Day/Night 1: Wednesday 17th August (General)
The journey to Vegas went exactly according to plan and just how I imagined it to be. Checking in and printing the boarding pass the previous day was a master-stroke as this allowed me to change my seat from a view of the wing of the plane, with the added inconvenience of passengers sitting next to me, to a window-seat towards the back of the plane with a clear view AND with empty seats next to me. With it being a late morning flight, I was able to see those clear views of the landscapes from the beginning to the end of the journey including the amazing Greenland coastline and the breathtaking forms of the central states of the USA. Perhaps I could have eased up on the dodgy food though, which may or may not have had something to do with the splitting headache I was hit with in the last few hours of the flight.
Touchdown, at about 2:15PM, was smooth and it was the dark and enormous pyramid, along with the sphinx of the Luxor, that proved to be the most distinctive building viewed from the runway but this also contrasted nicely with the golden panelling of the outside of the Mandalay Bay hotel. From reading and researching about this place so much - there it was in front of me, just a short drive away! Customs was as smooth as everything else and then it was a case of bracing myself for that Las Vegas heat that I'd heard so much about and, man, that didn't disappoint! Less like an oven and more like a fiery furnace, it was like walking out into the climate of another planet! What a scorcher!!
Finally, it was onto the last leg of the journey - the Bell Trans mini-bus ride to Harrah's. Firstly, I was picked up by a bus that took me to another part of the airport to be picked up by a second bus. The driver though, really appreciated that first impressions count and really made me feel welcome as a newcomer to his city and said I was going to have a GREAT time. We even chatted briefly about the UK and the Vegas women. Anyway, I appreciated the warm welcome as it's always a plus when you're greeted by someone in the right spirit and who puts you at your ease.
I was then dropped outside a different terminal for the connection to my next Bell Trans bus and this was a slightly less positive experience as I had to wait about 15 minutes in the searing heat and then another 15 minutes or so inside the mini-bus for more passengers to arrive. What also annoyed me a tad was that the windows had those horrible perforated wire meshes embedded inside them so that, with all of those thousands of tiny holes in the way, it made it difficult to see outside. This meant that my first view of the strip, with other passengers possibly thinking I had some sort of mental deficiency, had me quickly shifting my head backwards and forwards in a maniacal manner so that I could make out the detail outside.
In some ways it was nice that the passengers requiring a drop-off at the Rio and Palms were dropped off first as this part of town was not on my "to-do" list and it gave me a chance to see these hotel/casinos up fairly close. My highlight, though, was when the bus circled a block to exit the Flamingo casino and when a silhoutted outline of the magnificent Bellagio hotel suddenly loomed large and towered above and over the bus in all its glory; spectacular! (Even through those bleedin' thousands of holes!)
With no line to speak of, check in at Harrah's was super-smooth and the clerk was really friendly and made sure everything was exactly in order and answered questions with a smile. With two queen-sized beds and plenty of space to roam around in, the room itself was fantastic. Ok, the view was of a multi-storey car-park but this was not a problem as a fine view is not particularly one of my top requirements. With the time at 5:15PM (1:15AM London time) it was time to try to get some rest.
Here is that view from my hotel window:
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