Indian on a Chinese tour bus around America - 3B

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T's Humour for the special occasion
Day 2 Las Vegas here we come! The day started with a lot of wishes and hugs to each other and from all our family for T and me. It was our second wedding anniversary. We made the day special by wearing new clothes. My brother made it even more special by gifting us a huuuge bar of chocolate. T is weird but I loove chocolate! We all then boarded a bus which would take us to Las vegas and Grand Canyon over the next three days. We made friends with a middle-aged couple from Zurich, I fondly refer to the husband as Asterix because of his moustache. Before reaching Vegas by around 5 PM we made a stopover for lunch and thats when I brought out my little surprise, a cake that I had baked for the occasion. T and me cut it rather shyly I must say! We reached the city of neon lights before they got switched on. It isnt as impressive in day light as it is by night. No bling! I expected to see mafia dons in long coats and hats with their entourage carrying suitcases of money. But I was a tad disappointed. All I saw was hollow faces all around me. Some who had lost money, some who were plain drunk. Once inside a casino though one is totally cut off from the outside world, the scent of money and smells of alcohol and ciggies of the casino overpower you.The first thing we saw was the MGM Grand where we just in time to see the Lion Show. Two slobby sleepy lions (they do sleep for around 18 hrs a day) were being prodded by a couple of trainers to show some interest in entertaining the folks who were standing all around the thick glass enclosure.
The trainers hand fed them and finally one of the lions got interested in playing "catch the ball" with the trainer. It was awesome to watch the burly creature cuddling up to the trainer or going after the ball like a little kitten! At one time he stood tall, on two legs, on our side of the glass to retrieve the ball and I can swear he must have been 12 feet high! The teeth could easily have been half a foot long!
We went to the hotel from there and after freshening up we ventured out into the sin city by night. The whole strip and downtown is well connected by buses which come by every five minutes, so getting around is no problem. You could do casino hopping by hopping in and out of the bus and not dispense with any of that precious energy you need at the roulette table. But we decided to walk. Venetian too my breath away. The whole Venice atmosphere is recreated inside with houses on water and front and Gondolas rowing along with romantic couples in them. But the couples themselves look embarassed because there are a whole lot of people taking their photos just to get the Gondola (no romatic seclusion this)! The whole evening sky is done with a canopy and lights.
	Some of the higher ceiling is painted and gilded in gold coveringand one gets the feeling of being in the Sistine Chapel. It never gets dark in there! We loitered through the Grand Canal Shoppes but did not blow away our money on the collectible items. We also got to peek at the entrance of the Tao Lounge, one most exclusive in the world.
We walked along the Mirage and Caesar's Palace which abounded with a look alike Fontana de Trevi and Colloseum.
	We entered the Bellagio and the opulence of the place hit us immediately. I wondered how much the interior decorators make in this casino and how insecure their jobs might be. We walked along a glass lotus leaf roof towards a huge hall which was adorned with the theme of Autumn!
Everything orange and green and red. The only complaint I had was of low light. It made taking photos extremely difficult. I think thats the idea, dont capture moments and flood the web, everyone should come and see for themselves.
On the way to see the famous dancing fountain of Bellagio we decided to try our luck at gambling on our anniversary. There is something about a casino that gives me an adrenaline rush, as though I know I might regret this later but I cannot stop myself from doing it. Excitement! We headed to a roulette table and began. First round, we won. Second, we lost. Third, we lost again. Our whole family was gathered around the table since we were the only ones playing at that table. You cannot imagine how morally difficult it is to gamble with your parents looking on. Never to be tried again! We pulled out after the third round and I consoled myself that we had atleast won the first round. The magnificent dancing fountains made me forget my despair. Astounding harmony of water and music. In sync. It was beaiutiful. I am falling short of words to describe it. We have something similar at the Brindavan Gardens in Mysore, Karnataka with colours giving it a more glorious feel along with dance and music. By this time we were all hungry and tired and decided to call it a day. It was an anniversary we will always cherish!
Day 3
	We saw the Vegas strip again the next night. This time we headed to the Paris casino first. The outside is adorned with the Eiffel Tower and the inside was similar to Venetian but a little jazzier and not so classy I thought.
The reason could be that the casino was also right there under the lit canopy in the Paris whereas it was separated at the Venetian.
We went past the Excalibur which looks more like Disney Land. I wonder what was behind the name.
	We entered the Luxor which has an Egyptian theme but there was nothing much to gape at apart from stiff bob-cut soldiers and good looking ladies in stone. There are very nice murals just like you would find in their palaces or pyramids maybe.
We got back to the hotel and T and me made a secret pact of going to the hotel Casino and trying our luck again. But as luck would have it, we did not have the inclination nor the charm to make us millionaires and we gave up. I had blogged a year back about wanting to see vegas. I have fulfilled one dream in my life. Like so many others :)