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Published: November 30th -0001
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We arrived in Vegas around 10.50 and collected our bags before buying our tickets for the shuttle to the hotel. We arrived just after 12 and weren’t sure we were in the right place as there was a casino bar, restaurant (Denny’s), pool and jacuzzi! But it proved to be our place so we checked in and went to our room which was good, decent bed, air-con and tv with en-suite. It was also only a 10 minute walk from the strip so for $10 a night we were pleased with it. We went for lunch at at Denny’s which serves traditional american fare for reasonable prices before going to the pool and lounging around for a couple of hours. As it’s not far from the desert Vegas is hot 24 hours a day at this time of year. After leaving the pool we got ready and went down to the casino bar where I won $5 on my first go on the slots! (I know it’s not much but we’re on a budget!) We had a couple of drinks before setting off to explore the strip. We looked around Planet Hollywood before watching the fountain show at Bellagio which was
good before looking around both the Bellagio and Caesar’s Palace. The halls and casino rooms are very impressive. We’d had a long day so came back to the apartment and went to bed.
Friday didn’t start well as I needed some money so walked 25 minutes down the freeway to the only cashpoint around that wouldn’t charge me the earth for taking out my money only to realise I’d forgotten to transfer my money into my account before I left the apartment! When I got back Hayley was upset as her bank had frozen her bank accounts, not a great start to the day for either of us! So after I’d transferred some money into my account we walked back up the freeway to the bank before using a pay-phone in the Orleans to sort out Hayley’s accounts but they weren’t open so we had to try again later. The Orleans was crammed with bodybuilders as they were hosting Mr Olympia there that weekend. By the time we got back to the hotel it was around half 2 so we had a bite to eat and relaxed by the pool for a couple of hours before going down the
the strip. We went in Hooters where we scored another big win ($6.45!) before going over to the MGM Grand which was impressive. We then went to Stratosphere but didn’t go to the top as we didn’t have much time so we went back to Caesar’s and put $10 on the roulette wheel. Unfortunately both black 28 and red 7 were unlucky so we headed home. Hayley got a call around 2AM to sort her bank accounts out which was good and we called a couple of people back home before heading to bed. Vegas is both a gambler and a drinker’s paradise but if you’re not gambling the casino’s can start to feel a little samey, the constant hassle from the ‘clicky men’ becomes annoying as well but I’m sure if we’d had a lot of money we may have got into it a little more. Although most places have air-conditioning the heat can get a bit much when walking around also. I’m pleased we went there to experience it and obviously we had a couple of problems which took up a bit of our time but I’m not sure I’d have wanted to stay much longer.
We
woke up Saturday and packed, had breakfast then checked out around 12 and the shuttle picked us up around 15 minutes later. We checked in at the airport and boarded the plane and took off on time, landing in LAX around 4, 10 minutes early. For a low budget airline, SouthWest Airlines provides a great service, very organised, cheap flights, helpful staff and complimentary drinks and nuts for all short haul flights (Ryanair take note!) We got our bags and called the shuttle which picked us up within 20 minutes. We arrived at our hostel shortly and checked in, seemed good, free coffee and tea, free hot buffet, free daily champagne party and a free continental breakfast. It also had a pool, pool tables, a mini arcade and a restaurant. The room was also the biggest we’ve had in any hostel so far with a tv, sofa, sink, fridge, air-con and en-suite although there were ants in the bathroom. It was also only a short distance from LAX so again it represented good value for what we’d paid. We didn’t do much other than relax and have dinner in the evening as we were both tired.
Had a really
good sleep and woke up and checked out around 12. Tried to check in for our flight but but we found the wi-fi in the hotel wasn’t great so we stored our bags in the provided lockers and just relaxed as we’re weren’t flying until 11.30PM in the evening so we just tried to unwind before another long flight. We got to the airport at 8.30, checked in and flew out just after midnight.
On the whole we really enjoyed America, we’ve found most people to be friendly and helpful and far more outgoing than English people, most people will find time to talk to you, even if it’s sitting next to you on a bus. Talking of which the bus service if you don’t know it can be quite confusing although it is cheap, it’s very different to ours so we’ve found ourselves walking if it’s within distance as we didn’t want to spend a fortune on taxis. On the whole a very successful start to our travels and hopefully that will continue. Next stop Fiji!
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