Guide: What to do in Las Vegas

As the famous adage goes, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. As implausible as it may sound, it is actually possible to go for a sinless trip in Las Vegas! (I actually found it hilarious that Las Vegas actually means "The Meadows" in Spanish.)

Here are a few of my choice picks! A tip though- the hotels/casinos in Vegas look deceptively close but as I said, it's a deception. You have to walk an incredible distance to get from one casino to the next.

Your best bet would be to get take public transport and a day pass costs $7. This will get you pretty much everywhere. You have the choice of the Deuce or the Express- Express is best if your stop is on the line because it pretty much saves you from the crowd boarding and alighting at every stop.

1) Las Vegas Premium Outlets (North)
For you shoppers out there, you probably could spend a day and night here. We decided to go to the North one instead of the South, because many people say that it's more worth it to do so.

Tip: Get yourself a discount booklet for $5. I think you will end up saving a lot of money. Have a look at the different kinds of discounts offered first before deciding where to get the booklet though! It saved us quite a bit of money. Get yourself a free map as well so that you will know which stores to rush into.

 When you're hungry, there are different eateries here in the food court.

2) Bellagio
There are two attractions you need to catch at Bellagio. The fountains and the Conservatory and Botanic Gardens. If you are feeling hungry, you could go for the buffet too!

3) Mirage and Venetian 
There's water at Bellagio and there's fire at Mirage. We were standing across at the balcony of Venetian just because everybody were huddled there. It's cool just for a few moments, but that's about it.

Since you are at the Venetian, you may take a look at the gondolas, but unless you really love looking at gondolas, you will be better off somewhere else. 

4) Catch a show 
If you don't catch a show in Vegas, it's like saying you went to New York without watching Broadway. We caught Mystere.

5) Fremont Street Experience
Fremont Street is off the strip but it is still very crowded. The Fremont Street experience is basically an attraction where there is a canopy above. There are free concerts going on.

There is the Viva Vision show and it plays every hour. Videos are projected onto the canopy above and if you go to Fremont Street, you will look like every single one of them in the picture- all looking up. For the few seconds that the whole Street was in darkness before the show began, it actually felt like bliss.

For interest's sake, I actually googled "las vegas light pollution" and arrived at this result. The Las Vegas lights can be seen from outer space. If you are wondering why you can't see stars in the night sky, you know the culprit. 

There are skimpily clad women walking around and therefore, this place might not be suitable for children... but nobody in their right mind would bring their children to Las Vegas. Disneyland beckons! 

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Guide: Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon (Adventure Photo Tours)

Like Grand Canyon, this tour will get you out of Las Vegas. This tour is like a McDonald's combo meal. Just like how you get to eat not only the burger but also get to enjoy the fries and drinks, you get to visit not only the very famous Zion National Park but also the Bryce Canyon.

Website 
Just a mention about Adventure Photo Tour's website, I thought it was interesting that they actually had a Chinese website too. It's not that I can't understand English, just that I thought it's pretty much going the extra mile to attract Chinese tourists. The thing I'm really curious about is, do they have Mandarin-speaking tour guides?

Tour group size and van
The tour group size was the largest I have had in a few days and the tour was the most expensive amongst all the tours I went on. There were 11 people on the tour and that completely filled the van up. The thing I liked about the van, however, is that it had a high door, so that I didn't have to bend my back too much to get in and out of the bus, as I did in other tours. I also appreciated the fact that we were given a fact sheet although honestly, I do not see how it enhanced our tour experience unless you thought a piece of paper could improve your photography skills by leaps and bounds.

Breakfast 
Breakfast was a brown paper bag full of random items- including a muffin, a packet of peanuts, a granola bar and a cheesestick. I think that's more than enough to fill a hungry person up.

Zion National Park 
You will get to see the Virgin River at the Zion National Park, the Checkerboard Messa and interesting formations such as the hoodoos in the Zion National Park.

Lunch 
Lunch is taken on the bus which is totally fine because this saves time. You get a sandwich, a packet of chips and some famous amos biscuits. Water and orange juice is also available throughout the day. Sunblock and hand sanitiser are also available.

Bryce Canyon National Park 
I really liked the Bryce Canyon National Park. When you look down, all you see is the forces of Mother Nature's hand and it's incredible how the human mind works to conjure different images of these limestone rocks. My photos do not do justice to the rich colours you will see when walking the trail. Some daredevil tried to sit on a tree branch very close to the edge- what a photo it would make if he suddenly became superman.

Getting back
On the road back, we stopped at Wendy's to get some dinner. We reached back at the hotel at around 830 pm. On the road, we watched two very relevant shows- one was on Vegas (Vegas Vacation) and the other was about Zion National Park (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid).

Tour Guide
Our tour guide, James, was a photographer. We are thankful for the fact that he was very helpful throughout the trip, in offering water and other necessities and taking photographs for us. He also gave us ample opportunities to get out and onto the bus at several points to take photographs. He also gave a lot of information, although his rather monotonous tone made me fall asleep halfway through. I know it's my fault that I fell asleep, but believe me, I really tried to keep awake. (Contrary to popular belief, I did not spend the night before gambling in the casino.)

We also watched two videos on Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon. While these are very informative, it sure can't beat a tour guide pointing out the actual things we see in the video. When we were taking a short hike to Sunset Point at Bryce Canyon, everybody in the tour group who participated in the hike were asking each other- So, which is the Thor's Hammer? Although we saw it in the video, it was difficult for us to spot in amongst the many formations. James did not follow us on the hike, leaving us to our own imagination.

Overall
Compared to the price we paid for the Grand Canyon Trip, this is a lot more expensive. James was a good tour guide but it would be cooler if he could bring us around to point out the different well known formations during the trail. Without a car, I suppose this remains a good option to take if you want to visit both Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon although I find it important to inform you that, you will spend most of your time in Zion National Park stopping 5 minutes at each photo taking point.

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Guide: Grand Canyon (Grand Adventure Tours)

Las Vegas is all about the glitzy lights and it's not called Sin City for nothing. But just take a few hours to get out of Las Vegas and you may find that a whole new world awaits.

We went on the Sunset Tour with Grand Adventures and it was a great experience. You should refer to their website which reflects the most accurate schedule because it seems like their schedule is seasonal. You may also want to book in advance because offers may be available.

Tour group size and van
The tour group was a good number- 7 of us. The van, was a little squeezy where the leg area is, although you can simply stretch it to the empty areas at the side. We had to use a screw driver to release the safety belt each time, and while it was a bit of a hassle, isn't much of a problem.

McDonald's Breakfast 
The price of breakfast is included in the package and the best part is that you can order as much as you want to! There wasn't pressure to eat quickly although everybody was sensible enough to order just enough to fill them up.

Hoover Dam
We had a few photo taking opportunities at the Hoover Dam and crossed the bridge where we spotted many hats that flew onto the rocks at the side due to the wind. So hold on tight to your caps!

Route 66 Stop in Seligman 
Fans of the Pixar movie Cars would love this place because the town in Cars is loosely based on Seligman.  Our tour guide described this place as a little creepy and you would understand why if you really came here. But, look at the resemblance below! Adequate time is given here to take photos of the interesting cars and quirky shops.

Picnic Lunch in Grand Canyon
Sitting by the Rim and having a picnic. Now, how cool's that? You get to choose from Ham, Turkey, Roast Beef, Vegetarian Sandwiches or Salad. One of us got the salad while the other got the ham sandwich. The sandwich was quite filling. The salad was okay too, just that the chicken (already cooked) was not fully thawed so there's a chance you will be eating a half frozen deep fried chicken. Besides this, you also get grapes (very sweet grapes!) and cheese and crackers. Bottled water is available the entire journey and you get real delicious cookies too!

Fully Guided Walking Tour in Grand Canyon 
The trail was easy and not taxing. Throughout the trail, our guide was there with us to help us take pictures and to point out the different plants and the different spots we could stand at to take a nice photograph. We also managed to catch the sunset at a good spot and you will enjoy the last remnants of sunlight dancing in the Grand Canyon.

Going back and final words
The ride back to the hotel was long and we ended up at the hotel at 1230 am, as stated on the website. Our guide, Trayce (yes, I didn't spell that wrongly) was really fun and had lots of jokes to share. To quote her, "I love listening to myself talk." But she knew when to give us some peace as well. On the way back, we slept and she didn't really talk until there was a restroom break. We also bought a subway sandwich at one of the gas stations during the last stop. She played some background music on the way back- +10 points for some Adele music. (I'm biased.)

Trayce has lots of knowledge and talked about many things throughout the journey. You could ask her practically anything because she promises that if she can't answer it, she will find an answer before the tour ends!

Overall, I highly recommend this tour if you want to go to the Grand Canyon and you will find that it's totally worth every dollar you pay. 

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Tropicana (Las Vegas)

1) Resort Fee
For those who have never been to Las Vegas, just a heads up that there is an additional resort fee of $15 (compulsory) in addition to the rates reflected. I actually really dislike this lack of transparency, although it's very common in all the hotels in Las Vegas. If you are going to make it compulsory anyway, you might as well reflect it in the cost.

2) Club Tower
If you are going to stay in the Club Tower instead of the Paradise Tower, be prepared for a longer walk where you have to go through the casino, take an escalator up, walk through a passage where the restaurants are located before turning into the lift.

3) Rooms
The next few pictures show the condition of the room we were staying in. Very comfortable bed and pillows. Great housekeeping services too and our room was kept really clean. Large TV screen- although that does not translate to good programme selection. Well, I suppose I shouldn't really complain because people do not go to Las Vegas to watch TV.

This has got to be the first hotel I have stayed at that doesn't give free bottles of water. We tried getting a bottle at the casino (the really small ones) only to have the lady holding the tray of bottles say, "they are taken". We ended up at the small store which sold two bottles of Tropicana Water- 2 for $5 for the 1 litre bottles.

4) Toilet/Restroom
The toilet is clean but visibly old. The shower was problematic because we had to use a lot of force to pull the tap out in order for the water to flow. I didn't use the bar of soap because it terrified me that the colour on the wrapper of the soap bar runs, making the soap bar red. I'm not sure if this reflects the quality of their products but I would rather keep a safe distance from them.

5) Amenities
We didn't use the pool facilities/gym but it looks like a cool place to hang out. The number of eateries are very little compared to the other major hotels. But this really isn't much of a problem since you can catch a bus or walk to the other hotels with a much bigger food court and food variety.

6) Service 
This is my biggest gripe. If there is one reason why my stay wasn't that pleasant, it's because of the bad service. The first snub I got was by the guy at the Concierge. We were trying to ask for help as to how to get to Caesars Palace. It's my fault that I said "Caesars Place" instead of "Caesars Palace". But you simply do not return me an incredulous look and to signal using your hands, a sign showing a pair of scissors. I'm not sure whether he was making fun of my English (just because we speak in different accents doesn't give you the right to do so), or whether he genuinely thought I wanted to find a place called Scissors Place.

And then, he simply told us to take a bus from opposite if we wanted to get there. Very helpful, sir. Not a word on the price or how we could get to the opposite of the road, especially since we didn't even know where the bus stop was.

The second incident was after checking out. We were getting through the door when I distinctly saw one of the guys at the taxi stand roll his eyes at us and he did not offer any help although he was just standing around and there was no queue at the taxi stand.

7) Getting here from the airport 
I would highly recommend taking a shuttle (we took Executive Las Vegas) from the airport for $6 per person. I would not suggest buying a return trip and instead to call up the shuttle company to arrange a trip to the airport one day before you leave the hotel. Make sure you ask to be picked up at least half an hour earlier than what you would want because they would have to pick other people from other hotels as well.

8) Location 
This is on the South end of the Strip and pretty far away from all the action. But I would highly encourage you to get a one day pass ($7) from the bus stop at MGM (ask the people at MGM for help) and that gets you all around the Strip, Premium Outlets and Fremont Street.

9) Overall
Even with the resort fees, I think this place is decently priced and it's easy to get around with the bus. Service was not great for me, but I don't think the same would happen for English native speakers who do not have a very different accents.

Tropicana
3801 Las Vegas Blvd S
 Las Vegas, NV 89109
Tel No: (702) 739-2222

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Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens (Las Vegas)

I really don't see any reason why anyone should miss this if you happen to be in the area. As long as you are a 1) photography enthusiast 2) nature lover 3) person who simply wants to get away from everything in the Sin City or 4) person who is looking for something free in Las Vegas, you need to get yourself here!

Although we didn't manage to catch the musical performances (5pm-6pm) or see the the green thumbs in action (1030am-1130am), just taking a stroll through the garden is a good experience on its own! 

The current theme is Spring Celebration. Other themes run throughout the year, including Chinese New Year, Summer Garden, Fall Harvest and Winter Holiday. With 140 expert horticulturalists in charge of this garden, it's no surprise that the standards of this garden are raised so high.

Lots of photo taking opportunities and you get surrounded by the scent of the flowers the moment you get near to the Conservatory. Sure, it may be a small place. But the beauty of the place more than makes up for this small garden! It's so tasteful and exquisite with flowers from different countries.

Let your eyes feast on the beautiful flowers at the Bellagio Conservatory. But obviously, don't wait till you get to Vegas! There's never a better time to stop and smell the roses than now!

Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
3600 Las Vegas Blvd.
Open 24 hours, 7 days a week 

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Mystere by Cirque Du Soleil (Las Vegas)

The last time I watched Cirque Du Soleil must have been at least a good decade ago. So I totally had no recollection of their performance when I caught Mystere.

We decided to get the tickets for Mystere online because we were afraid that we won't be able to get tickets for the show. There are extra costs if you want to buy the tickets online with the option of either printing the ticket yourself or collecting it at the box office.

There are a few options you should consider when buying a ticket: 1) Buy it at the box office (without the extra charges) 2) Sign up online ahead of time on their website to know of any offers 3) Check the online website and click the "offers" tab- we got 35% off because of that 4) Visit the ticket station near MGM to check out any offers.

You might want to reach the theatre around 15 minutes earlier (assuming that you have got your tickets much earlier- the queues can get long) because there are some acts that start before the show. (Leave a comment if you would like me to spoil the fun as to what happens in the 15 minutes.)

The following photos are taken from their website because no photography is allowed in the theatre. My favourite three amongst the eight acts are the following: Bungee, Trampoline and Trapeze. A particularly act which I will not forget is the rather creepy cries of the man baby.

Overall, the experience was wonderful. Apparently, this is the cheapest of all the Cirque Du Soleil acts in Las Vegas, probably because it's the longest running one. But just because it is the cheapest doesn't mean it's the worst. I especially liked the fact that you could see the live orchestra/band. The performance were mostly high energy and the lighting was just perfect. They also break up an otherwise serious acrobatic act with random comic effects in between (by either the clown or the man baby). Just a tip, getting the cheapest tickets at the back does not mean that you are getting the worst seats. Considering that there are several aerial acts, I actually found the view at the back very good.

(p.s.They are performing in Singapore 26 July 2012 onwards. (Click here if you're interested in going for Saltibamco in Singapore.)

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The Buffet at Bellagio (Las Vegas)

Restaurants which serve buffets at Las Vegas have the most unoriginal names ever. The one at Bellagio is definitely not the only one named Buffet in Las Vegas. 

Initially, I thought the queue would be long because we arrived at around 12pm. But it took us only 15 minutes to get in. You just need to pay at the counter before entering. 

This buffet place was HUGE. I really do mean HUGE. There was a wide selection of food scattered around that I didn't even know where to begin. The thing is that they emphasise breath and not depth. Therefore, you can have a sampling of Western food, Chinese food, Japanese food, Vietnamese food, Mexican food, Italian food etc but you don't get to try many dishes from the same group of food. 

I never ever waste stomach space on bread at buffets, unless they look especially enticing. Although I didn't try the bread, I thought it was pretty cool that they had a rather wide variety of bread to select from. 

The sushi selection was quite limited and the California rolls weren't all that impressive. 

I thought the turkey tenders were delicious! The meat is very thick but it's grilled nicely. This is coupled with the fact that these are mini burgers- they tend to make you feel a little less guilty, although deep down in the inner corners of your heart and conscience, you must surely know that the fact that it's mini doesn't prevent your waistline from expanding.

Please get some BBQ ribs at the roasting station! The sauce seeps into the meat of the ribs very nicely. Pity the ribs weren't the meaty kind where you don't have to use all your energy to get a small chunk of meat out. 

I'll let the photos do the talking from now on- either I didn't try them or I tried a very insignificant portion such that they are not really worth mentioning. (By the way, the seafood section was very limited- only prawns)

Last but not least, desserts! Those who have read my posts on different buffets in Singapore would know that I love my desserts. There is a wide range of desserts and sadly, I knew I couldn't eat them all. Apparently, the tiramisu (top left hand corner) wasn't that fantastic. But I tried the pecan tart (bottom left) and the apple crumble (bottom right) and both were very good. The brownie (not in the picture) was also chock full of bitter chocolate and nuts! 

The only gripe I have with the desserts is that I wished that some of the dessert portions could be smaller so that we could try more desserts, instead of having that nagging thought in your head that you should not be stuffing yourself with too much sweet stuff. 

Overall, this place has a wide selection and the food quality is decent. For a price of $19.95 (on weekdays lunch), I think it's very worth it to go to the buffet. If you have a few more bucks to spare and love eating crab, you may want to go for the dinner instead which serves crab legs which seems to have gathered good reviews.

Please check out the website for the prices for different times and days.

p.s. For people who love to snap pictures of flowers, don't miss the Conservatory which is free of charge at Bellagio.

Buffet at Bellagio 
Bellagio
3600 Las Vegas Blvd S Las Vegas
NV 89109

Tel No: (702) 693-7111

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