Welcome to Fabulous LV!

Rising like a mirage out of the endless desert sands, the neon plastic world of Las Vegas is a Mecca for those who wish to escape reality. Everything here is geared towards the casino crowds: the city has no other commerce. Everywhere you turn is another glittering themed casino boasting slot machines, card tables, theaters, bars, clubs, strip clubs, concert halls, wedding chapels, extravagant displays and hotel rooms all in one huge complex. Feeling in a Roman mood? Check out Caesar's Palace. Feeling happy? Why not go to Circus Circus. Feeling French? Go to Paris. Want to ride a Gondola? The Venetian has what you're looking for. You get the idea.

Dex on the Las Vegas Blvd.

Everything here is fake. But that's exactly what makes it attractive, in a way. Vegas is essentially a line of fake things, one after the other, stretching for 3 and a half miles, from the covered Fremont Street in downtown to Mandalay Bay casino and the airport in the south. They call it the Strip.

Some casinos and entertainment on Fremont St.

Close-up of the Las Vegas Blvd. sign.

We stayed in a hotel/casino called The Riviera, about a third of the way down the Strip. It had no discernible theme, which is rather unique for Vegas casinos. It did have three regular in-house shows, however: a stage hypnotist (standard for Vegas), a washed-up 80s popstar (Connie something-or-other, again pretty standard for Vegas), and a strip show (a 'topless revue', as they called it: a must-have for every Vegas casino, it seems). As can be imagined, the entertainment doesn't appeal to people's IQs very much. But then again this is Vegas, and most people's brains are switched off anyway.

In our days in Vegas we essentially just took the (overpriced) Deuce shuttle bus up and down the Strip, exploring the casinos ($5 for a 2-hour bus ticket, $7 for 24hrs). It seems like the casinos got into an arms race with each other, each one vying to outdo the others with the most OTT displays and attractions. The Bellagio and Treasure Island both have displays which go off every half an hour or so, automatically, and are visible from the street. The former has a set of fountains (e.g. at the end of Oceans Eleven), and the latter has a pirate battle on the ship. The Mirage has a volcano that goes off frequently as well.

Maryann in front of the Bellagio

Inside the Bellagio.. as classy as Vegas.

Some casinos have free shows inside: Circus Circus has a free... guess what? A circus! Some have decadent permanent exhibits that require tickets, such as Mirage's dolphin habitat. The undisputed king of dubious decadence, however, is the MGM Grand's lion habitat. It's a free exhibit, slap bang in the centre of the casino: a pair of lions, and some cubs. They're kept cuz their logo is a lion, and lions are cool. That justifies it, right?

Let's oogle at the captive lions at the MGM, kids!

Outside of MGM. Just so you know it's MGM from 10 miles away.

Vegas isn't all ethically dubious attractions, however. It has some of the best nightlife in the world. Of course the gambling, drinking, drugs, prostitutes and fine dining were all off limits to us, so we can't really comment on them (not like we'd, erm, want to engage in any of that sort of stuff anyway...).  We did head out to an 18+ nightclub called Krave, however. And it was fantastic. The club's staff were very polite (including the bouncers, omg!), the music was good, the clientele were fun, and Maryann didn't get leered on by strange men. Guess why? Because it was a gay bar! Really, they do put standard clubbing institutions to shame. No 21+, no mess, no seediness, no rudeness. Fantastic. Everything is 24 hours in Vegas, so we stayed out til the wee hours, greatly enjoying ourselves. Well, at least until we got up for the Grand Canyon tour 2 hours after we got back to the hotel. Ouch.

What we learnt is that money can buy you pretty much anything in Vegas. The sky's the limit. Even the way in which the casinos are often themed on other places, such as Paris, Sahara, The Venetian, Luxor, Excalibur, New York New York, etc, gives you the illusion of interacting with other cultures.

The Venetian, not our own photo. When we were there, it looked like this:

Yes, drained. A recurring theme in our trip!

Want to experience Egypt? Well, here's Luxor. There's a fake King Tut sarcophagus here too.

Inside the Luxor. Did we mention the IMAX theatre?

Some shops along the LV Blvd.

Maryann in front of New York, New York casino.

One of the many wedding parties we saw in Vegas.

On our last day we were sitting in a faux French cafe in a faux Parisian cobbled street in Paris Casino, and saw an advert for an Eiffel tower-shaped cocktail glass saying 'take Paris home with you'. That pretty much says it all, really. Seven thousand miles away from France's west coast, in the comfort of your own country, laws, mores, customs and language, you too, my friend, can experience that authentic French je ne sais quoi.