Viva Las Vegas!

Phew. We're back.

Las Vegas, was all I thought it would be, and more. No offence to people who live there or anything, but I can truly understand why they call it Sin City. Las Vegas just oozes temptation- sex, booze and gambling. And having spent 6 years in the Midwest, it was a jolt to the system (especially the reproductive system!).

We stayed at the magnificent Signature suites at the MGM Grand. A couple of blocks away from the main hotel, away from the smoke and casino and noise but not too far away. The room was easily, one of the best hotel rooms I've ever stayed in. We got a fully equipped kitchen, 42-inch LCD HDTV with an additional TV in the bathroom, which houses a 2-person jacuzzi tub and a separate shower stall.

We did a bunch of touristy things; walked the 'Strip', which is really the 'newer' part of Las Vegas which houses the main hotels and a few miles away from the true downtown, which has the famous Fremont Street experience. There, you find massive roof straddling several city blocks, which turns into a visual display (kinda like the ultimate bigscreen TV) at dusk.

The hotels there were out of this world. From the Egyptian-themed pyramidal Luxor, the pirate ships (and the siren's dance) at Treasure Island, the New York with the recognizable NYC skyline, to the Venetian with its ceilings painted to look like blue skies and indoor gondolas, to the very extravagant Bellagio and its world famous dancing fountains (featured in Ocean's 11). The fountains were probably my favourite thing in Las Vegas- just amazing, watching this coordinated water and light display. The fountains can shoot as high as 200 feet, apparently. End to end, the strip is about 6 miles long, so we had to divvy up the walking.

Besides the sex the city exudes, another sin was gluttony- every hotel had its buffets which is often cheaper than the restaurants of the celebrity chefs like Wolfgang Puck. And so I gained a few pounds and am accused of having a double chin now; but I'll spare you readers the details.
Now, the nice dirty part. Is it really a city of sex? Positively. Firstly, there are quite a few risqué shows. We caught the Crazy Horse, Paris show. It was just overflowing with sensuality, celebrating the sexiness and beauty of the female body. It was done pretty tastefully (if it is ever possible), Kris and I agreed. And then, there were the hundreds and hundreds of flyers and business cards people were blatantly handing out on the streets like they were candy. Pictures of naked women (occasionally men) with their family jewels and mammary glands starred out, with a phone number and price (as low as $37), advertising some unknown 'service'. I'd hate to bring a child to Vegas- I came back feeling like I need to soak in a tub of holy water to cleanse myself.

(picture above taken from Wikipedia)
On our 4th (of 5) day, we rented a car and drove to nearby Hoover Dam. The pictures we took don't do it justice as it still looks small, but believe me, looking down at the downstream side of the dam made the hair on the back of my neck stiffer than a porcupine's quill. And though they say the water level's down in recent years (you can see the water level in the pictures) the dam still holds plenty; with the lake at highest level, 35.2 cubic kilometers. Just being there made me want to pee every 5 minutes. It was simply breathtaking, and awe-inspiring, what man is capable of doing. I was somewhat disappointed though, that we didn't get to see Bumblebee. The guide I asked had no clue what I was talking about when I asked him where they kept him, or Megatron. He must be new. Also spent some time at the Red Rock canyon, 20 mins away from LV. Did some hiking around the breathtaking rock formations there.

Overall, it was a great trip, and it was nice to get away from all the white stuff here we call snow. To look at more pictures, check out my online album.