Vegas Day 1 Observations.

I just have to start off by saying there are two EXTREMELY important things to know about Vegas: 1. Vegas is ridiculously hot.

I've been to India in the summer. Vegas was a thousand times worse. Granted, we did go in August, but man. That dry desert heat is something else. Prepare yourselves, people. It is so hot, the air HURTS to inhale. It is so hot you sweat out of every orifice in your body. It is so hot, you'll break out in a rash as soon as you set foot outside (just me? alrighty then).

2. Vegas is bigger than you think.

When Adam, who has been to Vegas 4 times already, suggested that we do one side of the Strip one day, and the other side the next, I thought he was insane. It's a road! A single road. How much time can it take to see it?! Well. I had not taken into consideration either of the two very important things above. Each resort, is like 5 city blocks. It took almost 15 minutes to walk past Caesar's Palace! That's ONE resort. And there are 33 resorts on the strip (I looked it up). Do the math. Adam was right. Combine that with the sweltering heat and I was more than happy to hang out at the pool for the majority of the morning.

The Mirage Pool

This pool is GORGEOUS. It's one of the nicer ones on the Strip (says Adam--I have zero things to compare it to). It's in a funky shape, with lots of palm trees, and it's pretty quiet--perfect for relaxing. The drinks there are exorbitantly expensive ($33 USD for ONE cup) but it's like a litre of booze and you get to keep the cup as a souvenir, so it's worth getting at least one. You will not realize how strong they are until you try to get out of the pool and proceed to fall on your face.

After relaxing (and getting day drunk, let's be real) we decided we needed food, and we knew we wanted to take advantage of Las Vegas' amazing restaurant scene while we were here. Made sense to see some of the Strip then at the same time. We explored and saw: The Bellagio, Caesars Palace, The Cromwell, and the Cosmopolitan, where we decided on Chinese-Mexican fusion restaurant, China Poblano. (It's exactly what you think it is, and it's damn good).

It doesn't sound like much, but walking/exploring the strip took up most of the day. We also wandered into each casino, and I got hooked on the wonderful world of slot machines. Sex & The City and 'The Hangover' games were my favourite; I have never seen a way to spend money faster. Be warned! It's a lot of fun though.

Losing my Vegas Virginity

When we arrived in Vegas in the early evening (after flying over the Grand Canyon, which was epic), we got a cab, where I immediately proceeded to drop my iPhone on the sidewalk and shatter the screen. Standard Kat.

We were booked into the Mirage for the first part of the trip, and our final night at Monte Carlo, because if you are a rewards member anywhere, you can do things like this and save a ton of money (more on that later).

Anyway, the Mirage was cool--modern rooms, although the fridge was weight-controlled, meaning we couldn't remove anything to put our own, much cheaper booze from the drug store in there to cool. Boo!

We headed out to the Strip to grab a bite to eat and see some sights. Adam (my partner in crime, who you'll be seeing frequently on this blog) is a huge fan of Guy Fieri, so naturally the first place we tried had to be his new burger bar. I ordered some tuna tacos, and he had a heart attack  a burger. The food was pretty good, and the cocktails were especially delicious.

After that, we headed over to the Linq, which is basically an outdoor shopping promenade with lots of cool shops. It reminded me a lot of the Santa Monica Pier, but more Vegas-y. You can also catch a ride on the Highroller from here, Vegas' answer to the London Eye. We didn't do it because it was $35 per person but it's probably a pretty cool view.

That's all for Night 1! Stay tuned for more on the Strip and other fun Vegas activities coming up.

Fountains, Food, and Fishes

Apparently Dubai likes to combine tourism with shopping, which if you think about it, is a pretty smart thing to do. I'm beginning to understand why they like to put things like ski hills and aquariums in their malls, because people will come for one and stay for the other. Genius! Free marketing for all!

Today, I got to see the Dubai Aquarium, which is at the other big mall called the Dubai Mall (I was at Mall of the Emirates yesterday). The Aquarium is 3 stories tall, the largest in the world (of course, it's Dubai), and costs 30 bucks to go in. Um, no thanks. I took the poor man's admission price and just gandered from behind the velvet rope. Admission only buys you the chance to walk through it. Which is kind of neat, but not necessary. Especially for that price.

It was cool to see, but I have a feeling the one in Toronto is cooler, as seen from all my friends' Instagram feeds (Note to self: I need to go see it myself, because I want some #jellyfishselfies!)

It was therefore no surprise that in the middle of this mall, in addition to the aquarium, there is a skating rink. I immediately thought, "cool! This plus Tim Horton's...if I just stay inside I can hardly tell I'm not in Canada!" Until upon closer inspection, all the arab women were skating around, abayas fluttering in the breeze like it ain't no thang. You definitely wouldn't see much of THAT in Canada.

After that I was off to Mango Tree, which had epic, awesome Thai food. But that wasn't even close to the best part. I sat at a table on their balcony, right at the front and centre, while the Burj Khalifa (tallest building in the world) towered above me, and had the best seat in the house for the Dubai Fountains. The whole thing was straight outta the Bachelor playbook. I'm not kidding, that ran across my mind several times. I kept looking around for a rose to appear on the table! I mean, the setting was so magnificent and romantic, I could've been on a date with Juan Pablo and still been fawning over it (for anyone who watches the show, you'll know what I mean...he was the worst.) Exhibit A:

I need to explain about the fountains. I haven't been to Vegas (yet--plans are in the works for my birthday this year!) but I've been told it's similar to the fountains at the Bellagio. All I know is it was the most epic way to have dinner I've ever seen. There was a show every 20 minutes, and each time it was different. Different pattern, different music. It was truly spectacular, and a must-see for anyone who visits. Fellas, you're welcome. I've just found your anniversary/birthday/proposal venue.

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