23.-26.05.2019 # Noumea / New Caledonia, Sydney, Kuala Lumpur

We have to check out of the 'Moorings' before breakfast because our flight with Air Vanuatu to Noumea is scheduled to leave at 9.30am. Luckily, the best bakery in town opens earlier, so we treat ourselves to one last fresh croissant on our terrace.

The flight is quite pleasant and after just over an hour and a half, we have new territory under our feet in New Caledonia. Originally planned as a two-week stay with a trip to the nearby island of Lifou, it will now only be two days in the capital city of Noumea on Grande Terre. This is due to various flight reschedulings by the local airline Aircalin and problems finding accommodation outside of Noumea, as well as car rentals, which annoyed me quite a bit during the preparation. We still make the two-day stop because we don't want to change our connecting flight to Sydney. And of course, to get at least a small glimpse of the country of the Kanaks, as the indigenous people are called here, even though it has been part of the French overseas territories for some time.

The immigration formalities at La Tontuta Aiport are quickly done, and one of the customs officers even speaks a little German. He's probably not from here. Fortunately, there are no taxis around. When I ask at the information desk for transportation options, as the airport is far outside of Noumea, I am referred to the 'Arc en ciel' shuttle service just around the corner. And lo and behold, we are even on their list. I had forgotten that we had already arranged a transfer with the hotel. Taking a taxi would have been expensive for us.

After about an hour's drive in the 13-seater, we are dropped off at the 'Beaurivage' hotel on Lemon Bay (or Baie de Citrons, as they say in the Uckermark). Even though it is still well before the official check-in time, our room is ready and we can settle in immediately. It will probably be the last time for a while that we can look directly at the sea from our balcony. :-(

We waste no time and immediately set out to explore the surroundings. Right in front of the hotel is a bus stop and we board the first bus that comes to take us to the city center. The 'Hop on Hop off' sign doesn't bother us at all, as it exists in other cities as well. It's strange, though, that all the passengers have green wristbands and some have cards around their necks. They probably belong to the cruise ship that we saw during our ride to the hotel. The driver only speaks French and the question mark above his head gets bigger and bigger as I ask for two tickets. He takes a moment, mutters something about 'Ship' and finally agrees to take us for 1000 XPF (~8.38 €) per person. Eventually, it all becomes clear to us. This bus line is only set up when a cruise ship is in town. People can ride all day through Noumea and get on and off wherever they like. The price is reasonable for that. Later we find out that a single trip only costs 210 XPF (~1.76 €). He really tricked us, that rascal. Because he doesn't give us wristbands for further use of the line that day.

Anyway, the ship is located close to the city center, so at least we are already in the middle of the action when we get off at the pier. After strolling through the streets, we settle down at a kiosk in the city park for a coffee and a hotdog. The South Seas flair is a bit lacking here, it feels more like Marseille, both in terms of architecture and the people around. At least that's how we imagine it, as we have never been there. A few teenagers try their hand at breakdancing right next to us, or what they think is breakdancing. A little further away, a few older gentlemen sit together gossiping. If they were playing boules, you would really feel like you're in Europe.

We want to walk back to the hotel. The map we have suggests it will take about 30 minutes, so no problem. However, we have to pass three bays and the time can only be managed if you take the shortcut through the city. But since we always walk along the water, the journey takes quite a bit longer and we arrive at the hotel quite tired and thirsty. However, we don't stay there long. A few hundred meters further, a restaurant mile begins. After a short search, we settle down at 'Les 3 Brasseurs'. It means 'the 3 (beer) brewers' and lives up to its name. The in-house pilsner is tastier than one would expect from French beer. The canned music suits our taste perfectly, so we have no reason to move to another location.

Later, a three-man band starts setting up their equipment. There seems to be live music tonight. The guys seem to be quite well-known, as the pub is filling up. We are excited and decide to have a small dinner in the form of a flammkuchen right there. It's worth the wait. With guitar, violin and cajon (box drum), the band plays an exciting repertoire from Bob Marley to Nirvana. Well, they could have spared us the French-language inserts, but the locals seem to like it, as they sing along enthusiastically. We still enjoy it, so it's not easy to leave the bar before the end of the performance. The long day is taking its toll and we are quite exhausted by now.

The next morning starts with a disappointing breakfast at the Italian restaurant right next to our hotel. For a ridiculously overpriced 1800 XPF (~15 €), you get a reheated baguette from the day before and an equally old croissant, along with some jam and butter. The machine coffee is so-so, but you can refill if needed. The best part is a fresh orange juice. I have to pay almost 5 € extra for my scrambled eggs, outrageous. Tomorrow we need a different solution.

The sky is a bit cloudy as we set off to walk along the coastal road. Another bay in the opposite direction of the city center, at Anse Vata Beach, is said to have a promenade where you can take a leisurely stroll, shop, and dine. That's our destination. Of course, it starts to rain just as we take a few steps. We manage to take shelter in a café and wait out the shower with a good hot drink.

We walk for a good three-quarters of an hour to the promenade. It is noticeable that you often see people in sportswear strolling along the streets without any vigorous activity. I guess that's one way to feel good without doing much exercise :-) By now, the sun is blazing down as if there were no tomorrow and we agree that we definitely won't walk back. But it's worth it. We buy a few clothes here and there before we recover from the exertions with a delicious Italian lunch.

We take the bus back to the hotel. We learn from two locals who board before us how to do it. We just can't figure out the price, so in a hurry, I give the driver a few of the unfamiliar coins until he nods and hands over two tickets. Fortunately, the fare is written on the ticket, so we can pay the exact amount next time.

Thanks to our newly acquired knowledge of public transportation, we go back to the city center in the afternoon. We still need to get a few patches for our bags. As an alternative for tomorrow's breakfast, we also buy a fresh baguette. We need to finish the last can of liver pate from Vanuatu before it causes trouble with Australian customs. It all goes together perfectly. In the evening, we visit the 3 brewers again. However, the live music tonight is rather of the 'effort alone is not enough' kind, so we don't stay any longer than necessary.

That's it for New Caledonia. We booked another transport with 'Arc en ciel' to the airport for the next morning. We will fly to Jakarta via Sydney and Kuala Lumpur. What was originally booked as a single, continuous trip will now take two days. A flight rescheduling, this time by Air Asia, means we need two additional nights. They apologized for any inconvenience but remained stubborn when it came to the cost.

The pick-up is early, just before 9.00am at the 'Beaurivage', but this time with a full-size coach. As we are pretty much the first to board, it surely means a longer pick-up round. And indeed, we circle for a whole hour between various hotels until we finally collect everyone and leave the city for the airport. The check-in is not very crowded, but we still feel like we have been waiting for ages. It may also be due to a young, dedicated employee who takes the regulations very seriously and keeps bringing luggage pieces to the measuring template. When I realize that she refuses to allow a fellow traveler in front of us to bring his ukulele as carry-on, I already get worked up and mentally prepare for an extensive discussion. Fortunately, it doesn't come to that. At the check-in counter where we finally check in, there is a friendly elderly gentleman who doesn't care about our instruments at all. This will earn us a puzzled to bewildered look from the man at the gate later, who had to check in his case (half the size of mine) as luggage.

Finally, we leave France's outpost on time and once again find ourselves in Australia after about two and a half hours. This completes the circle almost two months after we first landed in Perth. The 'Rydges Hotel' is right across from the terminal and the train station, just a 3-minute walk away. That suits us because we want to go to the city right away. The Tower Eye, the television tower, is said to offer a beautiful view of Sydney. It's already past 4.00pm and we hurry so that we can enjoy it before it gets dark. A single ticket for the approximately twenty-minute ride to St. James Station costs a whopping 18.70 AUD, quite expensive. The Tower Eye is only a few hundred meters away. Unfortunately, the entrance is in a mall and is relatively poorly marked, so we have to search for a few minutes until we reach the ticket counter. The admission fee is 29 AUD per person if you haven't booked online. There aren't sooo many people in line in front of us, but it still feels like an eternity until it's finally our turn. I have no idea if the tickets are handwritten individually. I'm sure the sun has already set by now.

Happy that we can finally go up with the next group, I still hope to see more than a million lights from above. But before we are led to the elevator, we have to watch a short 4-D film. This also explains the purpose of the glasses that came with the ticket. The animation is quite nice and a brilliant technology, but completely out of place at the moment. Of course, it is already quite dark when we finally reach the observation deck and we can still see the last remnants of the sunset on the horizon. Not exactly what we were hoping for, but the outing was worth it. Taking photos is not so easy. It has become common practice here for people to sit down on the rotating platform in front of the panoramic windows and quietly dedicate themselves to social media or other important matters, completely disregarding that they are blocking the view for others. Very considerate. We take a walk and after seeing everything, we start making our way back down. In the convenience store just around the corner, we buy a few necessary things and a little over fifteen minutes later, we are already back on the train to the airport. We set aside the option of spending more time in the city after a short consideration. Although we haven't done much all day, we are quite tired. So we have a small meal in the hotel's sports bar and go to bed early.

The flight with Air Asia to Kuala Lumpur the next day doesn't leave until 11.00am. So we take our time in the morning and enjoy the excellent breakfast at 'Rydges'. In the plane, a little shock awaits us. We have booked seats in the last row of the quiet zone. Apparently, I overlooked the fact that the row has no windows when booking. Well, we can live with that. What's worse is that a person with the build of a professional wrestler is already sitting on the aisle seat of our row. It could be cramped. To our relief, the two seats in the middle row next to us are empty. When it is certain that no one else is boarding, the giant lifts his well over 100kg over the aisle, and suddenly we are all very comfortable. Lucky us. We can endure the 9 hours to KL quite well. We buy two tablets to have at least some entertainment. It doesn't matter that the batteries are only supposed to last for 5-6 hours.

For the night, we check into the Tune Hotel right at KLIA 2 terminal. We have stayed there a few times before. The big advantage is that you can walk there easily. However, it has become relatively expensive, so we usually avoid it now and prefer other hotels in Sepang. But our flight to Jakarta the next morning is already leaving at just before 7.00am, so proximity to the gate is more important to us. Our luggage has already been checked through, so we can practically go from bed to boarding.