Little did I know, Vegas would quickly become one of my favorite cities in the United States. Las Vegas, also known as Sin City, lives up to its reputation with its never-ending casinos and a nightlife that transforms the city into a dazzling, wild spectacle after dark.
Before bidding farewell to the U.S. and returning to Malaysia for good, I decided to treat myself to a West Coast adventure. The plan was simple: visit Las Vegas, marvel at the awe-inspiring Grand Canyon, and explore the iconic city of San Francisco. Las Vegas had a special place on my itinerary because it served as the ideal base for my Grand Canyon excursion, and the sheer number of tour companies offering day trips made it all the more convenient.
Our Vegas adventure spanned three unforgettable days. We flew on an early morning flight from Albany, and let me tell you, when it comes to travel, it's never too early xD. By noon, we had touched down in Vegas. Stepping outside the airport to get an Uber, I couldn't help but be reminded of the scorching heat that hits you like a sledgehammer when you exit KLIA back in Malaysia. The intense desert heat in Vegas made me feel like a roasted chicken in the oven. Although the distance from the airport to the famous Vegas Strip was a mere 10 minutes, the traffic situation could add another 10 minutes to your journey, depending on the time of day. Fortunately, we arrived on a weekday, which spared us some traffic woes. Securing an Uber was a breeze, with the service readily available whenever we needed it.
The Las Vegas Strip or some people called it "The Strip," is an iconic stretch of road that epitomizes the glitz, glamour, and extravagance of Las Vegas. Lined with some of the world's most renowned resorts, hotels, and casinos, it's a vibrant, neon-lit boulevard that never sleeps. As you stroll down The Strip, you'll be immersed in a world of sensory overload. Gigantic LED screens flash advertisements and entertainers in dazzling costumes beckon you for photos.
You can technically visit many popular landmarks around the world simply by visiting Vegas. You'll find the Egyptian-themed Luxor with its iconic pyramid and sphinx, as well as the Venetian, which boasts the canals of Venice. The Bellagio features its iconic fountains, Paris Las Vegas has the Eiffel Tower replica, and New York-New York offers a replica of the New York City skyline. Inside these resorts, you can explore their own casinos. The atmosphere within these casinos varies depending on the resort's star rating. My favorite would be The Bellagio's.\
We stayed at The LINQ, which located at the heart of The Strip and the LINQ Promade was just a stone away. The LINQ is a decent hotel. We got a 2 queen beds room at level 15 facing the pool. You literally just need to go out of the building and you could see The Flamingo (another resort), Harrahs and Chaser Palace. There are a lot of restaurants around too. Mind you, The Strip seems pretty small but, you probably need transport to walk from front to end of The Strip. Plus, you don't wanna walk the whole day when it was 106 degree outside. We occupied our first day by walking around and familiarize ourselves with the city. Thank godness, they have monorail: Las Vegas Monorail operating from 7am to 2am. So, we bought a day pass to go here and there. It provides a quick access to some attractions. The LINQ hotel where we stayed are connected to the monorail station which make it even better. We mostly walk around during the day and we easily reached 20K steps within few hours. Those all thanks to got lost in the casinos because we could find the right way out. Sometimes we ended up in a different part of the building.
On our first evening, we enjoyed an upscale dinner at Matteo's Ristorante Italiano, situated within The Venetian. Interestingly, we hadn't originally intended to dine there. Instead, after a captivating 20-minute stroll and being captivated by the neon lights of Caesars Palace, the name of our initially planned restaurant somehow slipped from our minds. So, we ended up at The Venetian and picked a restaurant that caught our attention on the spot.
Kak Iem took the reins when it came to researching our dining options, and I was perfectly fine with whatever she chose because our taste preferences aligned. We woke up early the next morning to have breakfast, always sticking together. She discovered a breakfast buffet, and we were thrilled about it, so we headed to Paris Las Vegas. However, our excitement turned into disappointment when we found out that the buffet had permanently closed due to Covid. Once again, we had to pick a restaurant that was open, and we settled on Alexa's. The menu choices were decent, but one can't expect much variation from an American breakfast, right?
Our day began with a hearty breakfast, setting the stage for an impromptu adventure along The Strip, stretching from Paris Las Vegas to the Excalibur. Amidst our leisurely stroll, we couldn't resist a visit to the Coca-Cola shop. But, our feet weren't exactly thrilled with our choice of footwear, so we made an unexpected detour to the Skechers store. It's funny howe both wound up with snazzy new sandals, a decision that wasn't anywhere on our radar but proved to be a savior on that scorching day.
Continuing our jaunt towards the MGM Grand, we stumbled upon The Stranger Things Exhibition, organized by Netflix. Personally, I'd only managed to watch four episodes of the series before getting sidetracked, but the exhibition proved to be an unexpected delight. The exhibition has an assortment of souvenirs available for an avid fans. We were there just to snap some pictures.
Upon leaving the exhibition, fatigue had set in, but we pushed ourselves to walk until we reached Excalibur. Believe me, the heat was relentless, with the sun's rays beating down on us, intensifying the scorching conditions, and the air felt as dry as the Sahara desert. When we finally arrived, we opted for a detour, heading back to the hotel to catch some much-needed rest. At the very least, we had the chance to catch a glimpse of Luxor, complete with its Egyptian theme, featuring a pyramid and the Sphinx. That was certainly enough for us.
That night, we finally get to see a Cirque Du Soleil show. This one is one of the most anticipating things I've been looking for in our trip. We watched 'O' which is held in The Bellagio. We head to The Bellagio early to eat some dinner at LAGO. We did not make a reservation because YOLO. Luckily they accepted us. The Bellagio would be my favorite resort. The architecture and decoration is so luxury. After the show, we went to see the iconic Bellagio Watershow. It's free! We ended our night a tad bit early because we have to wake up super early to catch a tour to Canyon X.
Man, the photo quality is like we were in the early 2000. After the show!
Us, in front of the Bellagio
I would say Las Vegas is a must go to place if you want to see a vibrant city lights and I would definitely go again!
