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These photos are from a weekend trip to Las Vegas (or, as some people call it: Tinsel Town, or Glitter Gulch). These names reflect what Vegas was in the past: mostly casinos in a kitschy city in the middle of the desert. Today, though, Vegas offers much more. The kitsch is stil there (lots of it), the casinos are everywhere as well (obviously still the main cash source here). But the town is not as sleazy any more. Some of the newer hotels are very stylish and luxurious. If you don't gamble, don't despair: Vegas has something from everybody, be it arts, be it kitsch, be it shows like Cirque Du Soleil (two of them!).
So who comes to Vegas? Well, gamblers of course. Also people like me who like to visit an "unusual" city and see a great show. But Vegas also hosts big conferences and trade shows. Some of the biggest shows in the world take place here, because almost no other city has the hotel or conference center capacity to host conferences with 100.000 and more participants (sometimes more than one at the same time). That's why there are so many hotels here. And believe it or not -- the hotels in Vegas are over 90% booked year round...
The Cirque was what brought me to Vegas this time: I finally wanted to see Mystere and O. Great shows, both of them (except for a certain baby clown in Mystere which really ticked me off, but that's another story).
About the photos. In this collection I focused on -- well -- architecture, because I think that's one of the most interesting things to see in Vegas if you have only 2 days. And it's all free! Most of the newer hotels have a theme, be it Aladdin or Pirates or whatever. Lately the most popular theme seems to be "cities of the world". Because of this it's possible to visit Paris, Venice, New York and Rome by walking across the street -- sort of. Of course this is still Vegas, so there are tingling slot machines everywhere. The sound of a casino full of these will never quite leave you once you heard it... It sounds like this: But what people really want to hear is this: This second sound is much more rare though... ;)
I should mention that there is a lot to see outside of Vegas as well, but most of these things require a car and at least half a day: The Hoover Dam, the Valley of Fire, flights over Bryce Canyon or the Grand Canyon etc.
Most of the typical "Las Vegas" is along one street, called The Strip. Here are a few notes about some of the images below. You might notice a lot of water in these photos. I mean A LOT. And you thought Las Vegas is in the middle of the desert? Well, you are right! Saving water is not very high on the Las Vegas priority list. I have to admit, though, that all the water makes the city climate a bit easier to cope with -- especially in summer.
Aladdin: the theme should be obvious.
Bellagio: one of the upscale hotels. The Cirque Show "O" is there (a
water show) is at the Bellagio. One of the photos below shows one of the costumes
from the show. I also have a couple of photos from the Cirque Du Soleil store
at the Bellagio. I think the Bellagio has the largest waterbody of all the hotels
right now. They literally have a lake outside the hotel (very pretty with the
Eiffel tower of ParisLasVegas on the other side of the street).
Caesar's Palace is one of the older hotels, but it has recently been
remodeled. I wonder what good old Julius would say if he knew he is now directing
traffic at Caesar's Palace...
CircusCircus is one of the really old hotels, located in the "older
part" of the Strip. The theme should be obvious. One of the goodies at
CircusCircus: free circus acts all day round. Often they have top-notch people
perform there.
Excalibur: probably the kitschiest of the new hotels. Rather lower class,
geared at families rather than conference attendees. The theme is King Arthur
and his merry men from Sherwood forest or something like that.
Treasure Island: That's where I stayed. The theme is pirates, caribbean
etc. The special thing about the Treasure island is a lagoon with not one, but
2 three-masters outside the hotel. In the evening the two ships have a go at
it and stage a sea battle (every hour or so). One of the ships is movable (and
sinkable). But as this is LasVegas and we all want to have a good time, the
ship magically rises again just a minute later (with the captain still on deck,
looking rather soaked). There is no business like showbusiness. Whatever you
might think -- the show is actually a lot of fun to watch :) (and it boasts
some spectacular pyrotechnics when they blow up a warehouse right behind you.
For a moment the temperature literally rises at least 30-40 degrees centigrade
from where you watch). Another reason why I stayed at T.I.: the Cirque du Soleil
show "Mystere" plays at Treasure Island.
Mirage: The Mirage is next to the Treasure Island. The two are connected
with a little airconditioned tramway (several of the hotels are connected that
way. There is a monorail connecting Excalibur with Luxor and one or two others,
for example). The Mirage features Sigfried and Roy (imported from the German
lands) and their white tigers. Aside from "Sigfried and Roy's Secret Garden"
(well advertised throughout town), whre the tigers, lions, pumas and other critters
spend the time between their shows, there is also a Dolphin reserve. That resever
is supposedly for "research". The dolphins don't "perform"
like the tigers do, but they are simply trained and we are allowed to watch.
Outside the hotel is a -- well -- tropical lagoon, complete with a volcano that
erupts every 30 minutes after sunset.
Venetian: One of the very recent additions to Vegas. Claimed to be one
of the most luxurious hotels in the world now, with a Venice topic. There are
little canals everywhere throughout the hotel and you can go places in a gondola
if you like (yes, they sing too). Look closely at the images: that is no sky,
this is ceiling! The canal is indoors (aircondition!). There are no clouds in
Las Vegas, just brutal, hot sunshing.
NewYork New York: Hmm.. what might the theme of that one be...? Pretty
new. Very loud and obnoxious. A perfect replica of the original. No kidding!
You really think you ARE in a New York neighborhood in there. Except for the
fact that there is a roller coaster going through the hotel (yes: through,
even if it's just a short distance). The hotel boasts also a piano bar and they
are very proud of that (I don't know why. I'm not really into piano bars. Anybody
enlighten me, please?)
MGM Grand: That's the green one in one of the photos. It's claim to fame
is that it was (still is?) the biggest hotel in the world, with an impressive
9600 hotel rooms, last time I inquired.
Paris Las Vegas: Well, a Paris theme. I didn't see much of that one,
except the outside -- I was running out of time.
Luxor: Egyptian theme. An older hotel. I had fond memories of that one
from my last trip. But then, after seeing all the other incredible new hotels
the Luxor really does look old. What still impresses me though, is the pyramid
shape of the hotel. The entire hotel is inside a hollow pyramid! Now think for
a moment what architectural challenges you face when you have a 100+ meter pyramid
that's hollow and you stick hotel rooms at the inside wall of that thing...
(think elevators, for example*). Very interesting hotel. They used to have a
river run through it and you could take boat tours of the hotel. I heard the
rivers leaked too much and they got rid of them...
Stratosphere: Not a hotel, but an observation tower -- the tallest in
the US (or world?). We are talking something like 400 meters tall here (yes:
1249 feet). And because this is not just some ordinary city, but Las Vegas...
let's put a roller coaster on top of the thing!!! Nor for the faint of heart.
But what a view!!!
The Holy Cow Cafe: One of the sights most tourists never find, I'm sure.
The Holy Cow Cafe is Vegas' only micro brewery. And it has a neat little theme
by itself (the "cash cow" - ha ha ha). Just "moo for a brew".
Somebody had a jolly good time designing that place, that's for sure. :)
Well.. there is more to tell, like about drive through wedding chapels and and and. But that has to wait for some other time...
*) there can't be elevators! Their solution is the "inclinator",
essentially a type of elevator cabin that drives up AND sideways at the same
time (at about a 70 degree angle). Another interesting aspect of the Luxor is
that it's the perfect playground for kids who love to spit down from a balcony...
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