’ Nichod’is a word in hindi which means juice in english. When we listened to boring long lectures in biology and later in medicine, we used to hunt for a kunji(key), so as to get the juice of the subject. Why sift pages when an abstract can do!
Similarly it is about Las Vegas-the place is so popular that there are a lac sites, thousands of discussion boards and millions of pages in tourist brochures written about the place.
So here I will try and present in brief how to get the best out of Las Vegas.
DISCLAIMER-
I have been there only once but my research before going lasted weeks and so I hope that what I offer will be an attempt to give the best advice.
THE PLACE-
sin city, a must visit, popular with Japanese, Koreans, Arabs and all moneyed people. It has also become popular in India because it is located so close to the silicon valley and whenever the aunts and uncles from Bangalore, Kerala, Punjab and Gujarat visit their relatives, they make it a point to include Vegas. Ofcourse the newly weds and the young, having grown on Jackie Collins books based on the city also make it a part of their trip to the west coast of U.S.A.
*U.S.P.
* What makes the place unique is
it is totally man made, in a desert, solely for pleasure purposes.
legalised gambling .
legalised prostitution in Nevada state(the only state in USA or maybe 1 more).This ensures hassle free days from cops rather than searching for company.
GETTING THE MOST OF YOUR STAY
- The stay should not be a short one. I generally find people saying we visited the west coast of america for a week, had fun, saw Hollywood stuDios, Los Angeles, San Fransisco, Las Vegas. All this means that las vegas got only 1 or 2 days. To get your value for money spend atleast 5 days there and enjoy at an easy pace.
2. Book yourself. Do not leave it to friends in U.S.A. They earn in dollars, you earn in rupees. Your requirements may be different. We booked on internet. The best site is lasvegas.com. You can book a hotel and if after that someone offers you cheaper rates, the site refunds you twice the difference of extra you may have paid. You can browse by rates, categories and also read accounts of people who have travelled earlier.
- Go on weekdays- for you every day of the holiday is a weekend. So book from sunday afternoon or monday to thursday. We stayed at a hotel on the strip called circus circus. It is a 4 star hotel with 3500 rooms, amenities are all 5 star. The weekend rates were 140 dollars a day. We got 35 dollars a day for 2 nights and 45 dollars a day for the other 3 nights. It works on a supply-demand basis. So we stayed for 5 nights(205 dollars) at a rate which was lower than just 2 days on the weekend(280 d). The same is the case with the 5 star hotels. Just see this yourself on the site. It still works that way. Mind you the tourist crowds are not less on weekdays. It is just the local americans who do not come on weekdays, so room availability is better.
4. Must visit Grand CANYON- it is a tour of a life time. My personal suggestion is take a bus, rather than fly by chopper. It is a 13 hours long tour where you see the entire Nevada desert. It stops at Hoover Dam which is the power life line for the state of California, a wonder in itself and was a target of the Japanese during the world wars. The roads are superb. The bus is a super luxury coach with your own seatwise customised television entertainment. The bus driver is a certified guide also and gives a most vivid and humorous commentary as you travel. There is a stop for lunch at a rail-side inn where lavish food is served. The canyon itself is breath taking, and very passionate guides tell you all about it with illustrations and in the museum and actual site-all free of cost. You leave at 7a.m. and are back by 8p.m.
5. Shows-you must see atleast 2 shows. The shows of las vegas are the best in production quality. We had 2 teenagers with us-my son and his cousin.For families, the shows are in early evening, with the artists fully clothed. The show is the same. We saw one day one show with the kids. The next day we saw a late night show .These are adult shows where the artists are in various stages of sensuous nudity. The show we saw had about 50 artists and was a very slick production, a treat to the eyes.
Night club-experience this also once. Most are open 12 midnight to 6 a.m. They have a 10 dollar entry charge
Food-the place is built to attract gamblers to entice them to spend money. In order to attract money.all other services are dirt cheap . So might as well take benefit. At the place next to our hotel, every thing was 5 cents-coffee, pastry, cake, cookie, pattice.So we would just walk across and eat. All food is similarly priced very reasonably even in the best of hotels. The only places where food will be expensive will be the exclusive ones which very boldly display the minimum cover charge. So they can be avoided.
Hotels-all hotels are made with special effects. They are architectural marvels. So a hotel called new york or paris paris will be replicas of the monuments of these places. Take your time and see each hotel . Walk ins are allowed at all times free of charge. You will get to see free shows like pirates show, sharks, magic shows, dare devils, firworks. All events are meant to attract the tourist and are free of cost. The only revenue they want to earn is from gaming and gambling. There are no taxes on food, drinks and other minor vices.
Walk-to take in the place, just walk and walk. You get tired, hop on to the bus -again no ticket.The vegas boulecard is called the strip and is meant to be walked. Never a dull moment. Day and night there is a festive atmosphere.
Gamble-just a token. sit on a 5 cent slot machine and play. put a limit. the sound of falling coins when you win a delight to the ears and eyes. you get free drinks as you play, whether you are a minor player or a major player.
The only thing not to do much of is sleep. You can always catch up on it after you return but while there take in the festive mood of vegas at all times.