My Recent Vacation To Las Vegas

What a delightful travelog about your trip to Los Vegas. I visited Los Vegas in 1996 and never went again to this sin city. I was smiling after reading your dip in the Ganges with your parents and your visit to Los Vegas with your family adjacent to each other. Which one happened first?

My visit in 1996 was alone with the Underwriters after completing the NASDAQ listing of our companies. It was a unique experience especially year after I migrated to the US. When I migrated to the US on Deepavali day in 1995, my collequges came to the airport to pick me up. On my way, I traveled 15 miles on a beautiful bridge built on top of the backwaters while I enjoyed this beauty, my attention was drawn to "Topless night club" billboard. I was wondering what did I walk into as that was my maident trip overseas. But after a few days, my interaction with my colleagues both men and women, eased me out. Again this 1996 trip to Los Vegas happened to the sin city.

Luckily, I had a friend and a colleque, in-house counsel, who knew all about my not yet unaffected Indian culture and carefully chose a few shows that would not affect my culutural heritage as I refused to gamble in the sin city. One was a magic show of David Copperfield and another was just a dance show which he believed will not be a shock to me. I really enjoyed David Copperfield's magic show but when I went to the dance show, the last sequence was a topless dance which I regretted watching for a long time. My in-house counsel was teasing me after my return to Florida whether I admitted watching the show to my wife. Frankly, I did but told her that it was an innocent mistake as I thought it was a colorful dance program. It was for more than 55 minutes until the last 5 minutes.

Many of my colleagues walked away losing all cash including my CEO who brough $50,000 cash with him to gamble. It is shocking to see even the airport has gambling stations even though they are not full-fledged casinos. Luckily, I didn't come across women who were handing over cards with their images and phone numbers. Perhaps, I was blinded by the neon signs and the beauty of the sin city. I was awestruck by the activities in the night and how the ambience of the casinos were kept lighting like it is daylight and women offering drinks to the guests 24/7.

 

I had visited Las Vegas a decade ago. Rather than the flamboyant vistas, the population of the homeless people and their despair faces kept haunted me for a long time.

 

Hi @gamma50g
Your detailed narration about your trip to Las Vegas reminded my visit in 2014 along with my family and parents. I remember only the breathtaking view from the STRAT tower observation deck. We just stayed there 1 day and We weren't comfortable that gambling, night life, and those homeless people. I’m an avid lover of nature and I can visit and stay many days in the prettiest nature places but not in Las Vegas. So, the next day we left to The Grand Canyon National Park.

 

Visit to Sin City is on the bucket list of most people who visit the USA. In fact, some come to the USA to visit this city only. We were also there in April 2023. We spent days in Death Valley and Eagle Point and nights in the sin city.

 

I never thought one4 could view Vegas with such detachment and philosophical attitude. People virtually drown in such glamour and glitz. But your approach is radically different.

 

Definitely a bittersweet experience for me. Went there in 2019. First time when I saw the helpline for human trafficking sticker in the airport washroom made me shiver. But other experiences were out of this world, stayed in Paris hotel, riding the Eiffel Tower up and down especially night time to watch Bellagio’s music water fountain show, and watched the one of kind O" by Cirque du Soleil show in Bellagio, middle of the show they brought swimming pool from under and middle of stage actors were dancing in the water and it disappeared after 5 -10 mts and they all were dancing in the dry stage.. it was unbelievable to watch that, in other hotel 3 floors big chandelier was so beautiful to see it and pic came out so good with that backdrop.Magic shows were good , no one disturbed us on the strip, though it was extremely shocking to see them with skimpy clothes … we were non stop walking the whole day and had foot massage every evening before the shows.. I had cotton candy in (very late )breakfast buffet .. people around me were badly influenced by me… flocked around that cotton candy area::: first time tried Cupcake ATM near Flamingo hotel or high roller not sure. Then went on Grand Canyon helicopter ride.. breathtaking view and lifetime experience.. 10-15 minutes ride from stripe is trick art 3D museum was the crazy fun experience took lots of one of kind pics and also the amazing experiences..gondola ride at the Venetian resort also so much fun. Every hotel is uniquely beautiful in their own views. We fell in love with Vegas head over heels and were planning to come every year and staying in different hotels but the last night on Vegas we have decided to go to Fremont street and enjoy seeing the shooting spots of Sarkar Tamil movie. In strip we saw male female artists asking people to take pics with them and engaging in conversations were adults I thought who are we to judge them ..their life their choice ..kind of sealed my mind but in Fremont street we saw teenagers doing the same made us decide not to visit the vegas again. Though I loved Vegas’s positive vibes very much and the Sphere is so tempting to visit next year but deep inside my heart I know we won’t go.