“I like the Eiffel Tower in Las Vegas more than the actual
one.” David LaChapelle
Good
Vegas is Vegas. Always a good time! This was my third time
visiting the city. The first was with my family, second with high school
friends on a driving trip to Los Angeles, and now alone for the documentary. I
stayed with some family members who live just outside the Strip. My only
childhood memory from their house was all these creepy lizards running around
outside, so I was happy to form some more substantial memories with this part
of the family. Arriving in Vegas is literally like one of those apparitions you
see in movies where the guy lost in the desert starts to see a pool of water
emerge hazily in front of him. After 12 hours of driving in blazing heat with a
broken iPod hookup and the only thing that is clear on the radio is Spanish
mariachi music, I really thought Vegas was a fake town when I saw it in the
distance. It really does appear out of nowhere. Then you get closer and closer
and finally arrive on the Strip with millions of flashing lights, signs, and
party-goers.
Bad
When I first arrived to a city, I always asked about the
most dangerous areas to stay away from. This is kind of a good thing to know if
I am travelling alone. My family members said Vegas is relatively safe, except
for parking garages and the areas around them at night time. I drove my car to
the Strip one evening and parked at the Bellagio hotel. I explored a bit and
came back to my car relatively late. It takes quite a lot to make me scared,
but I was terrified when I somehow took a wrong door and was locked out of the
parking garage. I was on some back alley with no lights, but I could see the
big street like a one minute walk away. So I started walking towards the big
street but immediately someone turned their car lights on behind me in the
alley and started screaming, “Hey you!” I sprinted to the main road without
looking back and was so freaked out. Then I found my car in that stupid
mousetrap of a parking garage and never will park there again. I learned two
things that night: 1) Park in a place that is easy to get to from the elevator
of a parking garage. 2) I can run amazingly fast in heels when I want to.
Crazy
One evening I went to a CouchSurfing meetup at an area off
the Strip, called the Fremont Street Experience. I almost liked this area more
than the Strip. The bars and clubs were more affordable and there were street
performers and a zipline running over the street. At this meet up I met an
actor, a stripper, and two really cool girls from New Zealand. I really enjoyed
my conversation with the stripper. She has no problem with her profession
because she chooses to use her body in this way, makes enough money to support
her 2 children by herself, and sees stripping more as dancing, rather than a
form of prostitution. I took a cab back to the Strip with the two girls from
New Zealand (I would call them Kiwis but I feel awkward using that word because
it makes people sound like exotic birds or weird, green, furry fruits). We
ended up finding an amazingly beautiful bar in the Cosmopolitan Hotel, called
the Chandelier Bar. Wow! It really looks like a giant chandelier dripping in
diamonds and each level of the chandelier is a new level of the bar.
Lame
There is no other word to describe exploring nightlife by yourself
but “lame.” What was I supposed to do? I had 3 nights in Vegas and one of them
I spent with all those cool people from CouchSurfing, but there are not events
like that every night. So I went one evening out on the town by myself. Wow I
feel so lame admitting that. Oh well. I had no choice. My alternative option
was to stay with my family members watching reruns of “America’s Got Talent”, which
honestly would have been great family time, but I was looking for a bit more
out of my Vegas experience. I actually met people relatively quickly and ended
up having a super fun night. Of the people I met, I think my favorite were
three 50 year old married men that seemed like they were taken right out of the
movie, “The Hangover.”
Quote
Well, I like the Eiffel Tower in Paris more than the one in
Las Vegas. But I chose this quote because Las Vegas has the potential to be one
of the most internationally cultural places in the entire world. This sounds
crazy since the whole city now is about drinking, gambling, bachelorette
parties, and strip shows, but it is a city that highlights so many different
places around the world. Each hotel is like its own attraction because they
personify different regions of the world. For example, Caesar’s Palace = Italy,
The Venetian = Venice, Italy, The Luxor = Egypt, New York New York = America,
Paris = Paris, France. I was talking with a friend, and they said that, in a
post-apocalyptic world, if a new species were exploring Earth and gathering
information, that Las Vegas would look like the Capitol of the world, with so
many countries represented. Las Vegas is like the grown-up Disney World, where
businesses profit from fantasies. Except the fantasies of fairies and Mickey
Mouse at age 5 are definitely not the same fantasies people search for in
Vegas…
Explore Las Vegas Now
Fremont Street Experience
The Bellagio Hotel
The Cosmopolitan Hotel
The Luxor
Paris Hotel
The Venetian
New York New York Hotel
Caesar's Palace
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