Las Vegas - Day 3
Friday, July 14th. 2006

We reached our hotel at about 10.00 p.m. last night :( Dead tired...! Sui & David came over right after their wedding rehearsal from **** *** ***** to drop-off some water and soda for Saturday's limo ride. They looked tired as well. Sui dropped some hints about getting a sun-screen lotion so we guessed it must be a "ritzy" outdoor wedding (hint, hint!). By now, Adrian & I had more or less figured out where it would take place. Hee..hee!

Friday was a free and easy day for us, so we decided to check out the hotel tower i.e. Stratosphere Tower. We had free admissions ticket to the deck as hotel guests. See tower guide below:

After a short ear-popping ride (the elevator was extremely fast), we reached the indoor observation deck at 854 ft.

Breathtaking views from the top...

Sunrise Mountain

Las Vegas Boulevard (the Strip)

For the brave-hearts at the outdoor deck...



Insanity riders getting hurled

X-Scream

Big Shot

Las Vegas - Day 2
Thursday, July 13th. 2006

Full-day tour of the Hoover Dam, Lake Mead & Grand Canyon (South Rim). We got up early and was first to be picked up at the hotel at 6 a.m. It's supposed to be a 14 hour tour so we had to be one of those early birds for a change. Urghh...!

After devouring a packed breakfast supplied by the tour company (no coffee, shucks!), we headed out of Las Vegas Valley and began our way to Hoover Dam.

This is our bus driver/tour guide, Jimmy (see above). I thought he looked like Tim McGraw; the chubbier and funnier version, that is. He was trying to make the long trip more bareable by cracking cheap jokes (some were good though) and giving us pop-quizzes about the Canyon and it's geological aspects. Good try Jimmy but I've already forgotten all the questions and answers to your quizzes ;)

Along the way in Henderson & Boulder cities, Jimmy showed us some houses belonging to Hollywood movie stars like Denzel Washington, Sean Connery, Sammy Davis Jnr., Dean Martin, Patrick Swayze and golf-pro, extraordinaire Tiger Woods. Yup! He has a house out here too; complete with a golf course for him to practise.

We passed by Lake Mead; a huge artificial lake resulting in the damming of the Colorado River and completion of Hoover Dam.

A very picturesque Lake Mead

Hoover Dam (formerly Boulder Dam)

Here we are at the Hoover Dam; a National Historic Landmark, world-renowned structure & America's seventh modern civil engineering wonder. Prior to that, we were held-up for no apparent reason (Jimmy reckoned they're filming "Transformers: The Movie" so traffic was backed up for 20 mins. approaching the Dam).

The Dam was built during the Depression years; whereby thousands of men and their families came to Black Canyon to tame the Colorado River.

It was the largest dam built during its time and these men had only 2 off-days i.e. Christmas & Labor Day. There were no Labor Laws back then to protect the workmen so they were overly exploited. Yet, it took them only 5 years to complete this monolith project. Damn!

This funny looking structure a.k.a. the pill-box is not to be played with. It is situated atop the hill over-looking the Hoover Dam. If any "hanky-panky" or terrorists are spotted, big guns will emerge from the box and hunt you down. I kid you not! So far, it has only been used twice :( Oh..oh!

Kingman, Arizona

Our 15 minute rest stop at the TA. Time for snacks, restrooms, etc. Last stop before a buffet style lunch outside the Grand Canyon National Park Gates. Yipee!



Grand Canyon, Arizona (finally!)

What a sight to behold! Breathing is harder up here due to the altitude. Nevertheless, it's worth the time, patience and effort. Between 5-10 million people visit the Grand Canyon each year and yet, some were skeptical about tourists coming here to see a bunch of rocks when Roosevelt named it National Monument in the early 1900s.

Interesting statistics & facts about the Grand Canyon

Length: 277 miles /446 kms (approximate distance from Kuching to Sibu)

Depth: over 1 mile /1.61kms deep

Width: 18 miles/29 kms wide at its widest point (approximate distance from Kuching to Damai Beach)

Grand Canyon National Park: 1900 square miles

First inhabitants: Anasazi & the Cohonina's around 500 to 600 A.D. but disappeared between 1100-1200 A.D.; then Spanish conquistadors came in 1540 seeking the "Cities of Gold", named Colorado River /Rio Colorado (Red River)

Adrian & I at Bright Angel Canyon - widest part of the Grand Canyon

Las Vegas - Day 1 Continue...

JUBILEE! Created by Donn Arden

This show has been going on for 25 years and is the absolute "must-see" when in Vegas. We booked our tickets one month in advance and it was worth every dollar spent. Unfortunately, it is only for those 18 years and above and absolutely NO cameras are allowed during the 90 minute extravaganza.

A hundred gorgeous showgirls perform on lavish million dollar sets that changed ever so frequently. In the final act, the girls even danced on a floating stage above the audience. A great treat for the men ;) Btw, about half of them are dancing topless but I can guarantee that you will be more mesmerised by their stunning diamante and boa feathered costumes designed by Bob Mackie than the 25 pairs of nipples bouncing on stage. An even greater treat for the men ;)

The choreography was spectacular and eye-catching, with toe-tapping musical numbers like the sinking of the Titanic, Samson& Delilah to big finales which leave the audience gasping and begging for more. I certainly wanted an encore but they have to do another round of show in 30 minutes. So, no chance of that happening :(

In between dancing, we were also entertained by contortionists from China, expert jugglers that juggled everything and acrobatic performances ala Cirque du Soleil.

Eventhough we couldn't bring our camera in, the Jubilee! showgirls do appear on the Bally's billboard promo at Las Vegas Boulevard.

Las Vegas - Day 1
Wednesday, July 12th. 2006

We left our apartment early at 5 a.m. and took a connecting flight from Newark to Atlanta then on to McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.

Atlanta, Georgia from the plane

After a 1.5 hour lay-over in Atlanta we reached our final destination and the first thing you see when you step off the plane into the terminal...

Yes, I am not kidding. Slot machines at the arrival/departure hall of the airport. Man, they really start you off early and even try to make you loose your last penny right before you leave :(

We checked-in to our hotel at the northernest tip of Las Vegas Boulevard. A very nice and towering building - Strastosphere Hotel & Casino. Standing at 1, 149 ft it is the tallest free standing observation tower in the U.S. and the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.

For those extreme thrill seekers, you can enjoy excitement over 100 stories above the ground on the Big Shot, X-Scream and Insanity thrill rides. Yup, it's all on top of this hotel. I will write more about this unique & one an only amusement park in the clouds later :) Be patient y'all!

VIVA Las Vegas!

My husband and I got back from Las Vegas, Nevada on Wednesday July 19th. at 3 a.m. thanks to bad weather and turbulence in Salt Lake City and an electric storm in New Jersey. Weather all over the United States had been above normal for the past week, hence the severe weather pattern everywhere. Our flight was delayed by 2 hours as planes were restricted from entering Newark Liberty Airport. Err, I doubt anyone would want to fly into an electric storm?! Would you??? I don't think so too :)

Overall, it was not such a bad delay considering the severity of the reports we heard after we landed. Trees were down and power outages were massive in Northern Jersey and Westchester County, New York. Some residents are still without power as I write this blog.

You might be wondering what on earth are we doing in Vegas in the middle of summer?! After all, the temperature for the day was about a "sizzling" 118 degrees Fahrenheit /50 degrees Celsius. The air is desert & arid dry and searing hot...Nobody is out under the scorching sun except for those damn, crazy tourists & a few desert animals. Yours truly included :)

Well, a couple of months back we received this invitation:

Yes, a wedding invitation from Sui Mae & David. Btw, Sui Mae was Adrian's co-worker at Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS). She has since left and moved to Advertising. Where is the wedding? Las Vegas, Nevada. That's it?! What about the venue? It's a secret. The bride and groom were most tight-lipped about it and didn't want us to know. In fact, we were not told until the very day itself. We were supposed to just hop into a stretched limo. So, until then you have to keep reading my entries to find out. Ha..ha..ha!

There's certainly lots to write about Las Vegas. After all it's the Sin City and gambling capital of the United States and probably the world. I am going to break tradition from the famous phrase, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas". In my opinion, it's too precious not to share.

Summer is here!

We had a wet start to the summer season this year. The Governor declared a state of emergency just weeks ago due to massive flooding in the western part of New Jersey. We were luckier and escaped the floods in northern Jersey.

Nonetheless, it's time to be outdoors...

People are boating again in Central Park

The Coney Island boardwalk is bustling

Soaking up the sun in Hoboken, New Jersey (downtown Manhattan in the background)

Animals seemed to agree as well. Thanks to the Bronx Zoo residents for being such a good sport.

Mr. Sea Lion is enjoying a swim

Polar's taking a nap

Stripe's found a nice shade to relax in

A dip would be fun :)