USA Trip Day 9 - 12 Sep 2014 - Vegas Baby!

As soon as we landed in the Vegas airport, we were amused to find slot machines in the waiting area, next to the boarding gates.  

No question about it. This is indeed Vegas!

We landed at Las Vegas airport around 3:30pm and hotel shuttle bus picked us up around 4pm. While the service was complimentary, we still gotta tip the bus captain. 

Mardi Gras Hotel & Casino was our choice for a couple of reasons:

1) They are not on the Strip, but still located close enough on Paradise Road, which means we could enjoy the nightlife of Vegas while not having to lose sleep over the noisy surrounding.

2) FREE car parking for our rental car

3) Shuttle Bus to and from airport as well as to the Strip

4) Reasonable price for a spacious room (only USD $33 per room per night)

5) Not a shady place with questionable guests (more like a family place) (Yes, I can see the irony, Vegas & Family Place :D)

But the downside was that both room and furniture were quite old. Drainage in the bathroom was bad too. Oh well, we get what we paid for I guess.

After checking in to our room, dropping off our luggage and grabbing a quick shower, we boarded on 5pm shuttle bus to the Strip, which dropped us off at Bally's. 

Our first stop was "Auto Collections" on 5th floor of the LINQ Hotel & Casino (Just 2 monorail stops away from Bally's). We thought attractions in Las Vegas close late, but no, this "Auto Collections" close at 6pm and we reached at 5:30pm! Buying tickets to go in for just half an hour wasn't so worth it, so we took a few photos in the reception area and left. 

But for those of you who reach Las Vegas early, you can go there to be awed by 250 classic cars. This car showroom even boasts the 1962 Lincoln Continental Towne Limousine used by the late President John F Kennedy. And you can enjoy this fine auto collection for free by simply printing a free admission pass from the official website: http://www.autocollections.com/ .

Address: The Auto Collections

5th floor of the LINQ Hotel & Casino

3535 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

(Updated as of Aug 2016) Opening Hours: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm (Mon-Sat) 

 We then walked around Harrah's / The LINQ casino, looking for dinner.  

This is how they enticed you to play at their casinos.  Many bling bling haha

With lack of dining options that we were both interested in, we walked over to Venetian.  On the monorail map, these hotels look so closely located but don't be fooled by these over- simplified maps. Each hotel compound was so huge. Plus, they want to keep you and your money inside their own complexes so directions to the neighboring hotels were non-existent or confusing at best. 

Las Vegas Monorail Map

Unlimited rides with 24 hours pass - USD $12

Single ride - USD $5

We got 24 hours pass but we only rode twice so its not worth it. It was just so inconvenient to walk to monorail stations with non-existent signs so we ended up walking on the main Strip while soaking in the exciting party atmosphere, unique to Vegas. It also didn't make sense to get on a cab in a city notorious for traffic jam.  Hence, if you are there for the first time and want to see Vegas instead of keeping put in the resort / casino that you live in, be prepared to walk A LOT.

After visiting Venetian in Macau (a short ferry boat ride from Hong Kong), we wanted to see the original. Boy, we were underwhelmed.  Other than Aria, Bellagio & Ceasars, the rest of the resorts were showing signs of age. 

After a simple Mexican dinner of chips and burrito, we crossed the bridge towards Treasure Island. If you had watched Miss Congeniality 2, you would know that the movie's finale was filmed at Sirens of Treasure Island show. I was such a big fan of the movie series as well as of Sandra Bullock so I went there although the show was cancelled for good since 2013.  What remained now was just a lonely pirate ship.

We then took monorail all the way to MGM Grand.  It was such a humongous complex that we got lost inside for a long while.  MGM Grand is the largest single hotel in the United States with 5044 rooms. 

 Calvin Harris would be DJ-ing at MGM a week after my visit. WHAT A WASTE!  Still, even without such a famed DJ,  the line to get inside the club was so long since it was a Friday night.

Anyway, can you spot MGM's logo, Leo the Lion? Sadly (or rather in a wise move), the lion habitat in MGM closed down permanently since 2012.

MGM Grand Garden Arena 

There is a chapel inside the hotel's shopping area! Maybe it's not such an exaggeration that couples do get married with a moment's notice in this Sin City.

After playing a bit at MGM casino's slot machines, we crossed over the overhead bridge towards New York, New York. We managed to get outside the hotel, only after going in circles for a while. Phew!  

Curiously enough, many resorts in the gaming capital of the world are decorated with various countries' culture and iconic buildings. New York, New York represents the Big Apple, while Ceasar's Palace, Bellagio and Venetian represents Italia.  Monte Carlo and Paris stand for (Need I even spell it out?) France while lavishly decorated Luxor will make you feel like you are in Egypt. There is even a hotel named "The Mandalay Bay", for our Southeast Asian nation!

Happy me outside the massive M&M's World 

Outside New York, New York, there was an outdoor stage with live performances and DJ.  It was so fun to dance along to the then top hits with other revelers, on the roads of Sin City. Cooling weather definitely helped.  

We sauntered our way till Aria, from which we took free shuttle train to Bellagio, to take in the spectacular show of music woven together with beautifully choreographed water and light.

Inside Bellagio's beautifully decorated conservatory, which was all ready for the upcoming Halloween festival

View of Planet Hollywood - home of Britney's Piece of Me Show

Bellagio's impressive aquatic performance with mesmerizing Vegas backdrop 

Address: Bellagio

3600 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Show Times: 

1) Mon-Fri: 3:00pm - 8:00pm (every 30 min), 8:00pm - 12:00am (every 15 min)

2) Sat: 12:00pm - 8:00pm (every 30 min), 8:00pm - 12:00am (every 15 min)

3) Sun: 11:00am - 7:00pm (every 30 min), 7:00pm - 12:00am (every 15 min)

It was almost midnight and we were dead tired. Plus, we had to be ready at our hotel lobby by 6:10 am the next day for our Grand Canyon tour. So we took a cab back to our hotel for 10 bucks and concluded our short Vegas sightseeing. 

Good night, World!

Adios!

xoxo

Miss N