Las Vegas to Palm Springs

It was possible for me to catch a relatively short flight from Las Vegas to Palm Springs, however it was also about five times the price of catching a Greyhound bus. The bus trip, however, was about twice as long. I decided this would be a good opportunity for me to see the Californian dessert and take a look at a few of the towns I’d be stopping at along the way.

To get to Palm Springs as early as possible I bought the earliest ticket possible, 6.45am. Needing to collect my ticket and begin waiting an hour prior to departure, as recommended by the company, I needed to get up around 5am. Ouch! Not the most ideal situation for a Las Vegas visitor!

I learnt throughout my bus ride that the Greyhound bus stations are definitely not the most appealing places to be; crammed with loud awful, sometimes smelly, people I was definitely no longer easefully strolling down Madison Avenue.

Another disgusting fact about Greyhound services is that the reason you need to arrive at the station early is to wait in line at your departure gate because your seat is not guaranteed, even if you’ve purchased a ticket. I witnessed this with a different bus at one of my stops. Those poor people would undoubtedly have to wait up to a few hours for another bus.

The trip itself was relatively painless. I kept falling in and out of sleep which made the time pass faster. The scenery outside for the most part was unchanging until we reached some mountains. In an odd contrast to the hot dry baron desert surrounding me the mountains were snow-capped and inviting.

I reached Riverside around noon for my transfer to Palm Springs. It was here that I was the unhappiest I’ve been for my entire trip. My connecting bus was an hour late (after already waiting 1.5 hours) and the people at the station were horrendous. Becoming agitated and repulsed I took refuge outside in the fresh air and warmth of the sun, still however distracted by the rough locals and other waiting passengers. My stress was magnified by the over looming question: what if there aren’t enough seats on this bus? I contemplated the cost of a taxi, but luckily a bus arrived not too much later and there were plenty of seats available.

By the time I reached Palm Springs it was a lot over an hour than I had originally anticipated and planned. Travelling to my hotel in a taxi I could see a shadow cast across the road by the sun setting behind the mountains surrounding the city. At this point I once again became frustrated knowing I wouldn’t be able to take a swim and lay in the sun for a short while as I has also originally planned.

About 12 hours after waking up, I finally reached my hotel, which proved to be worth the wait …

Las Vegas

Getting to the strip was easy with the monorail located just outside my hotel. In fact, I learnt very quickly that the monorail was specifically designed so that regardless of where you’re entering from, you basically need to walk through a casino to get to the monorail entrance, sometimes this was around a 10 minutes walk. Clever designers!

Considering the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel and Casino was rather boring, I decided to go to what is probably Vegas’ most famous casino, Caesar’s Palace. Walking across an overpass to get there I looked around to realise that the casino was much larger that I anticipated. With three tall buildings, more smaller buildings, lots of fountains and columns, and large open spaces, I could already see why this place was so famous.

Inside Caesar’s Palace casino was much nicer than the Hilton’s. Of course, everything was themed to match the décor of grandeur Ancient Rome, and I loved it. Because I went during the day, there weren’t that many people there but it was still reasonable busy.

Not really knowing how to play card games, I stuck to the slot machines in every casino I went to. I think I gambled about $20 in total and lost about $10. Being on the last leg of my trip I was very money conscious and definitely not willing to gamble any more than that, besides, I was sober!

One thing that annoyed me here, and most other places as well, is that smoking cigarettes is allowed in gambling areas. Not to generalise, but the kind of people playing slot machines during the day I found were also the type of people to smoke really strong cigarettes. Sometimes the smell was inescapable and this was another reason I spent little time gambling.

I walked from the casino to the Forum Shops, which is basically a high-end mall within Caesar’s Palace. The exterior of the boutique stores were all decorated appropriately to match the theme and the ceiling above was painted to look like a blue sky with wispy white clouds – as if you were shopping outside.

Moving on, I went to a few other casinos just to check out what they looked like, not really wanting to gamble a lot. Even though I had just spend a month in New York, my other favourite casino was the New York, New York. The exterior of which is a collaboration of iconic NYC buildings all squished together, making it look like a cartoon city.

Inside in the restaurant/shopping area, the floor was made to look like pavement and each shop had an authentic-looking NYC façade. I think they did a really good job of replicating the city. I kind of felt as if I was in a cartoon version of the city, and that was really awesome.

The city of Las Vegas is much more attractive and appealing at night, when all the lights are bright with beautiful colours, the streets are lined with pedestrians and everybody in a happy mood (probably because they’re drunk!).

I don’t think I really got into the expected spirit of Las Vegas. I utilised my cheap accommodation and comfy bed for late sleep-ins. I didn’t have a drink in my hand at every moment like most people did, nor did I lose a lot of money gambling. I think this is all party because of knowing I would soon be going home, and again, quite money conscious. I think this would be a great place to spend a few trashy nights with some close friends, when time and money are no objects.

This being said, I still enjoyed my trip to Vegas, and although my adventure there probably sounds rather tame I do actually have a few tales to tell, but – you know what they say …

Cirque du Soleil: Zumanity

One of the good things about being in Las Vegas is the number of over the top shows available to see. Having seen a few stars on Broadway I wasn’t really interested in seeing tribute shows. Cirque du Soleil however had quite a few different shows playing at different venues in Vegas.

Zumanity, as described in the show’s advertisements, explores the sensual side of Cirque du Soleil. Having only ever been produced in Vegas it was the one show I knew I would never get the chance to see anywhere else, and thus it was the show I decided to see.

The performance began with a few characters heckling the audience as they were being seated. The characters exuded sexuality, at this point mainly in a comedic fashion, with skimpy revealing costumes and innuendo.

The main show began with thunder and lightning flashes sending shivers down my spine. Different contortionists and dancers entered the stage in differing fetish wear performing acrobatic tricks and contorting their bodies.

The show was broken up well with contrasting intense sexual scenes and hilarious comedy sketches, all exploring different sides of sexuality and sexual experiences.

There were many different talents showcased throughout the performance, from contemporary dance to the amazing acrobatic rope work from the ceiling.

The best way to describe the overall performance is to compare it to a normal circus show, add extraordinary talent, topless costumes, adult humour and sexual tension between all cast members, and there you have Zumanity.

I had a wonderful time and left in shock and amazement over what people are able to achieve with their bodies. I’m glad I decided to see this show over others because it was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced and I will probably never experience anything like it again.

Las Vegas Hilton Hotel and Casino

One of the reasons I stayed in Vegas for four nights was because of the incredibly cheap accommodation I got. I accepted a deal on Wotif.com to stay at Las Vegas Hilton Hotel and Casino for $54 a night, apparently the room usually goes for $500.

With this in mind I was expecting the utmost grandeur upon arriving at the hotel. When first entering through the large glass doors I noticed that it was all quite dated and not as beautiful and flashy as I thought it would be.

My room was massive. Not only did I have a giant king sized bed, but I could have fit another three in the room if I wanted. However, the room was also dated; I felt as if I’d stepped back into the 90s. And although I had lots of space, it still felt quite dingy.

Little things made the room feel very much like no one is their right mind would pay $500 for it: like bits of gum stuck on the carpet and visible paster fillings in the wall. Regardless, I wasn’t really in any position to complain considering the price I payed, it was by far the cheapest hotel I’d ever stayed in.

Thinking of the environment, the hotel had a deal that if you decline room cleaning each day you receive a $10 food voucher to use at any eatery in the casino. Being money conscious on the last leg of my trip I utilised this offer each day for a discounted breakfast.

The few cafés and restaurants that I ate from during my stay were not overly impressive, rather just satisfied my hunger for a cheap price.

The service at the hotel was one of the few positives I encountered. The staff were always very friendly, helpful and attentive.

Overall, I wasn’t overly impressed with the Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. Maybe if I was a hardcore gambler and drank a lot during my stay I wouldn’t have been as concerned with the quality of room in which I was sleeping (or passing out in).

Nonetheless, I still enjoyed my large quiet room and the time I spent snuggled up in the king size bed watching TV on the large LCD screen, mounted on the wall at the end of the bed.

San Francisco to Las Vegas

I once again arrived at the airport way too early, sitting in the departure lounge about two hours before departure time. I was happy though to eliminate the stress of running late, and utilised that time to write a few blog entries.

I flew with Virgin America and had a great experience. Ironically, this Virgin plane was only a few years old, had heaps of leg room, comfy chairs and the latest technology available on personal LCD screens – and this flight was only one and half hours long as opposed to my 22 hour Virgin flight to London from Sydney, which was uncomfortably frustrating.

The friendly, causal staff and in-flight entertainment helped the time fly by. Not that this was essential … I really would have been happy staying on that plane!

I started to get excited flying over Las Vegas. I could see all the lights of giant street signs and casinos and couldn’t wait to explore this over the coming days.

I arrived at my hotel, Las Vegas Hilton, a short time later at about 8.30pm. I ordered room service from the extensive menu and decided to call it a night.