How
often has it happened that when you tell your friends you are
visiting the states there is always a person who would tell you
"Bhai Las Vegas zaroor ghoom lena" ;) Translation - Bro,
Don't forget to visit Las Vegas :) and he will add to it "Mujhe
bhi bula lena, saath me party karenge" (Invite me too).
Doesn't
matter if you are thousands of miles away, visiting the US & not
visiting Vegas is like visiting Thailand & not getting a Thai
massage :D
(admit
it guys!! I know what you did last summer)
So
getting to the point quickly this is the second part of the series
"US Travel Tales" and it is about one of the must visit awesome place
in your lifetime if you get an opportunity to visit the U.S. no points for guessing it is Vegas Baby!!!!!
When
I was initially planning a trip to the west coast I was in a dilemma
to visit Vegas or not as it was very pricey during the holidays &
another reason being
that it was going to be a trip with wifey & not with your
bachelor friends ;)
so
I was not keen on Vegas and was trying to push it to a future date
wherein i could go for a bachelor trip to Vegas ;).
However
Vegas was the top priority in wifey's list and if you remember what I
had written in my earlier blogs there is a famous quote
next to a famous personality in a morphed internet picture which says
"Always agree to your woman else every discussion will be an
argument" ;) So there was no avoiding it.. But I must say it was one of the best decisions I had ever made... Vegas is just wow!!
The
Plan
Since
this was a road trip & we had to drive almost 300 miles to reach Vegas
from CA, I wanted to book a kick ass car for the long drive.
I
always wanted to emulate Zindagi Na Milegi Doobara(ZNMD) cast where
in I could rent a open top car and drive through the deserts of
Nevada.
However
due to the holiday season the only open top car available for rent
was the Corvette :O I had to literally sell my kidneys if I have to
afford this beauty ;)
So
the plan to emulate ZNMD went out of the window :'(
The
holiday season rush had another twist in store for us. The car we had
booked was not available & we were upgraded to the mighty &
powerful Dodge :D
I
couldn't have asked for more... Thank you Enterprise :)
The mighty Dodge
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I always thought that Vegas was only
about gambling & partying, boy was I proven wrong.
Nevada
is such an amazing state, there is so much to do in this place other
than gambling & partying.
Red
rock canyon, Hoover Dam, lake mead and the list goes on.... So if you
are visiting Vegas don't restrict yourself to clubbing, gambling &
partying, do
explore the nearby wonders this beautiful state has to offer.
So
keeping in mind the places we were going to visit we planned for a 3
days road trip
Vegas
Baby!!!
Here
I am on the road again
Look at the huge moon!!!
I
picked up the rental car the previous day, tanked up & test
drove the car to experience its sheer power & mettle, boy it was
a beauty of a car :) This is going to be an awesome drive the internal me said ;)
Day
1
We
had planned to start early to beat the holiday traffic but alas
everybody had the same plan creating chocked roads & we ended up
driving almost
8
hours to reach Vegas.. It was one hell of a nightmarish traffic that
I have never seen before in the U.S
We
got a great deal at the Stratosphere hotel which was away from the
main strip in Vegas
We
arrived at the hotel at 8PM and were almost dead due to the nightmarish traffic....
We
did not have the energy to venture out so we spent the rest of the
night at the hotel....
Traffic Traffic all the way!!!
Stratosphere
Day
2
We
had planned to visit the nearby attractions on day 2 i.e., Red rock
canyon, Lake Mead & hoover Dam during the day & party in the
main strip during the night :)
So
we woke up early as usual and headed off to our first destination
Red
Rock Canyon
Red
rock canyon was around 20 miles from where we were put up in Vegas.
The
place has huge stone formations & the drive inside the red rock
canyon park is very scenic.
There
is a one-way loop road inside the park which covers the entire park
and gives some spectacular views of the landscape around.
So
after a drive through the canyon we headed to our next destination
for the day which is Lake Mead & Hoover dam.
Hoover
Dam
This place needs no introduction....I
am pretty sure most of you have already seen the Hoover dam in many
Hollywood movies after all it is a spectacular sight:)
I
too got an opportunity to personally visit this place... must say it
is one heck of a place...
The
place is too touristy & has very narrow approach road causing
traffic delays....
There
was so much delay in visiting Hoover dam that we couldn't visit lake
mead... all we could manage is the pics of the lake from the car ;)
So
we were back to the hotel by dusk & we were ready to party :)
it's
time to Partayyyy!!!
We
headed off to the main strip in Vegas and visited some great casinos
& clubs.
we
rode the monorail and checked-out the fountain show at the Bellagio
After
a terrible debut at gambling in Atlantic city I did not let any stone
unturned...
I
made a come back at black jack this time ;) all in all it was a real
fun night and below are few pics....
Day
3
We
were at the stratosphere hotel & this hotel offers some scary
rides... due to our packed schedule we did not get a chance to
experience these rides.
Hence
we planned to finish the rides in the morning and head to the Grand
Canyon after that....
the
rides were one of the scariest rides I had ever experienced. Imagine
being suspened in the air at the 108th floor :O
and
there is nothing below your feet.... you can literally stare at your
death ;)
There
were 3 rides and we did all 3 of them and below are the pics from the
ride and a video too... How I wish I had a go pro to capture the true
feeling :)
After
the rides we headed off to Grand canyon.
Grand
canyon west rim
Grand
Canyon is one of the natural wonders in the world. The closest part
of the grand canyon to Las vegas is the west rim.
The
drive to the west rim was one of a kind... it was very unique for
me.. there were strong winds which literally was making my car slide
sideways...
I
had to hold the steering hard and maintain balance in the strong
winds... it was one hell of an experience....
Drive to the Grand Canyon
Strong winds causing problems on the road
Scenic drive
But once you reach this place the drive is really worth it....This place
is truly a natural wonder & it is really hard to believe that the
formations are natural...
The
stones look like they have been cut using machines such symmetry they
posses.... this place will blow your mind!!!
If
west rim is so beautiful I cannot imagine how beautiful the main park
would be..... I hope one day I get an opportunity to visit the main
park :)
So
after visiting grand canyon we were back to the hotel & we
continued exploring the casinos & clubs in the main strip....
Stratosphere
hosts a beautiful rotating restaurant at the top floor, I guess 108th
floor of the building....
The
ambiance is spectacular and this is a perfect place to get some
drinks & gaze at the bustling city underneath...
The
view is amazing & the experience is one of a kind.... We decided
to have our dinner here which would complete our stay at Vegas :)
So
we dined at the roof top restaurant & had a short walk at the
tower top under the moonlight.... A romantic setting I would say.. A
walk to remember :)
Day
4
After
having some great breakfast & doing the final bit of gambling in
the morning ;) we headed off to L.A & that completed our trip to
Vegas
It
was one of the most memorable trip for me in my life & all
credits to my wife for planning & executing this wonderful trip
to Vegas...
Now
I know why there is always a person in your group who says "Vegas
Zaroor Jaana" (Do Visit Vegas) probably I too will be that one
person to recommend Vegas to people ....
So until next time, Cya & stay Blessed :)
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