Johor Bahru
Multiple Courts Around The City
June 2023
Malaysia
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I was concerned that I would have to change my blog name to NorthAmericaBaller(dot)com because all my recent posts had been in North America. However, I finally got the opportunity to travel to the other side of the world.
I flew into Singapore, but since I had already played basketball there not once, twice, but three times before, I decided to explore another destination for my basketball adventures.
With only 24 hours to spare, I quickly settled on Johor Bahru, Malaysia, as it was just a short bus ride away from Singapore.
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Random Note: Since I am a big believer in public transportation, one other idea that I wish I had started earlier during my travels was a blog for frugal travelers on how to take public transportation from the airport into the city. For Johor Bahru (JB), I would have written about my experience traveling from SG to JB, which is supposedly a very popular route. So without further ado, I will half-heartedly start my travel blog now.
From SG to Johor Bahru City Square Mall
Take the train to Woodland MRT ~$2SG
By Thomson–East Coast Line
Or By North–South Line
Take the 950 bus ~$2SG
Get off at Woodlands Checkpoint. This is for leaving SG
Go through security and customs
Get back on the 950 bus ( I noticed you could take literally any other bus like 160, 170x or 950) ~$2SG
Get off at Johor Bahru Checkpoint. This is for entering Malaysia
Go through security and customs
Walk to Johor Bahru City Square
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Ok back to our regularly scheduled programming
Once I arrived to JB, I was faced with an immediate dilemma. Do I get a super cheap massage or start my basketball adventures? Luckily for me, my common sense kicked in and I went straight for the basketball courts.
Another random note: As I write this, I realize the hypocrisy of my earlier mention of promoting public transportation, as my entire experience within JB involved using the ride-sharing app, Grab. Due to favorable exchange rates and the affordability of Grab rides compared to other modes of transportation, it proved to be both a cheaper and faster option. However, I do want to emphasize the importance of tipping your Grab drivers. Please tip your drivers!
I will admit that finding a good pickup basketball court in JB proved to be more challenging compared to other cities. Although there was a Facebook group dedicated to basketball, it didn't appear to be very active. Additionally, no meetup group was specifically designed to help newcomers easily locate places to play. As someone who was just starting out in JB, I would have been completely lost without any guidance on what to do or where to play.
I'll be upfront and say that I didn't actually get the opportunity to play 3x3 or 5x5 basketball during my time in JB. However, I did visit several courts within a three-hour period on a Saturday night. While I don't have a definitive answer regarding where to play, I hope this blog post can serve as a helpful starting point for your pickup basketball adventures in JB.
The first court I visited was Landak Basketball Court
I arrived around ~7pm and there was 1 person shooting by himself. He was extremely friendly and allowed me to shoot around with him. During our shootaround, I started chatting him up asking if anybody would come here later tonight to play, or if there were other courts he would recommend. He said there may or may not be people coming as he didn’t know if anybody had reserved the court. He said that it costs $100RM to rent the court for 1 hour and the players would just split the costs.
I decided to continue shooting for about 30 minutes to see if others would show up to play but unfortunately, no one else came. I asked the guy if there was a place he would recommend to go check out next and he mentioned that the Skudai basketball court would have good games running. And just like that, I grabbed a Grab and made my way there.
I arrived here with much excitement as there were a couple of people here shooting around and just starting to play. I talked to a guy to see if I could play but he said that they reserved the courts and that I couldn’t play. Understandable, as friends or groups of people pay money to reserve and play, you can’t have extras show up as it wouldn’t be fair for those who had already paid. He also mentioned that the court was already booked up by multiple groups from 8 pm-12 am (midnight).
He stayed firm and as players were trickling in, I exited out to find another court to see if I could find an open gym.
Well, this was a step back in my search as it was completely dark and no one was there besides one kid filming a TikTok. There seemed to be 2 basketball courts and an indoor badminton(?) court nearby with people playing in it. Can’t say much about this one.
I decided to see if I went further out I could have more success, so I decided to venture to Plentong Basketball Court. As I was pulling up to the court, I thought that this would be my chance as it was filled with people but as I got closer, I realized these were middle/high schoolers and they were either practicing or playing for fun. Either way, I was not about to be that sketchy guy and join a bunch of middle schoolers in pickup basketball.
I regret to inform you that my last and final court did not provide any opportunity to play either. By this time, it was getting late and I couldn’t even get near this court as it was fenced off and all the lights were off. I’m not sure what this court would be like during the day, but at night, it was kind of scary as I was chased by 2 dogs who probably thought I was trying to break in at one point.
I noped out of this place as quickly as possible and that ended my basketball search in JB
Conclusion
Malaysians LOVE basketball, but it’s hard to figure out where to play and when as a foreigner. I probably didn’t help myself as I went late at night from 7 pm-12 am midnight so I think you could have better options either in the morning or daytime (just not during the peak sun). Anyways, I hope this blog helps you get started and if you are successful in finding a good pickup basketball group in JB, please let me know!
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