I liked the weather in Las Vegas (Nevada, USA) a lot and even considered it as a place where I wouldn’t mind to reside. But when visiting Las Vegas as a tourist, I do have another opinion. Las Vegas is not my typical travel destination, but the city is a gateway to my travel destination: Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, and Zion Park. I don’t like gambling but Las Vegas is not all about gambling, there are numerous activities to do in Vegas aside to gambling. Nevertheless, when you open your mind about a place, you will enjoy the most of it. 

We stayed at a hotel nearby to the McCarran International Airport, Tru by Hilton Hotel, before heading to Arizona. Dutchie and I had a good deal from a third party’s website, but as consequences, our stay could not get points from the Hilton Honors.  Tru by Hilton is a chic, modern looking hotel with a reasonable breakfast buffet – better than most hotels on the similar price. Having been traveling around several countries, and within the United States, I can tell there are not many hotels/motels in the United States that offer a ‘satisfying’ breakfast buffet. I find the hotel’s breakfasts in South East Asian countries, in general, are the best ones. The standard breakfast buffet in the hotels/motels in the United States are warm waffles from the waffle machine; toast; pastries inside the plastic bags (so not fresh or even warm);  cereals; boiled eggs; yogurt; super sweet juice; and coffee/tea from a machine. If you are lucky, the hotels may have all of those mentioned with fresh fruits; fresh pastries and scrambled eggs. However, there is one thing that I love about the hotels and motels in the United States: ICE (cubes) MACHINE! I usually fill my traveling water bottles with the ice cubes, and these machines are fantastic. I wish all hotels – especially in tropical countries – have at least one for their guests 🙂 Anywho, Tru by Hilton hotel in Las Vegas was clean, the check-in and check-out service was pretty quick,  free parking (spacious parking lot!), and we got a spacious bedroom.

On the following day, we drove through the famous strip of Las Vegas; it’s just not what I had in mind. The replica Eifel Tower was not as huge as I thought, the Venetian did not look as glamorous as I had in mind, but it’s a well-designed complex with a possibility to experience gondola. Fake one. It’s the U.S., the country has introduced the term of ‘fake news’ too, you know. Our next hotel was Caesars Palace that located on the strip. Then we had a chance to explore the strip by foot – which was much better than observing the strip through car windows. The strip of Las Vegas was flashy, excessive, and hectic.

Once you are inside one of the shopping buildings on the strip, you won’t see any windows but the murals on their ceilings will make you feel like you are outdoor. It’s a clever interior design.

We also visited the National Atomic Testing Museum, it is affiliated to the Smithsonian Museum. An interesting museum that documented the history of nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site in the desert north of Las Vegas. The wastes disposal and their lifespan were simply madness, I was not sure if I liked the testing idea in the first place.

Overall I did have a good time in Las Vegas. Not many places in the USA that would give you free drinks when gambling and allow you to smoke inside a closed building – well, not that I need these attributes when traveling – but when in Vegas, enjoy it whatever it offers!