Saint in Sin City: The Las Vegas-Grand Canyon Report

I’ve finally decided that it’s time for me to sit down and record down what happened during my Spring Break, before I forget.

Day 1:
My plane touched down at the McCarran Airport in Las Vegas at about 9.30pm local time. I drove out of the airport with a Dodge Neon, rented out for two days. I was pretty mad because I thought my rental would cost me about $70 according to the online estimate. Apparently there were a lot of other hidden charges added on later that bumped the total to $119.

After leaving the airport I took a leisurely drive down the whole Las Vegas Strip (Las Vegas Boulevard). Well, leisurely because the traffic was insane. I guess I asked for it since it was a Saturday night. But it was a great opportunity to take a quick look at the hotel and casino fronts in all their shimmering glory.

Checked into the Sin City Hostel at about 11pm. Got a room with two Japanese guys and a European girl. Dropped my stuff of then went to look for something to eat.


After taking a long walk down the strip, I stopped at a casino and had supper there. Really cheap stuff. I got a footlong hotdog, shrimp cocktail and a bottle of water for less than $4. After supper, my fatigue got to me and I headed back for some shuteye. Lights out at 2am.



Day 2:
I didn’t get much sleep as I was awakened by my phone at 5am. I thought it was my alarm at first but then I realized that it was my Dad. He called to wish me Happy Birthday but forgot about the 3 hour time difference between Michigan and Nevada. Anyway, I realized that I forgot to change the time on my handphone too, so I would have been woken up at that time anyway.

I washed up and checked out of the hostel, then drove away towards the Grand Canyon.

About half and hour later, I reached the Hoover Dam. What an amazing sight. The dam is just huge! Just like the dam in one of the James Bond movies. Cant remember which one that was. Spent some time there taking pictures and admiring the scenery. Took off just when the number of tourists started increasing rapidly.

I reached the Grand Canyon at about 2pm in the afternoon. It would have been about 8 hours since I left Las Vegas. It usually takes 5 hours to get there, but I took a very long and relaxing drive, stopping at many of the small towns along the way.

Man, the view at the Grand Canyon was mind-blowing. I couldn’t help but think how awesomely powerful our God is, with a touch of creativity, who can make mountains move and still have effort to spare to make it look so picturesque.

I managed to stay and the Grand Canyon until sunset. The sunset was a bit of a letdown as the clouds at the horizon subdued the sun’s rays before the sun disappeared behind the distant canyons. However, it was before the sunset when the sunlight created the deepest shadows, bringing out the definitions of the rock formations that painted the most awe inspiring scenes I have ever seen.

I left the Grand Canyon when it got dark. I had the option of staying at a hostel for $11 or the Econolodge for $25. I chose the Econolodge because I was so dead tired that I just wanted all the comfort and pampering I could afford at the time. So I spent the night one hour away from the park entrance, in a little town called Williams.



Day 3:
I woke up with a sore throat. I figured that a flu would follow, since I stressed myself quite a bit the day before, with all the driving and long hours staying awake. I had breakfast at a family owned diner and then headed back to Las Vegas.

I arrived at Las Vegas in a considerably shorter amount of time since I only stopped for gas. I had lunch at the Hard Rock Café because they gave me $10 for spending because of my birthday. Had a steak and some apple cobbler as dessert. I could hardly walk after that.

I decided to check back into the Sin City Hostel. After checking in, I took a nap for a while before heading out to the more happening part of the Strip. It was also time to return my car to the airport.

Before I went to the airport, I decided to go check out this ticket booth that offered show tickets for 1/2 price. I managed to get tickets to a cabaret show that night itself. Figured that since I’m in Las Vegas, I might as well see a show that Las Vegas is famous for. You know, the music, lights, sequins, feathers, jewels, etc.

I had to reserve my seat in advance so I had to head over to the ticket box office which was about a block away from where I was. Along the way, I passed Treasure Island which was having a FREE live show. It was pretty cool because even though it was free, it was still really impressive. Pirates, explosions, lights, dance, the works.

I managed to return my car in time and also make it back to the hotel for my show. Sigh, it’s hard to really enjoy a holiday when you have so many appointments to keep.

The cabaret show was pretty interesting. There was some music and dance, then a Stomp tribute and some standup comedy. It really was a variety show more than anything. Money well spent? I really didn’t think so. But paying $30 instead of $60, I couldn’t complain too much.

Day 4:

My first full day in the Sin City. I woke up without a car and felt rather debilitated. My hostel was located in the northern part of the strip, at downtown Las Vegas. It’s pretty much the Old Las Vegas, where nothing much happens.

I spent most of the morning and afternoon just walking around the strip, checking out the hotels and casinos. The different themes are really interesting. There’s Italy, France, Greece, China, Egypt, Africa and many others.

I was running out of things to do that afternoon. I was even more bummed that I would have an extra morning and afternoon the next day. I don’t gamble, and I don’t have that much cash to watch shows. So I was in kind of a dilemma. Then thing started getting interesting….

I was walking outside the Tropicana Hotel and got pulled over by this guy who said that he could give me free tickets to shows if I attended this business meeting. Well, I’m no stranger to these Time Share business meetings as I attended one while I was in Florida. Time is really money, money that buys you free food and show tickets. So for two hours of my time, I got tickets to another cabaret show and a magic show, and coupons for two buffets of my choice. Sweet, huh?

So I got back from the business presentation just in time to have dinner and make it for the show. Wow, the show was really good. Kind of reminded me of the musical Chicago, starring Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta Jones. The lights and costumes were just fantastic. There was also a juggler who was absolutely astonishing. I felt like a fool paying for the show the night before, after watching this show that was not only better but didn’t cost a dime.


After the show, I walked over to the Bellagio to witness its world famous musical fountains. Every 10 to 15 minutes, the fountains will come alive and move to the music. Another mind-blowing experience for me.

Day 5:
I decided to sleep in a little since I had not been getting enough sleep for the past few days. I left the hostel at about 10.30am and made my way to the Tropicana hotel. I took the monorail which cost me $3 for a one way ticket. I was told that it used to be free then they decided to charge $1.75 per ride and now it is $3. Apparently they’re struggling to maintain it.

I arrived at the MGM station and had to cross the road to the Tropicana. When I got out of MGM, I noticed a big sign that said Prime Rib Dinner: $5.95. And that was my lunch. For that amount, I got a decent (not choice part) piece of steak, mashed potatoes, 3 buns and salad. Gotta love the prices of casino food.

While waiting for the magic show to start, I made my way into Everything Coca Cola. It’s this giant glass Coca Cola bottle structure that houses hundreds of Coca Cola merchandise, from t-shirts to pillowcases. I treated myself to a Coke float. Nice.

I made it in time to watch the free magic show. It was a show by a famous magician called Rick Thomas, who just completed his world tour. It was one of his last few performances at the Tropicana as he would be performing at another location.

After the magic show, I rushed over to the local Cineplex to burn off two hours of my afternoon. The movie was Constantine. Pretty disturbing movie.

Once the movie was over, I made my way back to the Tropicana to use up my last buffet coupon. I had only about 30 minutes to eat before I had to rush to Harrah’s for my airport shuttle. I made a grave error by underestimating the distance from Tropicana to Harrah’s and missed my shuttle. Fortunately, the moment I arrived, another shuttle came by and after a little negotiation, the driver took me to the airport.

The flight back was such a pain. My fears came to reality as my sore throat developed into a full fledged cold. My nose was runny and my head was dense. It made it especially hard for me to equalize the air pressure inside my ears as the plane was landing. Swallowing didn’t help. I thought I was going to go deaf.

Day 6:
I arrived in Ann Arbor at about 5.30am. Didn’t want to bother any of my friends to pick me up at such an ungodly hour, so I decided to take a cab.


Conclusion:
Overall it was a really good trip. Wasn’t very relaxing, but I did manage to cover another major tourist spot in the USA. I’m also glad that I managed to keep my integrity despite being faced with temptations left and right. So now it’s time to shake off the rust, suck it in and survive what’s left of this semester.

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More pictures from this trip can be found at:

http://www-personal.engin.umich.edu/~mikench/webgallery/LVGC/


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