DAY 11-14: Las Vegas

I did not blog for a few days… the head-space was just not right. J 

Day 11 - Friday: Got up at 5 to take 2 local busses in Anaheim to the Greyhound Station. This was going to be my first experience with Greyhound and the reviews have been a bit hit and miss. But Greyhound is cost-effective and they go everywhere. All went well until I lined up to get on the bus and the driver told us “there will be no busses going to Las Vegas for 4 hours but we can get on the next bus to LA as it would be easier to get onto a bus from there.” So, that’s what I did… 1 hour back to LA. And then the real circus started: No busses going for who knows how many hours and the crowd is growing and getting more and more upset by the minute as no-one knew or cared to tell us why. Bunch of rude idiots, the lot of them. Very unfriendly and unhelpful and yelling at everyone. Never been treated like that in my life! Eventually, after waiting around in line for another 3 hours, I got on a bus.

3 hours of queueing - this was the back of the queue.

You would think that would be the end of it? No… the bus then proceeded to break down! It was overheating. First they switched off the air-con which made it unbearably hot and then the bus overheated so much the driver decided to pull over at a truck stop by Barstow. At least there were shops and a Mc Donalds and Subway and rest rooms. 3 hours later an empty bus showed up to take us the rest of the way. 

The bus that broke down!

The desert looks a lot like southern Namibia and boy was it hot!

By the time we arrived it was after 8pm, instead of 2pm… so instead of trying to find a bus to my accommodation, I got an Uber. Thank you Rami for suggesting I get the App and thank you Mandie for installing it on my phone and thank you me for actually getting my act together and getting a US Sim Card for my phone!

And yeah… the accommodation sucks! Got an upper bunk (well that’s what happens if you are last to check in!) and then I had to squash a cockroach! Luckily one of my room mates was just kind as and insisted she switch bunks with me. I probably reminded her of her mum….. J But the place is so shabby and the breakfast…. Let’s not even start on that. Luke warm filter coffee and a jug of pancake mix you can help yourself to or, the other choice…. a sachet of oats that you can mix with luke warm water! No bread, no nothing…

Day 12 – Saturday: So EDC (Electric Daisy Carneval) a 3-day music event, was on. Seems to be a bit like a modern day Woodstock.That’s what my room mates were here for. Every evening they would dress up in very skimpy clothes and glitter!! I tell you, we had glitter everywhere. And then they would come back around 6 the next morning and sleep most of the day, just to get ready and go out again. I thought their dress code was very risque until I saw how others were dressed… my roomies were actually very demure indeed!

And these carnival goers were definitely not the worse I had seen...

Vegas, what can I say? It is loud and in your face and flashing lights and slot machines everywhere! You want a bite at Mc Donalds, you walk through a casino to get to it! There is just no normal on The Strip and around Fremont Street in Downtown. Everything is over the top. And so many hustlers and beggars… And no benches to sit your tired bum on. I guess if they did have benches the homeless would take them over anyway. 

It was a good experience for a once in a lifetime thing. Seeing all the pretty, shiny buildings that you always hear about, is interesting. Hearing about the history and mob involvement etc is interesting. 

The local ice hockey team is going to the Stanley Cup... big thing for them. ?That's why the Statue of Liberty on the Strip is wearing their jersey.

The Eifel Tower

And Trump Tower  

The Stratosphere

Circus Circus, it's old, it's shabby

The High Roller, it is higher than the London Eye and each pod takes up to 40 people. You can rent them and have a party there or get married or.... To do a single trip is something like $30 and it takes 30 minutes to go round once.

But a repeat visit?? Even staying in one of the grand hotels… I donno, I walked through the Golden Nugget a few times as a short-cut to the sight-seeing bus stop: people everywhere. They have this nice pool with a huge fish tank with large fish and even a few sharks in it. But… the area next to the pool is filled up with loungers one against the next and all these people are laying around there…. No-one in the water, just “voluptuous”, half naked boddies everywhere!

The Freemont Street area was interesting to experience on Saturday, live music and entertainers. But oi, you see some sites, so many people show way more of themselves than what anyone needs to see. If I never see a naked muffin-top or jelly-thigh ever again, then that would still be too soon.

Day 13 – Sunday: I visited one of the outlet malls, just to get an idea of what retail looks like in the States. Then on to the Biggest Gift Shop… well, if you want to buy cheap trinkets that is. In the afternoon I went up the Eifel Tower and watched the fountain at the Bellagio go off from up there. You can see all the way out to the desert and it gives you a different perspective of the hotels and casinos. 

They say it never rains in the desert... 

I guess it does sometimes rain, the rain just does not reach the surface!

In the evening I went on a night tour to see the casinos lit up and watch the volcano go off at the Mirage. The Frank Sinatra Fountain at the Wynn is also quite nice lit up at night. 

The Volcano at the Mirage. They have a show every night at 8pm.

The Frank Sinatra Fountain

The Stratosphere

Seems not everything in Vegas is about the casino's though. They also do have a brain research centre. This is where Mohammad Ali took part in a study.

The Brain Research Centre. I believe the architect did not like his design and crumpled the page up. Later he tried to smooth out the page and liked what he saw.... and the idea of this building was born.

And of course you can get married in Vegas!

Day 14: Today I am taking the day off

Rang my travel insurance this morning. I need to get my right heel seen to. I think it is tendonitis. I know you should not diagnose yourself via Dr Google…. but that is all I can think that it can be. I got anti-inflammatories from the pharmacy but that only alleviates the pain and makes it possible for me to walk on it. My lovely cousin Elaine, whom I will be staying with in Portland, is going to make an appointment for me for when I get there.

So today I am resting, doing laundry and I may even try out the pool this afternoon. Btw, the pool is exceptionally nice given how shabby the rest of this place is!