Vegas Baby!

Apologies for the absence of any posts recently, but we have been living in the 1950s for the last 4 weeks and as you know Al Gore hadn't invented the internet by then. Anyway, after our delightful Christmas break in Kansas with lots of wholesome family experiences we flew into Sin City for some real fun and New Year Eve celebrations.

However, we first rented a car at the airport and set off towards Arizona and the Grand Canyon. Renting a car is a unique experience in America, especially for people used to small cars and small roads. There is an automatic need to have a big car in America, regardless of whether it is any good or not. Due to monetary constraints we had opted for the Economy variety and were quite happy when informed at the desk that it was a Hyundai Accent. On approach to the actual car we found something not resembling an Accent in the slightest, we had been stuck with some huge Dodge stationwagon tank hybrid that was a total piece of crap. I have erased the name from my memory as to ward off any future nightmares. Anyway, we drove out of Las Vegas and across the impressive Hoover Dam and into Arizona. Staying in the Grand Canyon National Park is for the privileged few, so we stayed in Flagstaff about an hours drive away in a wonderfully typical roadside motel. I had visited the Grand Canyon before, also in winter, but this was to be Leighannes first trip as she missed going last time in the US. As always the Grand Canyon is immensly impressive. The scale is hard to guage with the eye, but the colours are what make it unique. As clouds slowly drift over the landscape the reds and greys of the various rock layers changed dramatically from minute to minute. We also had snow the night before, which added a certain dramatic effect to the colours. Down inside the canyon it looked hot and dry, but up on the rim cold and white.

After our day in Arizona we drove back into Las Vegas and found our hostel in the rather seedy part of Las Vegas, a far cry from the glitz and glamour of the Strip. In order to get to the Strip we had to take public transport, heaven forbid. This is almost unheard of in the US apart from the major cities, but it turned out to be a great experience getting to mingle with the local people of Las Vegas.

Our New Year Eve celebrations started with the Cirque de Sol show KA at the MGM Grand. We opted for the show instead of the booze mainly to stop us spending everything we have on blackjack tables. It turned out to be worth it with a very impressive performance by people dressed in bizarre outfits. After the show with about 2 hours till countdown we ventured over to New York New York to inhale a few daiquries and play the pokies. As usual we won absolutely nothing, mainly because we were playing for pennies. At countdown time we went out onto the Strip with a million others and watched the clock tick down and were treated with a impressive fireworks display from all the big hotels along the Strip.

After a day recovering from our excess we walked the length of the Strip to see all the hotels during the day and visit the Coca Cola shop, which Leighanne was very impressed with. On Jan 2nd we flew out of Las Vegas towards Mexico City, but not without some trauma thanks to the utter incompetence of American Airlines. At this point in our trip we had taken about 15 flights in 4 continents with various airlines ranging from Ethiopia Air to Cathay Pacific with not a single delay, lost baggage, or even slight complaint. However, within the space of 2 flights American Airlines delayed us 10 hours, lost our tickets, lost our bags, and general pissed me off for life. It is beyond me how one of the largest airlines in the world can be managed and operated by petulant children. Ah, I feel better, have had that on my chest for weeks.

Our next stop is Chile and a detour to the most remote island on earth, Easter Island.