Las Vegas: Things To Do

When you think Las Vegas, you think gambling, entertainment, shopping, dining, indulging and splurging... and you think right! Vegas is every sinner's paradise! If you've had enough of being a 'good' person, with your values and morals, head to Las Vegas. Believe me, being bad has never been so much fun! I would recommend it to everyone. You don't want to miss this experience, but be forewarned - it can be highly addictive!

My first tryst with Las Vegas just blew me away. The Las Vegas Strip was unbelievable! So many casino resorts, each outstripping (no pun intended) the other, with their USP (unique selling proposition, for the ignorant). I felt like a child at a candy store! I started my escapade (meaning in dictionary - a wild and exciting undertaking, not necessarily lawful), at The Venetian Resort and Casino, inspired by Venetian architecture. It features a fabulous replica of the Rialto Bridge in Venice, Italy, complete with canals and gondolas. It's like being in Venice. It's attractions include The Blue Man Group and Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.

Across the street from The Venetian, is The Mirage Hotel and Casino. In front of the hotel is an artificially created volcano, which erupts every hour, from sunset to midnight. One of the biggest attractions of The Mirage is the Siegfried and Roy show. I was lucky enough to be able to watch it, before Roy was injured by a white tiger, while performing the show. It was a fascinating experience. The theme of The Mirage is that of a tropical island, and I absolutely loved the tropical feel of this hotel. It was my favorite place for gambling. I felt like I was in a rain forest, although I'm pretty sure that living in a rain forest would work out much cheaper. I lost a modest amount of money here. But, I thoroughly enjoyed the high it gave me, not the losing the money part, that is.

Beyond The Mirage, is The Bellagio Resort and Casino. The single most thing that I loved about this hotel, above everything else, was The Fountains of Bellagio. I have never seen anything so beautiful in my life. I never knew that water could dance, until I saw this show! The water literally came alive as the music began to play. It swished and swashed, and swayed to the music, and was so artistically choreographed, it just took my breath away! The Bellagio also hosts the world famous group Cirque du Soleil and their fantastic production named 'O'.

Next came Paris, named after the city, with replicas of monuments like The Eiffel Tower, and Arc de Triomph adorning it. Inside the hotel, was a street created just like a street in the actual Paris City, in France, with shops and restaurants and an artificially created blue sky, with wisps of white clouds in it. In fact, it looked so real, that it took me a while to realize that I was not outside, but inside the hotel.

Next came the magnificent square of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue, with four imposing hotels at each corner - New York, New York, MGM Grand, Excalibur and Tropicana. The Statue of Liberty in one corner and the symbolic lion statue of MGM, in the other. The facade of New York reflects the actual skyline of the New York City. And the MGM Grand boasts of a glass enclosed lion habitat. This is as close as you will get to a lion in real life. And you get really close, literally eye to eye with the lion, at times, separated only by the glass!

Beyond Excalibur, is Luxor, which is shaped like a pyramid. In front of it is a large obelisk and an awesome replica of Great Sphinx of Giza. This is the Egypt of Las Vegas. One of the last, or first, depending on where you start, hotels and casinos on The Strip, is The Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. One of the biggest attractions of Mandalay Bay is it's wave pool and the three heated swimming pools and a river with a water fall!

And how can I forget Treasure Island, with it's amazing pirate show, in which the ship actually sinks in water, in the end, and rises again in time for the next show! And, of course, The Stratosphere. The Stratosphere tower is 350 meter tall and has a 360 degree observation deck on top, from where you get a breath-taking view of the city of Las Vegas. The Stratosphere is also famous for it's thrill ride called Big Shot. At 320 meters, it is the highest thrill ride in the world!

Well, there are many more forms of entertainment for adults, in Las Vegas, details of which I shall not go into, for the sake of censorship. But, rest assured, if you want them, you'll find them! Living life to the fullest is the motto of Las Vegas. If you want to do something, go all out, no expenses spared. This attitude is reflected both, by the casinos, and by the millions of tourists who flock to Las Vegas every year, 40 million, to be precise, occupying about 70, 000 rooms on The Strip, belonging to 19 of the world's 25 biggest hotels. The thing that I absolutely love about Las Vegas, is that this place is not just for the young, but also for the young at heart. So, you can be anywhere from 18 to 80 years of age, and have a ball of a time, here!