Malaysia — Johor Bahru — Hutan Bandar, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

A typical Malaysian misadventure

May 2015

Well, Hutan Bandar Park in Johor Bahru was a bit of an odd find.

I couldn’t believe I had lived in the area for over two years before I found the place.

It is also a bit, shall we say, weird.

And it was another example of what I view as an ‘abandoned project’ in Malaysia.

As I travelled around Malaysia, I came across several ‘abandoned projects’, which all had the same characteristics. The initial idea was good, you could see the thinking behind it, and a lot of money was spent setting it up. Unfortunately, no thought was given to long-term maintenance or viability. Hence, you find projects that must have looked great when they opened but then become sad, neglected and run down.

Hutan Bandar Park was an example of such a project.

I am unsure what the park is trying to be — play area, exercise place, botanical garden, ecological education centre?

There was a problem with rubbish.

And bats seemed to have moved into a number of the structures.

And it is easy to spot where the rats are roosting, as there are tell-tell droppings on the floor.

In one section of the Hutan Bandar is an orchid garden that was set up as a ‘pay-to-enter’ venture. The garden contained an abandoned ticket booth, and the area was run down. There were no tickets to buy and very few orchids on show.

Below are photos of some orchids now grown in the orchid garden.

Hutan Bandar, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia was rather odd. It is clear that a lot of money was spent setting up the place, and, judging by the maturity of the trees and plants, some areas seemed to be very well established. But, other areas seemed new and already run down. It looked like there is no money was being spent on maintenance.

The photo below shows a viewing tower I came across. It appeared to be open but was lacking handrails at the bottom.

And then it got worse halfway up.

And the higher I got, it was even worse. The tower was decidedly unsafe.

At the top, there was a lot of debris — bat droppings and discarded bat food.

However, the view from the top was pretty good.

Later I came across another viewing tower, which appeared to be in a better state of repair but was closed.

Finally, the last part of Hutan Bandar, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia, I visited was the Taman Ekologi section (Ecology section). This was the weirdest part of the park and suggested what had happened — they had run out of money.

The walkway over to the main building looked promising.

But as I got closer, it became apparent that not all was as it first appeared.

The main door was barred.

And the exterior of the building appeared to be in a state of disrepair.

And then, once I got inside (I found a side door open), it was clear that the building was not in use as there were bat droppings on the walls and floors.

And some light fittings had either not been installed or had been stolen.

And the final clue was that part of the walkway seemed to finish, and the land beyond appeared to be abandoned and not managed.

The Ecology Section at Hutan Bandar, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia, would make an excellent set for Dr Who. Part of the building even looks like a Dalek.

So, in summary — Hutan Bandar is an odd mix of old parkland (old trees and established plants), a kids' playground, an exercise area, a failed business adventure (the orchid garden), a failed ecological centre, and was poorly managed (lack of maintenance). The place is worth a visit to see some trees and plants in the established sections, but it isn’t worth visiting for the orchid garden or the ecological centre.