It so happened that trip to US was finalised and it was for my office work! It was kind of an unspoken dream to visit America and I couldn’t believe it was coming out to be true. Be careful of what you might have ever imagined or dreamt of, as who knows it might just come out to be true. Mine did!!

Happy me at the Vegas Airport!

So, I was supposed to be on an official visit for 2 weeks and I extended another one week as a personal time off and headed towards the West Coast. Luckily I had a friend in Denver so I could drop my BIG suitcase at her place and travel ahead with just a small one. While traveling whithin America you should be aware that baggage is not included in most of the Airlines, and you’ll have to purchase it. 1PC of luggage will cost you $30 so it’s better if you travel light.

I had pre-planned my entire vacation! I was going to Denver from Dallas where my office was, and keep my luggage. From Denver I had booked a flight to Las Vegas and I had purchased a baggage, then from Vegas to Los Angeles by Bus and again from LA to San Francisco by Bus and then from SFO to Denver by flight. I had flown United Airlines from SFO and Hand Bag was included so I did not pay for the baggage in that leg of my journey. If you travel by Bus, 1 luggage and 1 personal item is allowed and besides that the bus ticket is extremely economical as compared to flight. If you have time in hand, it’s not  a bad idea to travel by bus.

Vegas to LA was about 5hrs by bus and LA to SFO was 8hrs. I was ok traveling by road as I wanted to experience the scenic beauty. From LA to SFO you cross the Pacific Ocean and that road is extremely captivating. Just to add, bus is pretty comfortable too. It has comfortable seats and a washroom too. I had purchased seats by paying extra $5 or $10 I guess, don’t clearly remember, just to sit in the front.  So eventually, I was the one occupying the entire row as no one sat beside me! It looked to me like I was the only person traveling solo.

DAY 1

WHERE to STAY in LAS VEGAS

Vegas as we all know is known for Casinos so they have a lot of Casino hotels. It is best to book a hotel in the Strip. It stretches from South to North and it has all the famous hotels. I had booked Excaliber which was in the South end and when my Uber driver took me to the hotel, I was overwhelmed to see the grand entrance. It felt like I was transported altogether to a different world, I felt like a princess. I had reached way ahead of the check-in time but was lucky enough to get an early check-in. I left the bag in the room and headed toward the lobby.

There was a huge Casino and everyone was playing. I never played cards and all of those was very new to me. I could smell the mixture of cigarette and weed and alcohol. You must be aware that Marijuana is legal in Vegas. That gross smell you’ll come across everywhere on the roads. Everyone was playing, Everyone was smoking, I wondered how much money people have! Since I was in Vegas, my brother insisted that I should atleast try my luck and I played some unknown game and instantly lost $20. I gave up, not interested in losing my hard earned money 😢

Casino @ Excaliber

Excaliber

The hotels are mostly inter-connected and you really don’t even have to cross roads to go to another hotel. From Excaliber I could walk into New York New York and other hotels too. As I mentioned about the Strip, the stretch is about 6.8km long and I might have covered it by foot almost twice or even more in a day. Vegas is so lively and the Strip is the place to be. There are people singing, dancing and having fun.

THINGS TO DO IN VEGAS

Night Tour & Fremont Street

So, on the day I landed in Vegas, I visited the Strip hotels and booked a night tour. It costed me about $50 and it was an Open Bus Tour with a guide. We were given a pick up point and around 7PM we departed. The guide was good enough to talk us through what we were seeing and the history about it. On the way we could also see the “Wedding Chapel” and the famouse “Las Vegas Sign”. We didn’t stop in any of these points but just passed by. Once we reached Fremont Street is when we stopped.

The famous Paris Hotel at night from the Bus

Fremont Street was something I really can’t explain in words. It didn’t feel night in there. There was live concerts going on and people could just grab a drink and drink it on the street! There were girls in 2 piece as well as shirtless boys ready to pleasure you if you are ready to pay them! I could see men as well as women taking pictures with them. One of this guy walked to me and put his hat on my head and offered me to take a picture and whatever else they would do if I pay them $10 each, I’m sorry – kept my distance! Would you pay to get clicked with them?

I was so submerged inside the Fremont Street that 50 mins stop time just passed by and by the time I reached the pick up point I could see the Bus leave without me. So, I was stranded on the road which was annoying. I felt that the Tour Guide should have done the head count before leaving. That to me was a little unprofessional. Anyways, I complained to the tour company and they asked me take a Uber back and they refunded the whole amount that I had paid. So, keep it mind never be late. They are not as professional enough to wait for you even for a minute.

DAY 2

Grand Canyon & Hover Dam

Next day early morning, I had booked a trip to Grand Canyon. I felt I saw the wonder in front of my eyes. What I was experiencing was unbelievable. The pick up was early morning at I guess 7:30AM from near Treasure Island and it had costed me $110. The Grand Canyon was declared as the UNISCO World Heritage Site and is definitely one of the most astonishing place in the world. It is definitely worth visiting if you are in Vegas. You will be visiting the Eagle Point and the Guano Point.

At the Eagle Point you can also visit Skywalk which is a horseshoe-shaped brige with a glass walkway. You are not allowed to take you camera or phone but there are photographers who will be ready to take a picture for you. Ofcourse you’ll have to pay to get yourself clicked. If you want to skip Skywalk, you can do that too and purchase the ticket only for Grand Canyon.

At the Eagle Point, you can use the coupon to purchase a meal in the restaurant as the Tour comes with a lunch included. You will get a standard meal with a drink and if you want something extra you can purchase on your own. From the Eagle Point once you finish your lunch, you can get in a shuttle which will take you to Guano Point.

That’s the lunch you’ll get.. it was not bad at all!

Most of the people spend a lot of time at the first point that they totally ignore the second. To be honest, I liked Guano Point more. Breathetaking view and the short trek to the highest point was a stealer. You have to be wearing comfortable shoes to climb up.

Climbing up those stones and reaching the highest point and watching the 360 degree view of the Canyon was astounding. I felt as if I was on top of the world! After spending ample time here, I took the shuttle back to the pick up point. I think our guide had given us 4hrs to spend at these 2 point, which was sufficient as per me.

View from the Top!

After all of us got to the bus, we headed towards the Hoover Dam. The Dam is located on the boarder between Nevada and Arizona. You have to climb up the stairs to reach to point from where you can watch the Dam.

We had stopped for 30mins in this point and headed back to Vegas. You will reach back to Vegas in the evening and luckily they had a final drop off point at Excaliber which was the hotel I was staying so I reached hassle free and at ease. I was sure tired after my whole day adventure but again I was in Vegas and this city never sleeps. I rested for a while and thought to visit the famous Chinatown for dinner.

If you ask me, I did not like Chinatown as I visited multiple restaurants there but didn’t feel like eating in any of those. I took a taxi back and came to the hotel. I’m not sure was it because I was tired or something else, I just didn’t enjoy being at Chinatown. I thought of having a dinner at the hotel itself and call it a night.

DAY 3

I slept! Past 2 days I had been waking up early in the morning and leaving so on the 3rd Day I slept and woke up really late. Then I walked towards Starbucks and got myself a hot cup of coffee and something to eat. I then came back to Excaliber and went to the pool. Oh it was so refreshing! That was exactly what I needed. I spent time in the pool and did sun bathing and after I was totally relaxed I went on hotel visit.

MUST VISIT HOTELS

There are few hotels is Vegas which is a MUST VISIT.  You definitely need to visit Bellagio and watch its Fountain show. I suppose it happens everyday at 3PM and that’s quite a visual delight. Entering inside any of Vegas hotels is not an issue at all. You can simply walk in and out and hit the casino too if you are in for gambling. Bellagio has high end brand shops inside and you can go window shopping or shop if you can afford. I simply did window shopping. Also, don’t miss the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Garden. All these are absolutely free and you will definitely love being there.

Bellagio Fountain Show

Bellagio Conservatory

Next hotel you should definitely visit is Caesars Palace. It has been featured in numerous films, one of them being the famous “Hangover”.

Definitely a grand hotel!

Not to miss the Forum Shop in Caesar Island which is a luxury shopping mall with all high end brands and fine dine restaurants.  Again the entry is free and so is the window shopping! You can look around and enjoy the moment for as long as you want.

Inside the Forum Shop and no it’s not night. It was at the Day time.. that’s their theme!

You will pass by a lot of fancy hotels while walking around the Strip; like “Paris”. It has a restaurant with the structure of an Eiffle Tower and you can walk in for either breakfast, lunch or dinner. Another hotel you can drop by is Treasure Island and Venetian Hotel. Venetial Hotel as the name depicts has the theme of Venice. Let’s not be too optimistic as you really can’t cover all the hotels in there, there are 100’s of it.

Also, while in Vegas, you really can’t miss taking a picture in “The Famous Las Vegas Sign”. There was a long queue with people waiting for their turn to get that one perfect picture but even after the wait, I don’t think I could manage to get one.

I closed the night with a dinner at Hard Rock Café overlooking the Strip. It was a fun trip in the city that never sleeps and I must say I had the time of my life. As it’s rightly said “What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas” !

Hope you enjoyed reading.

Cheers!