Las Vegas

We (Ketki & I) had gone to Vegas in May. Here is the summary of the trip.

Day 1 - Friday- We started from LA real late..the car rental company took up a lot of our time.Fridays are always busy with them. Abhi had taken printouts of all the maps.He took inspiration from Vikas and created a file for the maps.. :-)! The journey to Las Vegas was great...the terrain changed from cool lush green in CA to dry barren in Nevada. The desert called Mojave is spread over Nevada and Arizona. It isn't a desert like the Thar in India. This desert has got mountains too.
We entered Vegas at 9.30. The first view of the city is out of the world. The lights and the music gets you in the mood. It truly is a different place..They all say that 'What happens in Vegas..Stays in Vegas'..! This place has a party going on 24* 7..365 days a year..!
After we checked into our hotel, we decided to go to Las Vegas downtown..There's a street called Fremont Street ..they have laser shows at night..! its wonderful..!

Day2 -Saturday We woke up real late. Our hotel had promised us some free tickets if we went to this particular presentation..So we did and we got our free tickets to a show by the Master Magician -Lance Burton..! After coming back from the presentation..we visited all the casinos one by one.The 'Strip'...as they call it , is the main road in Vegas. It has hotels and casinos lit up on both sides. The interesting part about these hotels is that each one has a theme. For eg- Our hotel,The Excalibur was based on medieval times.It has knights and horses and shining armours hung all over. The other hotels were New York -New York.As the name suggests, this one is based on NYC.It has a dummy statue of liberty..it has the New York skyline..! There is a hotel based on Paris..one based on Alladin..another one on Rome and Venice...! They are all exquisite and different..!
But out of all, my favourite was Bellagio.I did not recognize the theme of this hotel..but it was beauuutifull.! They had a garden inside with dummy butterflies and beetles and frogs made out of flowers.. :-)and dancing fountains...! Abhi has taken lots of pictures.
We also went up the Eiffel tower replica...the top view of Vegas city is greatt.!

After covering 50 % of the Strip, we decided to head back to our hotel.We had to get ready for the magic show. We had a nice buffet dinner at the Monte Carlo Hotel followed by an amazing magic show..! Sure was a treat to watch..!

Day 3 -Sunday- We checked out of our hotel...grabbed some breakfast and headed off to Hoover Dam. The mercury was soaring..it felt like India..burning hot.!The dam is built on river Colorado. It provides water and electricity to 3 states - California,Nevada and Arizona. The lake created by the dam- Lake Mead is the largest man made lake in USA. This location is also very popular for movie shootings. I recollect a Bond movie being shot here..!
We clicked some pictures at the dam..and headed back to LA. Our vacation was over..! 50 miles south of Vegas and no one realises that there is place like this just round the next mountain..! It sure is holiday destination..!