Thursday, April 05, 2012

In Love with Las Vegas

In Las Vegas, the 6.8 kilometres long strip is the most happening one at the night time
Suddenly in the middle of a long, dreary and dark desert, you find millions of lights, fireworks and amazing buildings, a castle here and a Disneyland there, with a pyramid or an Eiffel Tower thrown in between. This is Las Vegas for you… a city famous for its booze, drugs and sex!! This surely was not my choice of a holiday destination when my hubby first suggested it. But a trip to this wonderful city eventually changed all the perception I had for it. Some call it the City of Dreams; some call it the City of Sin; but a city of unlimited fun it surely is if you know where to draw the line. 

Five days in the City of Entertainment 
The Cosmopolitan Hotel, which boasts of one of the best terrace rooms in Las Vegas
We had driven to Las Vegas from Los Angeles and stayed there for five days. It was going to be a never-before and never-again experience in this Entertainment City of the World. We ogled the lions that prowl by card tables at the MGM; visited Shark Reef aquarium at the Mandalay Bay; watched a volcano exploding outside the Mirage and white tigers strolling around inside its casino. Outside Treasure Island, bikini-wearing pirates attack one another in a pyrotechnic naval display. Then there are the Bellagio's dancing fountains; the gondolas indoors at the Venetian; the revolving bar and trapeze artistes at the Circus Circus, and what not. You imagine a thing, and in most probability you are going to find it in Las Vegas.
The Paris Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip has a replica of Eiffel Tower built in front of it  
All of the best hotels to visit there are located on the Las Vegas Strip, which is a 6.8-kilometre stretch of the Las Vegas Boulevard. It is not a part of the Las Vegas proper and rather lies outside the city limits. This strip is like a never-ending party, which has been going on forever and ever.

But you never lose on experience
Laughing Buddha statue at Aria Resort and Casino, which is located within the CityCentre 
When we entered Caesar’s Palace hotel in Las Vegas, we had no idea about how to play roulette or even at the slot machines. We threw $50 on the black and tried our luck. A young attendant fired the ball around circular groove and spun the roulette wheel in the opposite direction. Players and spectators watched the ball spiral slower, falling, popping up in the air and finally settling on. Black!! We couldn’t actually believe that it was happening to us. And after few more takes our modest amount of $200, which we had kept aside only for gambling, had swelled to $500. This egged us to try our luck even more the next day.
The resorts and casinos there have some or the other unique themes thrown everywhere
Each of the casino-hotels has a unique motif and features a large casino area containing thousands of slot machines and hundreds of gaming tables. And, even the smaller ones have over 2,000 guest rooms each. Each of these casino-hotels contains many large swimming pools, multiple multi-cuisine restaurants and a variety of entertainment venues. Some of them offer health spas, wedding chapels and golf packages too.
The area in front of Bellagio Hotel during day time. It is on the famous Las Vegas Strip
The fountain show in front of the Bellagio Hotel at night is spectacular one. It's a free show
Las Vegas is a music lover's delight. The city hosts resident music shows by icons of western pop and rock like Elton John and Donny and Marie. Illusionist and magician Cirque Du Soleil has five regular shows here. But, if you are considering going very cheap in Las Vegas and save money as much as possible, you need to know what the best free attractions are. You can always count on free drinks if you’re gambling in Las Vegas, but what to do if you are tapped out and need to kill a few hours before you try to make your comeback? You could sit out in front of the Bellagio and watch free fountain show. If you are in Downtown, then better you hang around the Fremont Street Experience and see free light show there.
This replica is no small. It is 541-foot high and is a signature landmark on Las Vegas Strip
All glitter everywhere. It is what Las Vegas is all about, where nights are brighter than days
Las Vegas can boast of very expensive premium-range hotels, boutique hotels and resorts. Some of the most famous ones Include Wynn Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, Palazzo Resort Hotel Casino, Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, Bellagio, Luxor Hotel Casino, Excalibur Hotel Casino, MGM Grand Hotel Casino, Paris Las Vegas Hotel Casino, Mandalay Bay Hotel Casino, Caesar's Palace Hotel Casino, Mirage Hotel Casino, Treasure Island Hotel and Casino, Flamingo Las Vegas, Circus Circus Hotel Casino. Out of these, The Venetian combined with The Palazzo (both are in the same complex and owned by a single corporation) holds record of having the largest number of hotel rooms in the world. The total number of rooms there are 8108, of which 4049 are suites. Whereas, MGM Grand comes at 3rd position with 6582 rooms.

One more unique thing in Vegas is that you can get married here without a license (in every other state of US you first need a license), so lot many people just come here to get married… and for great gambling, of course.

Eating and Drinking in Las Vegas
The Jean Philippe Patisserie is a well-known food joint, which is always full with customers
Who can curb the temptation to have them?? One should not when one is in Las Vegas
Aureole, Mandalay Bay Resort (001-702-632-7401) www.aureolelv.com
Tableau, Wynn Las Vegas (001-702-248-3463) www.wynnlasvegas.com

How to Reach from India
The fastest way to reach Las Vegas is to fly to Chicago or New York from India and take a domestic carrier from there to the city. The flying time on a direct Air India flight between New Delhi and Chicago or New York is approximately 16 hours. And from either Chicago or New York, it will take nearly 4 hours to reach Las Vegas. An average middle class Indian tourist can stay in Las Vegas for three nights for 100 dollars. If you have friends and relatives living nearby, it surely works out better and cheaper. But one thing is for sure that Las Vegas is a complete family holiday destination offering everything for everyone.

More Information
Las Vegas Tourism (001-702-892-0711) www.visitlasvegas.com

4 comments:

....this was always a dream..A world of Dreams,Riches and Glory.... Ambreen, tune to mujhe meri dream dikha diya...a beautiful travelogue...You write so well...

a beautiful writeup...always wanted to visit 'Vegas'..now i can do so from your writing....a great travelogue

Hello. Im the photographer of the Las Vegas strip photo so I would appreciate at least a photo credit.
http://recalibration.weebly.com

If you mention me in the article I will allow you to continue to use the photo. Otherwise I would ask that you pay for its use.
Please contact me via my website.

Thank you.

Recalibration Photography.

Thanks for sharing this lovely piece... Ambreen! I am already in love with Las Vegas!! Hoping to travel the city of unlimited fun sometime :)

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