It's mandatory in Vegas to make mistakes...Part III

Next morning I was awake by 6.15...and by the time we got out of LA it was about 9 am. Good performance by all of us...;)! I forgot to mention here, we had got a real luxury car from the rental company...and I think none of us had expectd it that it would be a V8 engine..with DVD player and all..it was Chrysler 300C or something like that...but it really was a HUGE car..okay not with one of the greatest looks..but not bad then..Anyways we all were so excited to have it..we had grabbed some hindi DVDs and we were on our way to Vegas...on I-5 north. The drive was really scenic (scenic in a sense only barren land..but still beautiful)..you won't see anything but brown land as far as your eyes could see..while it was getting hotter and hotter outside the car, inside the car we all were quite charged...first we enjoyed Rang De Basanti and then it was Himesh Reshamiya now..he really was the flavor of that trip...Shantanu, Purvin & Aditya danced a lot on the back seat while watching the song 'Ek baar aaja aaja'..just too good..! So, we were driving and driving...and it was time to have some food..expectedly you won't find any thing on that freeway - no gas stations/motels/rest areas/towns...it's completely deserted desert...! Eventually found a place to empty our bladders...what a relief it was..but couldn't stand long outside the car... it was 110+ deg F outside...needless to say, it could kill you in a minute..;)..Btw, that rest area only had rest rooms and nothing else...we were still hungry..but luckily found a town after some time and had lunch in Del Taco (equivalent of Taco Bell)...After some time we started seeing the huge hoardings of Casinos and hotels..and suddenly what you see is lots of skyscrapers in the middle of nowhere...how could anybody imagine a city like this in desert, but then it was real...seriously it's just unbelieveable to believe where Vegas is located...Anyways, finally we were in 'Las Vegas'...All of us had heard a lot about this one city in this world...all the hype and all..and now we were there..!

I don't want to write a lot about the actual Vegas...you have to be there to experience..and I won't kill the surprise element..;)...don't forget to grab the opportunity of visiting Vegas, if you ever get one...anyways so now we were in the reception area of our hotel MGM Grand (Btw, it happens to be the world's largest hotel with 5035 rooms in all, that's quite something..!). I personally felt very proud and privileged for we were going to stay in the largest hotel of this planet...seriously I've been telling this to everybody...and credit goes to Shantanu as well for reserving it..! Anyways, our check-in time was 3 pm and we were there around 1.30. Tried checking-in but the receptionist didn't allo..;)! So we had some coffee in the lounge and checked the casino..and lost 2-3 bucks as well in the slot machine..;), roulette and others were beyond our reach..:D.

It's 3 now, and to our surprise the entire reception area was full of heads now..there were almost 10-12 counters for check-in but everywhere, there were long queues..we had missed the train by just 10 minutes..:(..! So, now Shantanu & Purvin were standing in the line and Golu, Aditya & I were waiting near the lion..! However, the most disappointing thing in MGM was that, there were no couches, sofas to seat/relax while you are waiting in the lobby..and the area completely resembled a railway station in India..hundreds of people were standing on the floor with their luggage and stuff...So, we were waiting & tired..and Golu couldn't take it any more..and slept right on the floor and within a minute what you hear is snoring...now that was too much..snoring on the floor in the world's largest hotel..???...nevermind, the story always has to revolve around Golu..whenever wherever..! Eventually after more than an hour long wait we finally could check-in..! And all excited to check out the room..! We are still in the process of getting used to living in hotels..;)! So, we all still get very excited after seeing those hotel beds and free stuff..:D. Before that we had cancelled one room...because we didn't need that anymore..originally since Saloni also was going to come...we had reserved 2 rooms for 6 people..anyways, saved some money..:)!

We rested for an hour so, got ready for the evening and just strolled on the strip. Not surprisingly it was very hot, and I was cursing myself for wearing jeans...:(. Anyways that whole evening we spent in checking out hotels like Bellagios, Caesars, Paris etc. Had good desi food at a place called 'Tamba'. Had some 'Long Island drink in Caesars...anyways it didn't get onto anybody..:). Then, tried to check out a night club, but could not as Golu did not have shoes to put on, and they wouldn't let us in. So, we had to chuck the plan. By then it was around 12 midnight, and we all were exhausted totally and had to call it a day. So that's how first day went..!

Next morning, as we had decided earlier to visit Hoover Dam (which is about an hour drive from there), we left Vegas at about 1 pm after having some Mexican food at Chipotle..! Hoover dam is a very huge structure, built on the border of Nevada and Arizona. The border passes right from the middle of the dam..! It's quite a spectacular site, truly amazing.! Also, met Kanan's entire family there. We got back from the dam at about 7 pm. And we just realized that we were running over budget now..:D, so suddenly thought of cutting on the expenses..! So, we decided, we won't be spending a lot on food that night (Taco Bell was the immediate choice)..and we believed ourselves..:D. And most of knew deep down inside that this is just not going to work out, because we were so much used to living a 'lavish' life style. Anyways, but still we were quite firm. We got back, since we still had to check few more hotels, so check the New York first. Enjoyed roller coaster ride called 'Manhattan Express' there. And it was time to have some food now, once again a tough decision to have consensus. But after a while P F Chang's was decided (see, how quickly we forgot that we didn't want to spend too much money on food..;)). It was 9.50 now, and to our bad luck PFC was completely booked, and there was 1 1/2 hour long wait. We were offered a waiting reservation at 11.30. Phir se confusion. Ab kya kare. Itni bhookh lag rahi thi, and no one couldn't wait any longer. But we still reserved! And what to do now. I still wanted to check the Venitian hotel properly again. So, Purvin & Aditya waited there while Golu, Shantanu & I walked towards Venetian. And that's when I was going to make the 'Vegas Mistake'..!

Kaushal