Friday, May 25, 2007

Las Vegas Memorial Day Weekend Escape


I got to Las Vegas, the ornate gambling, gaming, boxing, magic and fun capital of the world yesterday evening-11pm to be precise. Hurriedly escaping Houston lethargy this holiday weekend was a goal that must be fulfilled. I am savoring every bit and pieces that this city perched in the desert and set against gorgeous Nevada mountains has to offer. Las Vegas is an excess, an exaggeration of the classical & medieval. Vegas is a testament to man's ingenuity and creativity; it is a celebration of vanity, excess, greed and human weaknesses.

I woke up 4.30am local time today obviously still operating on Houston's time. Spent a couple of hours planning our way round town with my partner before we departed Harrahs in Mid strip where we lodged. Harrahs is a nice hotel- cheap and with good machines (I shall leave it there people- approco). We made it early enough for breakfast in Paris. Paris is gorgeous and like the real thing, will always make you come back. We took a ride up the Eiffel Tower replica and ol boy do you get the beauty of the strip when you are up there. I missed taking my camcorder with me, and I quickly went back to fetch it for use for the rest of the day.

We made it by leg (yes, it was one heck of a trip), first to Venetian- which perhaps rank only after Caesar's Palace in grandeur on this strip- in my opinion. We took the outdoor waterway cruise in this Vegas replica of Venice. From this point I hiked by newly built Wynn to Stratosphere where most of the fun was. Strats has some good machines too (keep on reading my friend, you are getting distracted). Over 108 stories in the sky, the sky view of the strip was spell bounding and the Hot Shot ride in the sky was a helluva experience. I had a caricature souvenir from the Strats too..That was grand. After making some money, I headed back to the Hotel for the last leg for the evening.

The Festival of Lights at the Bellagio was a site to behold...it is an hopeless romantic's dream come true- u can check out a clip I took here . Not that I am any, but it is highly recommended (take notes my friend). The statue skits & display at Caesar's Palace followed. No detailed description is more poignant than the video feed here- it is a free must see. The night ended with the Improv Comedy Show at Harrah where I am just coming from. As I lay down in bed-trying to write this & counting my cash(fine boy no cash my people) I am exactly where I left off in the morning plus twenty buck, after spending twice as much on food, entertainment and tickets for the day. Not bad for a first timer.

Second day was mostly spent animal watching @ MGM & Mirage. Check out this video of the animal trainer interacting with the Lioness @ MGM. The Dolphins, Tigers, panther & mountain lions featured in the Mirage- they put up great shows there. The road trip to Texas begins on Saturday..

Selected Pictures of Day 1 & 2 see here..

Welcome

this is www.busanga.com