Vegas and all the jazz.. Part 1

Having seen enough movies and TV shows featuring Las Vegas, the lights, the glamour and the casinos were way too much for me. I was not interested in any of those, but then a tiny part of me was curious I guess. 

When I was planning my USA trip, I knew I would be visiting the Grand Canyon and when I looked at the various options of getting there, most of them included Vegas as part of the journey. After a bit of deliberation, I caved in and chose a tour that was for 3 days, 2 nights through Take Tour company.

The agenda for the tour was, 

• Reach and Stay over in Las Vegas 
• Visit Grand Canyon (Grand Canyon South Rim or west)
• Optional- Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe bend [though not mentioned in main itinerary, they offer this visit]
• Breakfast and leave to Los Angeles
• Visit Hoover Dam, 
• Quick stop at Ethel M Chocolate Factory and Botanical Cactus Gardens
• Longish break at Barstow (Tanger Outlet Center)

The bus departed from China town around 7am and we were in Vegas, at the hotel- Circus Circus by 4pm. The hotel was quite nice, vintage in outer appearance but the rooms were beautiful. Mine had a view of the entire Vegas strip and the Trump tower [ a tall building shimmering of gold].. After a short nap and change, I was back and ready to explore the city, to see for myself what it was all about. 

The first stop was the old part of Vegas- Fremont Street... We had about an hour here before we moved on to the next spot. This section was packed with hotels from then years gone by, a few souvenir stores and general outlets [ water, snacks, etc]... A lady from China came up, struck a conversation and asked if she could tag along with me that evening. She knew just a few words in English and had come to Dallas for a teacher's conference from Beijing. How about that... And all she wanted to do was shop shop and more shopping... lolz.. Oh and ya take selfies/self portraits everywhere ... 

That evening was magical, for lack of better word.. I enjoyed wandering the streets, watching the street performers [ if you want to take their picture, make sure to get their permission and pay them something...] . Also grabbed myself a few souvenirs from the stores.. The highlight was that I gave ziplining a shot. Dumped my backpack at the counter and went ahead to zip across the long stretch in that indoor space. Wow, what a rush!! It was over in a flash. So much for all the anxiety and palpitations fluttering within me while I made my way up to the podium.. 

What else did I do in Vegas? well, stay tuned...