Sin City

From the hustle and bustle of Las Vegas to the vastness and wonder of the Grand Canyon

It’s late afternoon when we drive into Las Vegas. The sun is already low in the sky and lays a warm, golden glow over the colourful buildings and statues that flock Sin City’s entertainment mile, called the Las Vegas Strip or simply the Strip. The city which labels itself the “Entertainment Capital of the World” is just as I expected overwhelming, over the top and resembles nothing I have ever seen before.

After chatting to my friend Adam who currently lives in Los Angeles, Isabelle and I have changed our initial plans to stay in a hostel in Las Vegas in favour of getting the real Las Vegas feel while staying on the Strip. Fifteen of the world’s largest hotels by room count are situated along the Strip and our hotel, Circus Circus, is one of them. Accommodation is surprisingly cheap in Las Vegas and our spacious room only costs us 162 CAD (94 GBP / 108 EUR) for the three nights. The hotel which opened in 1968 could do with some revamping as it still has a seventies feel but it’s got everything a proper Las Vegas hotel needs: Aside from the obligatory casino it features an amusement park (the Adventuredome) including a rollercoaster, a wedding chapel, a pool as well as numerous souvenir shops, restaurants and food stalls. We’re staying in the Casino tower and I literally get lost in the hotel every time I try to leave it.

Before we hit the casinos on the Strip we head to Gordon Biersch, a microbrewery serving excellent beers and very nice food located just off the strip. Despite the fact that it’s now already late in the evening, it is still hot whilst inside the restaurant, the air conditioning is turned down so much that the place resembles a freezer. Nevertheless we enjoy our beers and the great food before we move on to Caesars Palace, one of the most prestigious casino hotels in the world and one of Las Vegas most famous landmarks.

Las Vegas is known for its huge gambling industry and although I’m not much into gambling, now that we’re here I certainly fancy a round of Black Jack after a very unsuccessful attempt on the Roulette. I have played Black Jack once before in a casino in New Zealand and I got quite lucky so I’m hoping my beginners luck will extend all the way to Las Vegas. At first it is looking good and I am winning constantly. My strategy in New Zealand was to stop as soon as I lost twice in a row but maybe all these free drinks I receive while I’m playing have made me a little more adventurous. With fifty dollars less in my pocket than when I entered the casino, I unwillingly leave the table and bid goodbye to my fellow gamblers.

The casinos in Las Vegas are deliberately cut-off from the outside world. There are no windows, no clocks and they are open 24 hours a day. Smoking is permitted within the casinos and I find the entire atmosphere tense and out of this world. I really don’t envy the croupiers who conduct the games and when we head back to the hotel, Isabelle and I agree that we don’t need another night in the casinos after this.

The free drinks have had their effect and it’s already afternoon when we finally leave the hotel the next day to walk into what seems like a wall of hot air. It’s nearing 40 degrees Celsius today in the Mojave Desert where Las Vegas is located and the heat seems to be pushing down on us as we walk up the Strip to explore the area. In Las Vegas it is allowed to drink in the streets and lots of people meander the street with bottles of beers and the like in their hands. Loudspeakers blast music onto the street and lights are flashing everywhere. Girls dressed in Brazilian carnival outfits animate passers-by to drop into the various casinos and evening shows along the Strip. At 2 pm we stop at McDonalds for a quick lunch when a woman I estimate to be in her late forties is taken to the toilet by her friend because she can’t walk by herself anymore. I don’t fancy more drinking today so we just admire the beautiful architecture of places such as the Venetian with its gondolas and canals, and areas such as Paris and New York before we watch the stunning fountain show at the Bellagio which takes place every day from 3 pm on weekdays and 12 pm respectively 11 pm on Sundays and Saturdays.

Come the evening, I have a serious case of stimulus satiation and I can’t wait to get out of Las Vegas into what I expect to be the remoteness of the Grand Canyon in the state of Arizona. The Grand Canyon is a gorge of the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon National Park has been declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1979. We have booked a day-tour (USD 79.99 / GBP 61 / EUR 71) which will take us by bus all the way to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon with Grand Canyon Tour Company.

The drive to the lunch stop takes just over four hours and I sleep throughout most of it. Las Vegas has literally wiped me out. After a surprisingly varied lunch buffet, we move on to the Canyon. Our first stop is Mather Point, a lookout which also is a popular place to start the 13 km South Rim Trail. To that effect, the lookout is very busy with other tourists so we wait patiently until it’s our turn to get a closer look. It is unexpectedly cold and by the time we have embarked on a little walk it starts raining. Rain is really rare in this area and it makes the canyon seem even more mystique than it is anyway. The rain looks like a semi-transparent curtain falling over the vast canyon which is at its widest (18 miles) and deepest (1 mile) at Mather Point. We even witness a little thunder storm and lightning over the canyon, which turns the already bizarre landscape into the perfect scenario for the end of the world.

Warming up in the comfortable tour bus we’re moving on to our next stop, Bright Angel Lodge, where the South Rim walk offers further dramatic views of the canyon. Another shower cuts our stroll along the rim short and we wait underneath a little tree for the shower to pass. After roughly three hours in the national park, it is time for us to take on the journey back to Las Vegas.

For our last day, we have planned to leave the Strip in Las Vegas and head towards downtown. In our mind, the neighbourhood of Freemont Street is a nice change from the somewhat artificial tumult of the Strip. The first paved street in Las Vegas dates back to 1905 when Las Vegas was founded and we are eager to find a place in Vegas that just seems a bit more like a “normal” city. However Freemont Street is nothing like what we expected. Underneath a large barrel vault canopy, more casinos, bars and souvenir shops attempt to draw in the visitors’ attention with more blasting music, flashing lights and promotors on the street. So after a short look around, Isabelle and I decide that we’ve seen enough. We peek into a couple of wedding chapels on our way back to the hotel and end our stay in Las Vegas at the hotel pool, where dance music is blaring out of the speakers, before we head to the airport to board a plane to San Francisco.

A couple of tips for Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon

• Check out last minute deals for accommodation for the hotels on the Strip for the “real” Las Vegas experience. I find 2-3 nights maximum to be sufficient.
• For the Grand Canyon, I would very much recommend to either stay overnight to be able to take in more, or to book a helicopter tour starting from Vegas. We had a great time on our day trip but it was a long drive compared to the amount of time we spent at the canyon. There are plenty of tours available from various providers and prices for e.g. a two-day trip start from around 300 USD.