DAY 8

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Friday 28 November 2008
It’s 6.30am - Three hours sleep… and meet under the Planet Hollywood sign. That’s the Planet Hollywood sign at Caesars, not the Planet Hollywood hotel sign which would be 3 blocks North, or is that South - as the lady at the tour desk pointed out.
No coffee yet and I’m hearded into a bus to take me to Plane Hollywood - oh the irony - where I join another queue for ‘registration’ and get a continental breakfast as part of the tour. If you consider a museli bar and a cup of coffee a continental breakfast - raise your hand. Nobody, didn’t think so. Cheap tourist con… but as stated on my breakfast voucher - only one item and one drink which I had to join another queue for about 2 metres after the first queue.
Now hearded into another bus - one of three full coaches taking willing participants to the Grand Canyon - I’m on the orange sticker bus with the british tour guide. I’m sure there is something ironic about a british tour guide in Vegas but I haven’t yet figured that out. Got bumped from my first seat on the bus by an Indian couple who wanted to sit together and there didn’t appear to be two seats together. Must have been rewarded by for my grand gesture as I realised about two hours in - just after our first movie and rest stop - there were two seats together without people. Happy days - only slightly tarnished by the German guy in front of me’s body odour - but fortunately that was only really bad when he raised his arms, but I digress.
So we begin our 5 hour trip to the Grand Canyon South Rim. The tour guide did his best to point of interesting landmarks which would have been nice could we have seen them through the dense fog. The rain had actually stopped but as a result the fog had swept in for the morning anyway. By the time we drove across the Hoover dam and into Arizona the fog had gone. The Hoover Dam wasn’t part of the tour but we stopped for a picture moment with about 6 other tour buses for a few pictures. This was after the bus was searched for explosives. A video was played giving some history to how the dam was built and how the engineers had to divert the Colarado River around the work site by drilling 4 holes through the mountains on either side, which seemed like a monumental feat in itself. Lots of people died during its construction from all sorts of accidents and heat exhaustion - but enough about the dam. Ive got pictures.
The first pee stop was a roadside service station which must get a bit of business from all the passing trade. Nowhere in particular but presumably on route to the Canyon. As a special treat we got to stop there on the way back and watch the bus get its gas tank refilled. Must have been special to some people - they took photos. From there is was more movies before the lunch stop which had something to do with a railyard and the Eastern Pacific Rail company. The obiligatory gift shop was full of Polar Express merchandise so maybe it had something to do with that - all I know is that there was snow on the ground and I was a little delirious with sleep deprivation. Lunch was an actual buffet with the two other coach loads of people. I got sat at a table where nobody spoke - I don’t know if that was because there was a language barrier because no one said a thing. Not even the two other couples said anything to each other - maybe they thought the 14 hour round trip was a bad idea too.
Finally after another 2 hours of driving we arrive at the Canyon - and the view was amazing. We were lucky as the past two days it had been raining but we had a perfect view as the sun began to set. We did two stops on the canyon rim - and yet another gift shop at the latter of the two stops. Almost lost one couple who didn’t make it back from the first stop at the Canyon but the bus driver dropped us off at the second and went back to find the MIA twosome. Took loads of photos - bought a Snickers bar in the gift store and then returned to the bus for the long journey home. Think I managed to sleep some of the way back despite the movie which was John Wayne in How the West was Won and then Chevy Chase in Vegas Vacation blaring through the bus speakers.
My only dilemma was that I hadn’t managed to see Vegas downtown yet and it was 10pm - and I had a 7.15am flight - the actual part of Vegas that is in Vegas. So, misjudging the distances again, I decide to get off the bus somewhere where I thought it was near the Stratosphere Tower. Well another 40 minute power walk and I’m able to get the Deuce bus to downtown and Fremont Street.
It was really glitzy on Fremont St - an old school feel, capped off with a huge LCD screen that spanned three blocks. At midnight, all the Casino lights switched off and there was a show on the LCD screen - mainly chicks revolving around poles but it was pretty amazing. With my flight fast approaching it was time to head back to the hotel to pack and get another 3 hours sleep before my flight to New York.

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