Sin City
Highlights of our (hubby & moi) trip to Vegas and Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon (Arizona)
***********************
Truly one of the Natural Wonders of the world- worth the 5 hr drive from Las Vegas! There are several hiking trails from the top of the rim to the Colorado River at the bottom.. Is an 8 hr trek one way. People have been killed from exhaustion trying to hike the trail 2 way on the same day. With only less than a day fr the grand tour , we managed an hour's worth of walking to see the gorgeous colors of the rocks n experience spooky heights!
Interesting fact- a good part of the canyon is named after Hindu deities -- Vishnu / Brahma as they resemble the "gopuram" of our temples! During sunset, the rocks turn brilliant shade of red.
Tourism Around Las Vegas
**************************
Nevada has its own set of fantastic rock formations. We visited the Red Rock Canyons and Valley of Fire. Although not as grand as the big bro in AZ, they had impressive colors and shapes (beehives / arches etc). We spotted professional rock climbers, rappeling away. Visited the Hoover dam-- america's engineering marvel and lake mead.
Aliens are welcome!
*******************
And I thought the East Coast was lonely! If you live in some city, life is fine. But once you get out to drive to another place -- the landscape is so vast and deserted.. no greenery, just mountains in a distance, with stretches of land on either side of the highway that never seem to end.. When driving from Vegas to the Canyons, all we had fr company were the dazzling stars in the dark dark mountain sky (Theoretically romantic, but when you dont see a single car / house / city light/ even a fire fly fr miles and miles AND the gas tank is almost empty with no sign of a gas station on the never ending road YOU ARE SPOOKED) *At this point you start wishing fr Aliens/ UFOs* I was actually looking out fr Mulder and Scully !
Las Vegas CASINOS
********************
"What happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas". And that includes the money! The Casinos always win. We played the slot machines -- my biggest winning was 4.50$ *ugh*! TRick is you have to play fr long periods of time to get any profit, if at all. Blackjack had much higher odds of winning. We won upto 150$ with an initial investment of 10$ only! And once you start winning it is just too difficult to stop! You wanna keep playin, hoping fr more easy dough. AND THATS the BIG MISTAKE! Get away from that table and run with what money you've won.. :)
Gambling is just one part of Casinos. Their architecture is just too grand. Especially loved Venetian -- with Canals and gondola rides, an indoor sky, sculptures etc etc;
Ceaser's Palace -- designed in marble, European styled decor
Bellagio -- We loved this one (coz our winnings were really good here!). IT had dancing fountains, which swayed to different tunes.
MGM Grand -- Showy adult lions, tired of being stared by tourists
Mirage -- Rare white tiger posing fr pics!
You have Eiffel tower, Statue of LIberty, even a lil hindu temple (twas a show piece)!!
Shows
*******
You gotta see the shows in Vegas. All the biggies come here -- Jay Leno / Seinfeld /Ray Romano / Celine Dion / Aerosmith (these were some of the folks who were performing then)
The really good shows are expensive (start at 100$ / tkt). We booked our tkts months in advance fr Cirque Du Soleil and David Copperfield.
David Copperfield -- World's Greatest Illusionist
--------------------------------------------------
We got super seats, right near the stage.. I could have tripped Copperfield if I wished, but he woulda made me disappear! The show was fabulous..funny, entertaining, mind boggling. He did the vanishing -reappearing act with a car, on a bike; dwarved himself; read people's minds; went to Thailand and returned without the audience member etc etc. Even got to shake the Great One's hand at the end of show.
Cirque Du Soleil -- The "O" Show
---------------------------------
They dont allow pics during the show..even if they did, there is no way any part of this could have been captured in its setting. The entire show is performed on a stage that alternates between WATER and solid ground. Yes, the stage becomes a pool of water. Is a dazzling combination of acrobatics + lighting effects + music + live singing etc etc. All i can say is WOW!
Consumer Electronics Show (CES)
*******************************
The fantasy come true for technophiles. LArgest consumer technology show, where cutting edge 2006 technology is on display for the first time..b4 intro to market. Every where i see, I see the Asian. Tired after walking and ogling at the gadgets, I flopped into a demo massage chair - the best massage I have ever had (4000$ worth). Played with a more improved Aiybo (the robot dog) Oooo.. the dog got mad at me coz i threw the ball on its nose (flashing red lights!) Like your real doggie which brings yu the paper, this one checks your email!! World's largest TV 104 inches.. These guys are crazy. Sony's new e-reader, lets you read books..Tested it and still prefer the real thing.
All you can eat BUFFET
**********************
Had to try one of these-- famous in vegas. Bellagio supposed to be the best (NOT FR THE VEGGIE!) Ugh! As much as I wanted to like exotic foods, I couldn't.
Seaweeds, pickled ginger, veggie sushi (an oxymoron ?) The desserts were fabs. Hogged on those :)
Love to visit it, but not live in it. It ain't the real world.
Grand Canyon (Arizona)
***********************
Truly one of the Natural Wonders of the world- worth the 5 hr drive from Las Vegas! There are several hiking trails from the top of the rim to the Colorado River at the bottom.. Is an 8 hr trek one way. People have been killed from exhaustion trying to hike the trail 2 way on the same day. With only less than a day fr the grand tour , we managed an hour's worth of walking to see the gorgeous colors of the rocks n experience spooky heights!
Interesting fact- a good part of the canyon is named after Hindu deities -- Vishnu / Brahma as they resemble the "gopuram" of our temples! During sunset, the rocks turn brilliant shade of red.
Tourism Around Las Vegas
**************************
Nevada has its own set of fantastic rock formations. We visited the Red Rock Canyons and Valley of Fire. Although not as grand as the big bro in AZ, they had impressive colors and shapes (beehives / arches etc). We spotted professional rock climbers, rappeling away. Visited the Hoover dam-- america's engineering marvel and lake mead.
Aliens are welcome!
*******************
And I thought the East Coast was lonely! If you live in some city, life is fine. But once you get out to drive to another place -- the landscape is so vast and deserted.. no greenery, just mountains in a distance, with stretches of land on either side of the highway that never seem to end.. When driving from Vegas to the Canyons, all we had fr company were the dazzling stars in the dark dark mountain sky (Theoretically romantic, but when you dont see a single car / house / city light/ even a fire fly fr miles and miles AND the gas tank is almost empty with no sign of a gas station on the never ending road YOU ARE SPOOKED) *At this point you start wishing fr Aliens/ UFOs* I was actually looking out fr Mulder and Scully !
Las Vegas CASINOS
********************
"What happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas". And that includes the money! The Casinos always win. We played the slot machines -- my biggest winning was 4.50$ *ugh*! TRick is you have to play fr long periods of time to get any profit, if at all. Blackjack had much higher odds of winning. We won upto 150$ with an initial investment of 10$ only! And once you start winning it is just too difficult to stop! You wanna keep playin, hoping fr more easy dough. AND THATS the BIG MISTAKE! Get away from that table and run with what money you've won.. :)
Gambling is just one part of Casinos. Their architecture is just too grand. Especially loved Venetian -- with Canals and gondola rides, an indoor sky, sculptures etc etc;
Ceaser's Palace -- designed in marble, European styled decor
Bellagio -- We loved this one (coz our winnings were really good here!). IT had dancing fountains, which swayed to different tunes.
MGM Grand -- Showy adult lions, tired of being stared by tourists
Mirage -- Rare white tiger posing fr pics!
You have Eiffel tower, Statue of LIberty, even a lil hindu temple (twas a show piece)!!
Shows
*******
You gotta see the shows in Vegas. All the biggies come here -- Jay Leno / Seinfeld /Ray Romano / Celine Dion / Aerosmith (these were some of the folks who were performing then)
The really good shows are expensive (start at 100$ / tkt). We booked our tkts months in advance fr Cirque Du Soleil and David Copperfield.
David Copperfield -- World's Greatest Illusionist
--------------------------------------------------
We got super seats, right near the stage.. I could have tripped Copperfield if I wished, but he woulda made me disappear! The show was fabulous..funny, entertaining, mind boggling. He did the vanishing -reappearing act with a car, on a bike; dwarved himself; read people's minds; went to Thailand and returned without the audience member etc etc. Even got to shake the Great One's hand at the end of show.
Cirque Du Soleil -- The "O" Show
---------------------------------
They dont allow pics during the show..even if they did, there is no way any part of this could have been captured in its setting. The entire show is performed on a stage that alternates between WATER and solid ground. Yes, the stage becomes a pool of water. Is a dazzling combination of acrobatics + lighting effects + music + live singing etc etc. All i can say is WOW!
Consumer Electronics Show (CES)
*******************************
The fantasy come true for technophiles. LArgest consumer technology show, where cutting edge 2006 technology is on display for the first time..b4 intro to market. Every where i see, I see the Asian. Tired after walking and ogling at the gadgets, I flopped into a demo massage chair - the best massage I have ever had (4000$ worth). Played with a more improved Aiybo (the robot dog) Oooo.. the dog got mad at me coz i threw the ball on its nose (flashing red lights!) Like your real doggie which brings yu the paper, this one checks your email!! World's largest TV 104 inches.. These guys are crazy. Sony's new e-reader, lets you read books..Tested it and still prefer the real thing.
All you can eat BUFFET
**********************
Had to try one of these-- famous in vegas. Bellagio supposed to be the best (NOT FR THE VEGGIE!) Ugh! As much as I wanted to like exotic foods, I couldn't.
Seaweeds, pickled ginger, veggie sushi (an oxymoron ?) The desserts were fabs. Hogged on those :)
Love to visit it, but not live in it. It ain't the real world.
posted by Subbu at 11:13 AM
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