the more expensive brands were located. Like Coach, Ferragamo, Armani, etc. Coach is much cheaper from the Coach Outlet in Australia. |
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| They also had a food court on that end, near the fountain, beside information. |
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| The food court had a nice enough ambiance with handing artsy lanps. The only problem is that you will need local currency. |
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| It was very easy to change money because Maybank is just across the food court beside the Police Station. They are open even on a Sunday. |
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| You can also change small bills. I only changed SG$20 and it was more than enough for a food court lunch for two. |
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| We decided to go for Thai. They also have a real Thai Restaurant but we wanted more time to shop). |
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| Food court prices range from RM10 to less than RM15 per meal. |
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| I ordered Fried Chicken Chop from another stall (RM8.90) because I thought my food would not be enough since I am back on my no rice diet. |
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| We ordered Thai Green Curry Chicken. It came with fried egg which made me happy, but there were only 3 pieces of chicken, a lot of veggies and a lot of sauce. It tasted good though. Fried Chicken Chop was a good move. |
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| We both ordered drinks and still had money left for a white chocolate chip and macadamia cookie from Coffee Bean. I gave yaya the last RM1 as a souvenir. |
The layout of the place is pretty good, because after you work your way to the Food Court, the rest of the shops are on the second floor. It's pretty easy to shop in an organized manner which Tim (the slave) is such a fan of.
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| We were very happy to see that they had a play area behind the fountain. Next time we come back with Fif, we're even bringing her swimsuit so she can get wet and yaya can watch her while I shop. |
We started on the side with the more premium shops this time.
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| The sign of CK announcing that they had RM30 (SG$12.35 or Php420) tops was calling me to come in. |
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| I got a knit halter top that was previously RM299. |
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| There are also ties on the back to adjust the fit. |
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| and I got very comfy razor back tank tops in Navy... |
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| and in white. They were previously RM219 each. |
It was only in the second floor that I realized that they called the area with the more affordable shops Low Street. Hahaha.
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| La Senza had really good deals, 3 for RM99 on bras and 6 for RM45 for undies, but I didn't buy any since I know where to source them at factory prizes :) The little boy in the picture kept on going to the poster of the model in the red undies. Hahaha. |
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| They also had Charles and Keith (& Pedro on the first floor) and Cotton-On. Charles and Keith is much more expensive than the Outlet Store in Anchorpoint Mall, and the styles were NOT any newer. |
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| Cotton-On was OK. I bought a bunch of frilly undies for RM5 each (around SG$2 or Php70). |
I bought all the nice ones in my size because the last time the price was that low in Singapore was more than 2 years ago, and they never went that much on sale since then. I really like them because they are actually very comfortable to use and are not merely decorative.
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| I was also able to get this pair of sandals for my sister because they were in the RM5 (yes, you read that right!) pile. That's only around SG$2 or Php70 when the original price was SG$45 (because Cotton-on also has branches in SG). Can you say BLING? hahaha |
The time was actually just right to be able to shop in the stores that interest you, and browse through some that don't. We made it through the whole place in time to just go to the rest rooms (which are very clean here, compared to the border rest rooms) and finish our money in Coffee Bean.
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| We passed the real Thai Restaurant so I took a picture of the menu for perspective. It was only a few ringgits more per dish so if you have time to spare, it might be better to try this. |
We went to the pick-up point a few minutes early because we did not want to get left behind. The bus was already parked and some people who had the same idea as us were waiting in the comforts of the bus. The return trip took two hours because Royal Plaza on Scotts was the last drop so we had to go through the other Singapore stops.
I had so much fun, it was really a great impromptu adventure. I'm sure Sofia will want to go because she will just love the idea of going to Malaysia, so she can go to the playground. (That's why she keeps on saying she wants to go back to Brazil!) I want to do it again... but maybe towards the end of my stay here so they have time to re-stock. Hahaha.
Johor Premium Outlets
Jalan Premium Outlets
Indahpura 81000 Kulaijaya
Johor Darul Takzim
Malaysia
Transtar Booking Hotline
Only on Saturdays, Sundays & Singapore Public Holidays
+65 6297 9009/ +65 6299 9009
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