Las Vegas - Sin City or Maya Nagri (City of Illusions)

Las Vegas the 'Sin City' - people who visit may be hit with a feeling that its someone crazy idea of overindulgence at its best or they may find the place mindblowing as it stands true to its nickname that of being the "Entertainment Capital of the World" . I do not know which feeling will hit you first , but I can tell you the feeling which cannot fail to hit you last , that of being awed by the sheer grandeur of the thought that such a place can exist in middle of a desert.

It was for this reason that I took my parents to Vegas - which other place could give them a glimpse of the extravagance that is typical to the United States . Add to this , Vegas acts as eye opener to the world's most famous attractions like "Statue of Liberty ", "Eiffel Tower", Sphinx etc . , which makes the trip give you more than a bang for your money. There also the possibilty to earn more then you spend if you are willing to indulge in the 'SIN - gambling ' .

I would like to jot a few fond memories of my first trip to Vegas (I was to make 2 more later) but this trip was special as all three generations of Pai's none interested in gambling made this. We scheduled our visit on the Memorial Day weekend on May1 2007. This trip was my longest road trip till date and my first drive on a VAN - the Chrysler Town and County. It was a success mainly because of Aruna who slid into multiple roles with utmost ease - made all the bookings , planned our menu and packed our belongings , cooly slid into the dual role of my navigator (i did not have a GPS then) and disk jockey to make this trip romantic. My role was to drive and plan the actual outings on the strip. The kids were small then and my parents were not so young anymore but both generations of Pai's cooperated to the best of thier abilties to make the maximum out of this trip.

Major Attractions

The Drive

• The drive to Vegas presents you with varying landscape and the change is distinct and amazing as the colors shift from blue to green and finally barren as we enter the Mojave desert.
• There are various ways of exploring Vegas a slow trip perched atop the Deuce or by car or on foot . The 3rd option is the best if you have the strength as the mass of people that you normally encounter in Vegas on weekends makes driving a pain. We used the Deuce on our first visit mainly because of my parents and kids and that was fun too though it takes a longtime to cover the strip this way.
  

Vegas - bay to desert landscapes

What to cover on the strip?

Most attractions are on the Las Vegas Boulevard or the strip as it is called and I am mentioning below the main ones at each hotel that you should not miss especillay as most of them are free:

• Mandalay Bay - has got elegant interiors with massive statues and has Shark Reef (paid attraction)
• Luxor - it is a 30 storey building built like a pyramid and with interiors that take you into the Egyptian world with the giant Sphinx at it entrance which also houses a station for the sky train
  
• Exclaibur - with interiors and exteriors built like a old English castle of the medieval times surrounded by a moat

• Note - There is free sky train between Mandalay Bay - Luxor - Excalibur which is fun for the kids and also a good way of visiting this casinos

• New York New York - do see the Lady in broad daylight she really looks stunning and take a picture of New York Sky line. If you have the heart sit on the dangerous roller coaster ride. I had creeps just watching the people taking the ride

• MGM Grand - visit the MGM lions which are showcased in a glass cage and if you time it you can watch them being fed

• M & M world - 4 levels of loaded fun for kids with a free 3-D movie and walk through the chocolate heaven

• Coca Colo Store - where you can enjoy the cola - floats

• Bellagio and Monte Carlo the former being one of the two certified five diamond hotels of Las Vegas. Both are a must if you want to experience pure elegance and grandeur of structure - shining granite and Italian marble floorings, high ceilings and big windows with premium outlets . Also do not for the world miss the famous musical fountains of Bellagio (Tip : Watch from Hotel inside as it looks beautiful with Eiffel Tower in the backdrop)

• Mirage - watch the signature Volcano eruption show (evening show only)

• Treasure Island - watch the Sirens of the Treasure Island show (evening show only)

• Caesar's palace - build to create a feel of Rome as you walk you get a feeling of how ancient Rome may have looked like complete with fountains, statues, shops and a mystical show around the legend of Fall of Atlantis

• Paris Las Vegas to watch the scaled replica of the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomph with an ambiance to match the steets of Paris. You can ride the elevator to the top of the Tower

• Venetian Hotel which provides the experience of walking through the city of Venice complete with Gondola rides on internal canal which goes round the hotel

• Wynn to be at the Lake of Dreams which makes you forget the fact that you are standing in the middle of a desert

Vegas Bellagio

Other Attractions away from the strip

• Fremont Street Experience serves as a Grand Finale for the Vegas trip with the big LG Screen , motor cycle dare devil tricks , magic shows , trapeze performances.
  

• Stratosphere - for insane rides

• Rio - Show in the Sky

• Sahara - Car Speed rides

Vegas - Fremont Street Experience

My closing statement , Vegas is a Maya Nagri (Indraprasta) like the one King Yudhistra had built in a desert - full of make believe things , you should enjoy it and comeback but do not drown in the 'SIN' that underlies the city or you may never be able to swim back to the coast.