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DAY 2:
Woke up around 5:30 am, grabbed a bagel, cream cheese, and a few bananas (from the hotel lobby cafe) along with some water bottles. I would advise anyone going to Vegas for a few days to grab a crate of bottled water from the local CVS/Wal Mart/etc since it’s cheaper and handy to keep in your room.
By the time we were on the road it was about 7:00 am. First stop was Hoover Dam which was on the way to GC.
Once out of Vegas, roads get pretty barren and all you see is mountains with sand and rocks beside you. The roads are well maintained and quite straight, however they did feel eerie after a while…We tried to keep our gas tanks more than a quarter tank full whenever needed.
Reached Hoover Dam in about 40 mins. Parked the car, and strolled around Hoover Dam. It was an amazing site. Roads are a bit twisty and huge cars need to drive carefully in this area. The minivan didn’t have any issues and drove quite smoothly. We didn’t take any dam tours, clicked snaps and were on our way to GC.
Driving to Grand Canyon was pretty good. One can noticeably see the change in the terrain and surrounding (grass, trees and shrubs start appearing on the terrain) and temperatures drop as well. Thunder and lightning are also very common in this area. We had been driving for about 4.5 hrs and were around 30 mins away from our destination.
Stopped to fuel the car and boom! Loud thunderstorms hit the area and rain is pouring. Everyone is kind of annoyed at the rain and we hope it’s temporary. The gas station owner tells us it’s probably only going to get worse…Top the tank and off we go marching towards Grand Canyon. Rain or shine, we better get to see some canyons.
20 mins later, we see sunshine ahead and are relieved to see the thunderstorms are going away. By this time we were hungry, and saw a travel center just before entering Grand Canyon park. We stop over, grab personal pizzas from Pizza Hut Express, do some pet pooja, stroll at the center gift shop and head out.
Finally we pull towards the Grand Canyon Park Entrance Center by around 1:30 pm, pay a reasonable $25 fee for the vehicle and proceed towards the Canyon…Beyond the shrubs and trees, I catch a glimpse of the canyon. Park the car and walk towards the trail, all we can say is that the six hour drive was well worth it.
After observing and just enjoying the breathtaking views of the canyon, we roam around the trail a bit. Drink some hot chocolate, and by 3:40 pm, decide to leave and head back to Vegas!!!
Drove back to Vegas in around 5 hours and got to Vegas by 9:00 pm. Hit speeds up to 95 mph on the van, but averaged around 70 mph. Everyone’s excited but needs food. Decide to go to an Indian restaurant “Tamba” located on the strip. Place was good, food was ok (at least for Indian food in Vegas). The hotel had pictures of various Bollywood stars near their bathroom which were apparently taken when stars had come to Vegas. My friend thought they were photoshopped. Had dinner, and got to the hotel by 11:00 pm. Everyone needed a break, decided to get refreshed and meet within the hour and head out to the strip by 12:00 am. Showered and freshened up, we decided to head to Encore/Wynn.
Just really excited to finally just relax, gamble and have a good time. We played on the slot machines, roulette and blackjack for the next couple hours and had a great time. Clubs and bars are usually open a majority of the time, if not 24 hours, and there are luxury shops in all the major hotels in Vegas which close after 9:00 pm or so. Just the entire atmosphere has something glamorous that comes alive at night.
Get to hotel by 3:00 am and are out for a day in Vegas tomorrow.
DAY 3:
We wake up a bit late, ~10:00 am and head out to the strip. We head straight to The Mirage where we grab lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. Food was great and decided to start exploring the hotels from there onwards. Every hotel is different in terms of it’s décor, environment, setup, shows offered, etc. The major hotels we went to were The Mirage, Treasure Island, The Venetian, The Palazza, and Harrah’s. Each hotel can easily take up to a couple hours by the time one explores and gambles a bit. It was evening and we decided to head back to the hotel, refresh ourselves, eat and head out for the nightlife. By 9:00 pm we were back at the Venetian where we ate at a Mexican restaurant. Food was quite decent and we splurged. Hit the tables and nightlife while we roamed around Caesars and The Bellagio.
The whole gambling experience is quite interesting in Vegas. It’s really easy to lose large amounts of money in a flash if you are too emotional and careful. For people who look underage (need to be 21+ to gamble), you are required to produce valid ID on the casino floors, if asked. I saw all types of people, drunk and trashed, yelling, jumping for joy, crying, but most of them just seemed like regular tourists. Plenty of nightlife in Las Vegas including high end clubs and the sorts at the major hotels. The weekend we went, DJ Tiesto was playing at the Jet located inside The Mirage. Concerts, shows and such are much more worth rather than just going to a club, unless that’s something specific you need to do. Especially with the entrance prices being over $100+ or mandatory bottle service, it depends on individuals.
Came back and slept back at our hotel.
Day 4:
The entire day was spent checking out more hotels such as Mandalay Bay, Excalibur, New York New York, Luxor, etc…(There’s just so many!)
We had a buffet at the Mandalay for brunch and ate at another Indian restaurant for dinner. Buffet is a better option for non vegetarians since not much variety for vegetarians as myself. We visited the Stratosphere tower by the night, and saw the fountains at the Bellagio, just the same way as in Ocean’s Eleven. Four days had gone so quickly, it felt kind of sad leaving the city of lights. No worries, we enjoyed as best we could, had a lot of fun, had some pretty good encounters/situations (“What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas category) and just had a blast with my friends.
Day 5:
Our flights were leaving around 8~9:00 am between our friends so checked out the hotel by 6:00 am and got to the airport by 7:00 am for our friends earliest flight to leave. One by one we all left for our departures and got to the east coast around 7:00 pm EST.
Summary:
Overall, it was an awesome trip packed with a lot of traveling, walking and sightseeing, and a bunch of other stuff. Nights of Day 2 and Day 3 consisted of friends winning and losing money, but all in good spirit! It was an excellent weekend getaway and I shall cherish this trip forever. I recommend going to Vegas with friends since it’s that type of a spot. Going with parents or family would probably be a completely different experience (nothing bad, just different).
As this was my first trip experience I am sharing on T-BHP, hope everyone likes it.
I will post more pics hopefully by this evening!
Last edited by Rehaan : 17th June 2009 at 14:27.
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16th June 2009, 01:20
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