Visit to Nevada - Las Vegas

29 April 2009 - 1 May 2009

The next stop from San Francisco was Las Vegas. We flew to Las Vegas (LV) over the weekdays so that we could get better deals in the higher end hotels during the low peak seasons.


At more than 30,000 feet above ground, we flew over the snow-capped rock mountain ranges that spreaded themselves harshly over the plains.


Checked into Monte Carlo ~ the most luxurious stay of my entire trip! As always, I usually only checked into hostels or guest house, but in LV, you can definitely get super amazing deal during the low season! Monte Carlo offers a pretty good deal for weekdays, plus it is right on the Strip, where many of the largest hotels, casinos, and resort properties in the world are located.

The main objective of going to LV is to get to Grand Canyon, so we were combing the Strip in search of the best deal. Finally, I found one that cost about $120ish, which was half of what others offered. Happy happy ~ :)


First impression of LV is that it is a mega-city, with mega-hotels, casinos, fancy themes, roads, lux limos, buildings, shopping malls, big people, mega-lights, super hot weather etc. It's a city full of crazy vibe! Many mega-hotels have their own themes, like the whole of New York was 'miniaturized' and brought to LV; same for the Disney Land castles too. Day time pictures seen above. But when night comes, it transforms to the Sin City!





As you walked along the Strip, and passing by the hotels, you could catch the different shows along the way. New casinos design their façades to attract walk-up customers, and many of these entrances have become attractions themselves - the Fountains at Bellagio, the volcano at The Mirage, and the Sirens of TI Pirate show at Treasure Island. Tourists gather on the sidewalks in front of the casinos to watch these shows.

One of the purposes to visit LV is to see the Bellagio Hotel and its famous fountains. One of its most notable features is an 3.2 ha lake between the building and the Strip, which houses the Fountains of Bellagio, a large dancing water fountain synchronized to music. The Fountains of Bellagio is a vast, choreographed water feature with performances set to light and music such as 'Time to say Goodbye'. This was one of the beautiful scenes featured in the Korean drama - Hotelier. I like that drama and I'd like to see Bellagio myself...

To me, Sin City is like a make-believe place, made from a plain desert to a fantasy crazy world. Some people were complaining about some crazy developers that build hotels with lots of glass window planes, as this will increase the desert temperature when glass reflects sunlight which in turn causes the area to heat up.

When night falls, you will see loads of 'businessmen' (aka the pimps) standing along the Strip, snapping their 'business cards' to catch your attention for their (callgirls) business. They are not allowed to solicit or tout for business, thus they can only snap their cards to attract your attention and thus pass you their calling cards - the silent but dirty business. Also people can openly drink on the street, which is not allowed in Toronto.

So I had been to the Sin City but did absolutely nothing sinful - no gamble, no alcohol, no sex! Instead, my camera broke! It just couldn't withstand the tough journey with me, and finally broke! Had to do last minute shopping before the Grand Canyon trip the next day. Managed to find one electronic store and literally asked for the cheapest camera they had. So got a new pink Sony digital camera for $130ish that was of higher quality and cheaper than the broken one! Adding on, had a nice birthday celebration for LH, which was a nice episode to add on to this trip! :)