Viva Las Vegas

The great paradox of this trip is that we are presented with once in a lifetime opportunities almost on a daily basis whilst desperately attempting to stick to a rather meagre budget. This works well enough on rest days or even travel days usually but once you start shelling out for entrance fees or 17mpg supercars then it starts to come under a bit of pressure. This paradox was never more evident for us than in Las Vegas, Sin City, where people come to literally throw money away. We initially arrived in the correct manner, pulling up outside the Circus Circus hotel and casino in the Camaro to drop our bags off, but we were then brought down to earth once we'd dropped her off at McCarran Airport and were heading back into town on a sweaty shuttle bus. Americans have a tremendous propensity to talk to each other, to anyone. Where in Blighty we consider anyone who speaks to someone they don't know to be probably either insane or of questionable intent, in the USA it is the norm to chat to anyone in your immediate vicinity. "where you frarm?" is the most oft-heard opening gambit and we've watched this develop into 3 hour conversations between people previously unknown to each other. What a great thing and I think it's something else we should import from the nation at whose feet we apparently worship. Who knows what delights lie ahead on your next train or bus journey, what long standing friendships can be forged? On our shuttle bus we were sat in front of an older guy who sounded exactly like Leslie Nielsen from Police Squad and the Naked Gun films and a young woman in her 20s. In the 20 minutes that it took to travel from the airport this previously unknown to each other pair had divulged where they were staying, how much they expected to blow during their 3 days in Vegas, he that he would be taking in some topless bars and her that she thought they should meet up in her hotel bar and get loaded. Either he was slicker than a soapy eel or he had fallen spectacularly on his feet. Either way it was a fascinating insight into what goes on here and it didn't sound as though either of them would be watching the pennies like we would. Circus Circus was a pretty good base, selected because it was incredibly cheap at just $45 per night and also because my brother stayed here about 20 years ago so I felt there was something of a family tradition to uphold. (your turn next Caz) It was all a bit overwhelming to begin with if I'm honest. We'd spent a week driving through a time warp and staying in out-of-town motels so to suddenly be confronted by hordes of crazed individuals desperate to cram every last dime into any one of the thousands of flashing slot machines before us took some getting used to. In fact, by the end of that first day we both professed that Vegas was little more than "Butlins on acid" and simply not our cup of tea. We had a little flutter on a one armed bandit but we had no idea how it worked or why we won when we won or lost when we lost so it was all pretty pointless. We took a walk up the Strip in probably the hottest and most stifling conditions I've ever experienced. As we left the air conditioned foyer of the hotel I looked around to see what exactly was blowing hot air on us but it was simply the temperature outside. We'd registered 109 a day or two back and it must have been similar right now. Simply standing still was a sweat inducing activity; walking produced enough moisture from me to douse an inferno. Next day was a bit different as we really embraced the place and got into it. After brekkie we watched a game of roulette and this made us want to have a little dabble. Once we'd worked out the value of the chips on the table we realised that our gambling budget would be gone in about 6 spins of the wheel so to save face we played on an automated roulette wheel where you could bet as little as $3 per spin. We had a great half hour here and somehow found the willpower to quit when we were $32 ahead, Kerry winning that while I broke even. That evening we went to the Aria hotel to see a performance called "Viva Elvis" by Cirque du Soleil. You probably know what this acrobatic troupe are about so I won't expand on this other than to say what a fabulous couple of hours entertainment this was and well worth shelling out for. I particularly loved some of the rearrangements of Elvis' music. After this we walked all the way up the Las Vegas Boulevard (the Strip) marvelling at the hotels, particularly Caesar's Palace, New York New York and my personal favourite Luxor. Caesar's Palace is so vast you have to see it to believe it. It basically covers a whole block and takes ostentatiousness to its zenith. We got lucky as we left the hotel. As we walked past the lake just outside, hidden speakers began playing "Singing in the Rain" at which point we were treated to a tremendous water show, fountains squirting water in time to the music. Last thing at night we caught a bus back to our hotel and went and had another game of roulette. We weren't so lucky this time and ended up a few quid down. We only had a couple of days in Las Vegas because, as I said at the outset, its ethos doesn't quite fit in with ours. That said I wouldn't have missed it for the world. It's an extraordinary place and one that I would live to revisit, only this time with a sky rocket full of expendable dollars.