Las Vegas – Farewell to Vegas

I was only in Vegas for four nights. For most people, this is enough time to get seriously drunk, lose all your money and most of your dignity. There are, however, other options.


When I was planning the trip, I honestly thought four nights would be overkill. I figures after you wandered into a few casinos, lost a bit of money and gorged on a few buffets, it would be all over. What I didn’t count on though, was the scale of the place. Each casino is a little self contained world. Each one has a huge number of interesting things in it. These things take time to investigate!

For example, New York, New York, has a pretty special reproduction of Greenwich Village right next to the gambling tables. It also has three theatres, about twenty restaurants and a roller coaster. Just finding all these things takes a lot of time. As you’d expect, to get from one thing to another, you must traverse the gambling floor. It’s all a trap to keep you inside the casino spending money. Most attractions are not that well signed, so you have to spend quite a bit of time looking, all the while, being tempted to put just a few dollars more into a machine or onto a table.

It can be worth it though. Not everything in Vegas is completely over the top and tacky. The Paris casino, with its replica Eiffel Tower sitting on top, is actually quite pleasant. As is the Bellagio. It’s a centre of refinement. The rooms are all beautifully decorated and there are some really nice bars and restaurants. If you visited just three casinos a day, you’d easily be able to spend a week here. They all have their own unique charm and attractions if you look around.

If you have even more time, there’s also a bunch of attractions to see close by the city. For a start, there’s the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon, but there’s a lot more. There’s Lake Mead right by Vegas. It’s a lake in a desert, but it has the full range of water sports, like sailing and jet skiing. Nearby, is also Death Valley, Red Rock Canyon and the Valley of Fire. All good fun.


I must admit, that I’ve been transformed from a Vegas sceptic to a bit of a fan. Sure, if you’re after sleaze, boobies and copious quantities of alcohol, all this is here. If that’s not your scene though, there’s a lot more to see. After a first nibble of Vegas, I’m sure I’ll be back. All that’s left to do is buy a whale sized Elvis suit, put on some rhinestones and say “Thank you very much”.