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Published: March 14th 2012
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Naz:
I arrived in LAX and was immediately told at passport control that I would have to answer a few questions before they would let me through. The first question was where is this name from and why don't I look Arabic? Then there was where is your Dad from? Have you ever been to Iraq? What is your relationship like with your Dad? Can you speak Arabic? What does your Dad do? What do you do? What is the name of your company? Describe your role?.... Finally they let me through and I went to meet Jen who was arriving in a different terminal.
Once we met up we both headed to the hotel which we had already booked near the airport in an area called Inglewood. We had no idea exactly what kind of area it was until we went to Taco Bell shortly after we arrived and discovered that there was bulletproof glass between the customers and the staff which were serving. In order to get a meal you had to put your money into a bulletproof box which was then locked whilst the server put your change and your meal into the other side, and
then unlocked in order for you to collect your meal. With this discovery along with the fact that we were the only white people in the whole neighbourhood we decided to have a night in and watch some shit US television. The next day we got up early and decided to do the tourist thing in Hollywood. We did the Walk of Fame, bought Hollywood souvenirs, went to Maddame Tussauds and did a Hollywood Sign and Celebrity Homes tour. It was actually really good especially as it was Grammy Awards night, and we even went to see all the flowers that had been laid in memory of Whitney Houston at the Beverley Hotel, who had died there only the night before.
The next morning we set off on the plane to LAS VEGAS!!! The whole place was so surreal with each hotel and casino having its own theme. It actually felt as though we were going from New York to Paris, then to Venice and into Hollywood. Each hotel had everything who could ever need, shops, casinos, nightclubs, bars, cafes, theatres... it would take an age to sample everything from every hotel on the strip. I can totally understand
why Vegas is referred to as Sin City as well, even married men who were arm in arm with their wives were being offered prostitutes every 10 metres. We stayed in Planet Hollywood in a Hollywood Hip room and it was far and above the best room either of us has ever stayed in. It even had its own individual Dallas (the US sitcom) theme which was pretty cool. The first thing we did when we got there was pick up our lucky chip beads and try our luck on the slots. I started as I would continue for the rest of the trip and had a nightmare but Jen did slightly better and won a bit of money on the roulette. With her winnings she offered to take me out for a meal that night, so as the Gentlemen that I am I allowed her to! After the meal we went to V: The Variety Show, it had jugglers, acrobats, magicians, comedians and dancers, some of which had appeared on US national television. We both had a great time and it was a good way to start our 3 night trip to Vegas.
We had a bit of
a lie in on the second day (Valentines Day) having not had much sleep the night before due to an early flight. Once we got up we headed over to some of the other casinos to see what they had to offer and of course did a little bit more gambling. It was on this tour of the casinos that I saw my arch nemisis, the blackjack machine and Jen saw her greatest enemy, the Deal or No Deal Machine. We would spend the next two days trying to beat these machines and eventually failing. That night we went for a nice meal and had a leisurely walk over to New York, New York to see Cirque Du Soleil: Zumanity. It was at once the weirdest, funniest, sexiest and most impressive show we had ever seen. I can totally understand why they say that the best shows in the world are seen in Vegas. After the show I decided to treat myself to a flutter on the live tables and managed to make my initial $30 last for a good few hours, while Jen kept ordering us free drinks for sitting on the tables. All in all, we both had
a really nice night and went to bed just a wee bit merry!
On the final day we did a bit of present shopping and had our respective duels with the machines we had been trying to beat. We also visited the Coca Cola store (which Jen obviously loved) and the M&M store (which I obviously loved), before heading off the strip and to Rio to see Penn and Teller Live, something that we were both really excited to see, having seen them on TV. They didn't disappoint and even though we half knew what to expect we were still mesmerised by some of the tricks they did. After the show I couldn't help but get my picture taken with them, like a little schoolboy I was starstruck by them both. Once back on the strip we decided to have one last gamble and the game of choice was virtual horseys in the MGM Grand, having exchanged the rest of our money into quarters we kept betting and losing, and the more we drank the more unlikely the horses we were betting on.... However, the alcohol proved to be a blessing in disguise as with our 3rd to last
quarter I decided to back a 58-1 shot and the little beauty came in!! We both skipped home, pissed, and 42 cents up for the night. What a way to end our time in Vegas.
Once we got back to Los Angeles, we decided to head to Santa Monica, after it had been recommended by some people we had met. It was a really beautiful place, very different to Inglewood. The beach was gorgeous and the shopping and restaurants were really nice, especially on 3rd St Promenade. On our second night in Santa Monica we went to see the Lakers take on the Phoenix Suns in the NBA. It was really different to watching sport in the UK as there was loads of stoppages and its all about the entertainment of the crowd. We really enjoyed it though and to top it off Kobe Bryant ran down the clock to prevent the Suns from reaching 100 points, in the process winning everyone in the crowd two free Tacos from Jack in the Box.
It was time for Jen to leave on the 19th February so after I said goodbye to her for another 2 months, I headed to a dorm room in a hostel which was right on the promenade. To be honest, I spent most of my time there watching TV and walking around. I did go to the movies one day, went to watch some champions league football another, played some poker and on the last night went out on the tiles in Santa Monica. That didn't end too well though and meant that I was being sick the whole plane journey to Peru. Not exactly the way I wanted to start the final leg of my round the world journey in South America...
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