Just a year ago, Chinatown's commercial heyday seemed long-lost, though the area still had a historical vibe with vestigial shop names, old buildings and some restaurants. Now, following an upgrade to the streets and walkways, new shops and trendy restaurants and cafes are emerging along Jl. Dhoby and some connecting alleys. The Little India area nestled between Chinatown and the southern CBD & Meldrum area is a contrast, with less fancy and more local-oriented shops and businesses as well as offices, though the ongoing (as of mid-2020 it's under construction) major street upgrades in the area are tending to merge the adjacent Chinatown and Little India precincts.
Several shops are oriented to ceremonies associated with the multiple places of worship in the area. Most of the ethnic Indian population in Johor Bahru (around one-in-seven of the city's population, compared to one-in-three ethnic Chinese and one-in-two ethnic Malay) are Hindu, and the most prominent Hindu temple in the city is nearby. Even closer is the Masjid India Johor Bahru, demonstrating the cultural and religious diversity of the city even within a single ethnic group. There's also a Sikh temple, the Johor Bahru Gurdwara Sahib, a couple of hundred metres to the north. It looks historical but was actually built in 1992.
The car park north of the cache seems like a development project waiting to happen, with large malls and highrises gradually closing in on a shrinking Little India. The crumbling walls in the area (raising some questions about the longevity of this cache) are decorated with graffiti and murals.