New Years in Sin City....

Look closely at the wording on this sign....
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Wow….Las Vegas! Someone told me that I would spend the first hour in Vegas thinking “this is what makes the US so wrong…” but that after that first settling in time, I would be so immersed in it that I would start to think “this is what makes the US so right!” and he was exactly right!

Our first mistake was to assume that the cab driver would take credit card….we were wrong, so luckily we were staying at a Casino….there were ATM’s everywhere! The second was expecting him to be nice….he charged us $50 for a $25 cab ride…cause he had to wait for us to go to the ATM. I have been spoilt with all the countries that have the no-smoking inside rule…I certainly realised how much it matters as soon as I walked into the Casino….everywhere reeked of smoke! I must say it was luxury to be able to stay in a hotel…as opposed to the hostel we had been living in in Vancouver…our own bathroom, fluffy towels, room service, cleaners and a TV! I was going to enjoy this place….even if we didn’t leave the hotel! Our hotel also had a massive swimming pool with a slippery slide that went right through the middle of a massive shark tank and aquarium. We were staying in Downtown….which is a short bus ride (depending on the traffic) to the Strip…but we had something called the Fremont Street Experience right outside our door! We didn’t realise how big it was until we turned on the TV and found the US channels were broadcasting a concert with some massive bands (including Ok Go!) from outside our front door. So we wandered down to the street and were wondering why all these people were standing around…only to find out later that it was because Dave Navarro was going to be doing a live interview. I couldn’t believe how many famous stars were in Vegas for New Years! We also saw a real life pimp…he was dressed in full-length fur coat, top hat, blue snakeskin shoes and of course heaps of bling! We met some people from New Orleans who had the (excuse the language) balls to ask him for a photo! There was as expected people wandering around in flashing hats, big glasses and feather boas for the occasion… oh, yeah and everyone had plastic yard glasses filled with all sorts of different coloured cocktails! The other thing about Vegas is the Buffets! Oh My God!!!!! I have never seen so much food….and so much shrimp! It reminded me of the scene in Forrest Gump where his friend “Bubba” is listing all the different types of shrimp dishes. There was shrimp everything! The thing with Shrimp though is that it doesn’t seem to the flavour of prawns, they are really quite bland….another thing we are spoilt with in Oz! And for those donut lovers out there…we found a Krispy Kreme…mmmm delicious! Sorry, just had to rub that in! hehehe!

"The Strip" by day...
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New Years day was a massive sleep in followed by catching a bus down to an outlet mall where we found heaps of stuff to buy…but unfortunately we had to remember our luggage capacity and restrained ourselves. Although, I couldn’t resist ringing Pete (my brother) when I found a Fox Outlet which had t-shirts, long pants, jeans, shorts etc for $15….our yeah and they also had ladies leather Shift motorbike jackets with full armour for only $89…Saraid and I were both walking around stunned at the pricing of things and not just in the Fox store. “The Strip” is where all the big Casino’s are located…and the lights are definitely amazing! The buildings and grounds of each casino are huge and the work that must go into designing them would be phenomenal! Some of the names of the clubs are pretty funny…. Kahunaville, Margaritaville etc….

and by night...
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Visiting Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum was a highlight of the trip, I couldn’t get over how lifelike the wax mannequins were…I was always waiting for them to move! Saraid was most impressed at being able to pose with Elvis ( her dream man), where as Johnny Depp was my favourite!

On our last night in Vegas we went to see some Vegas Showgirls at one of the Casino’s on the Strip…they were amazing! They’re outfits were stunning and they were so fit and healthy….but you could see why when you watched they’re routines! Leaving that Casino we went to one called New York, New York and found ourselves sitting in the Big Apple Bar drinking champagne and listening to a live band…I was even brave enough to request some Australian music….all they knew was “You Shook Me All Night Long” but it was a good rendition anyway! Too soon though and it was time to head back to the airport and jump on a plane back to Vancouver and hopefully to find a job!