This is one hellava city no matter what you think of it. Love it or hate it you have to admit, there is nothing quite like Las Vegas anywhere else.
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The jury was out after our visit to LasVegas and even though it’s been a couple of years since I visited, I still haven’t really figured it all out. This was the most surreal place I have ever seen. Exploding volcanoes, flashing neon, roller coasters on the top of tall towers, flashing neon, hordes and hordes of tourists, flashing neon …you starting to get the picture?
It all started innocently enough …..
Getting there. ------------------
We drove from the outskirts of Fresno and it took a good 6 hours to get there. The drive was brilliant and was my first ever desert experience. The Mojave was everything and more than I had been expecting, long straight freeways disappearing into the shimmering heat wave, Joshua Trees and big blue desert sky. Just fantastic.
The radio station was playing Pink Floyd ‘s Dark Side of the Moon and life was good.
We started noticing the freeway was building up around us and we thought we must have been getting close to Las Vegas but it didn’t look like much. We figured we were just nearing a town at first, then we realised that the freeway was a bit too serious for a two bit town and this must be it.. Las Vegas. Then I noticed the huge gold walls of the MGM and the big pyramid of the Luxor
Casino. “This is it” .
We took an exit which would lead us straight down the strip for our first wide eyed look at this oddity of a place.
THE STRIP. ------------------
This is what everybody comes to Las Vegas to see ... well I s'pose there is an element that come to see other things I'm sure but most tourists come to see the strip I would imagine.
We drove down Las Vegas Boulevard staring in disbelief at thr absurdity of it all ... my god, look at that! The whole of Manhatten seemed to have been lifted up and transplanted at the New York New Yorkcasino, with the Statue of Liberty standing proudly and protectively nearby.
There were hundreds ... nay ... thousands of tourists in shorts and runners packed onto the side walks and it seemed to be a throbbing and thriving mass of weird. It was like driving into an acid trip or something.
Where to stay? ------------------- Well, I'm sure that you can do way better than we did considering there must be thousands of beds in this town. If possible, check out the discounthotel websites before you get to town and see if you can get yourself a bargain. Most Strip hotels are fine as far as location goes and don't be put off by talk of the seedy south end of the strip... its fine.
With our usual finese for finding the worst lodgings in the land we ended up in a two bit motel at the back of the Aztec Casino paying $36 for the bother. It wasn't good folks ... bad air conditioning unit that made the room hotter inside than out and thats saying something because Las Vegas is hot. Be warned okay!
What to do? -------------------
Are you kidding me. You will not go short of finding things to keep you occupied here, just walking the Strip could keep you amused for weeks and that is without stepping a foot inside one of the casinos.
Now if you are a gambler, I guess you wont be needing the sunblock while in town but for the rest of us, pull on the shorts, grab the water bottle and slap the SPF 30 on those white legs and join the thriving masses out on the footpaths.
If you are watching the pennies there are loads of free sights and attractions on the strip that are well worth checking out. For a start just walking along and admiring the grand facades of the casinos will be quite entertaining.
~At the Mirage check out the exploding volcano, this is cool and not only does it spit fire and brimstone but it roars as well. The show is on every 15 minutes.
~ Also at the Mirage you can see Siegfried and Roy's white tigers. They are kept in an area in the entrance foyer of the casino and there are plenty of viewing windows on the way in.
~ The pirate show outside Treasue Island is fantastic entertainment but go early and secure a good viewing spot. It is run every 90 minutes starting at 4pm.
~The fountains of Bellagio Casino are fun to see but check first to see if they are on. Sometimes, if its a bit windy, the fountains are cancelled. The fountains 'dance' to music reaching heights of 200 ft.
There are loads of theme parks, roller coaster rides and amusement parks inside various casinos. If you want a great view of Las Vegas head to the Stratosphere and go up to the Observation Tower. This cost us $7 each a few years back. If you are brave take the Roller Coaster ride at the top of the tower or try the Big Shot which shoots up the needle at the top of the tower ... yikes.!! Luckily for me, these rides were closed due to the wind on our visit and I can't say that I wasn't relieved.
Alternately, take in a show and of course there is always the chance to gamble if the urge takes you.
The shopping ? You can get anything your heart desires in this town.
FREMONT STREET. ---------------------------
This is downtown Las Vegas and you will have to get some transport to get here from the strip. We enjoyed our visit here, the street is a pedestrian mall covering about 5 blocks with a covered roof. Every hour the covered roof turns into a movie screen of sorts and the very popular Fremont Street Experience gets underway. This is a fun music and laser show that is well worth heading downtown to see.
Fremont Street is also the place to head to for the cheaper casinos and accomodations. These casinos don't have the grand facades of the strip ones and you can basically see the gambling machines from the street. There are loads of souvenir shops, one hour photo shops, street entertainers. The vibe down here was great and I enjoyed it more than the strip.
HOOVER DAM --------------------- We drove to see the dam but we were a bit underwhelmed by it. You can join tours which take you inside the dam which might be a bit more entertaining than just walking over the dam and looking over the sides like we did. it looks a lot bigger on TV and I would only bother going here again as a means of getting to Arizona. The highway goes right over the top of the dam.
WEDDING CHAPELS ----------------------------
You can get married 24 hours of the day in this town. At the south end of the Strip (carry on past The Stratosphere) you will start to see the wedding chapels. We decided that while we were in town, we may as well have a Vegas style wedding. We went downtown to the Clark County Courthouse (200 South Third Street) and bought a Marriage License for $50. Both of you have to be present to get the license and make sure to take along some ID. From here it was off to the Drive-in 'Tunnel of Love' at The Little White Wedding Chapel. We went for the $60 drive up wedding package which along with the wedding ceremony,included a photo and a long stemmed red rose. You can go for broke here if you want and hire wedding dresses, tuxedos, limos and have a real chapel wedding and of course, for a few hundred more, you can even get married by Elvis. You can organise a live webcam wedding for the folks back home if you fancy but these need to be booked a bit in advance.
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We had fun in Las Vegas but at the time, I was looking forward to leaving. I didn't think I would ever want to visit this town again because it was just too much overkill but as time has gone past, I have changed my mind and if the opportunity ever arose to head there again one day .. i would jump at it.
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Hotel - 3801 Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89109, USA, 3801 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, Nevada, NV 89109, United States of America - 2 Stars - 1878 Rooms
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Advantages: Totally out of this world experience, so much to see and do, great hotels and casinos Disadvantages: Sleazy in places, a few days isn't long enough to see it all
junkboxjules 10.07.2003 ·
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Review of Las Vegas
Advantages: Everwhere is air conditioned, the toilet facilities in the malls is excellent and there are free shuttles or monorails from hotel to hotel Disadvantages: very hot in July/August, be prepared to que for the buffets
geomel 17.06.2001 (17.06.2001)
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Review of Las Vegas
Jun 3rd, 2004
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