As I touched down in what looked to be a barren desert landscape, Las Vegas appeared in my airplane window. Neat, groomed neighbourhoods of perfectly spaced homes in triangles, squares and circles of green surrounded by cascading brown spaces, connected with black tarmac greeted me. And as we quickly approached the runway, suddenly The Strip loomed. I spotted the Luxor first, then the MGM Grand, then the Eiffel tower—just like the movies. So it really does look like that.
And it truly does. I’ve spent the last 5 hours wandering aimlessly up and down the strip, in and out of casinos, stores and lobbies. I’ve seen more naked women on business cards, moving billboards and posters to last a lifetime—and I guess it’s legal to drink on the streets of Vegas because everyone seemed to have some form of cocktail or beer in their hands as they jostled around me.
All around me, Las Vegas looms in all it’s materialism. I’ve never felt so much like I’m walking around on a movie set. Everything about Vegas is manufactured, fake. It’s all there for our entertainment (meaning the tourists). I can’t imagine calling Vegas home. Or if I did, I’d be living out in the those desert canyons away from it all with a dune buggy and a convertible.
No matter where you look, something assaults your ears, eyes and sometimes even your nose. If it’s not the street vendors and performers (I had a Stormtrooper with an R2D2 sidekick shoot me multiple times as I was walking by), then it’s the Bellagio fountains (which, if you’re not prepared for them to go off, will give you a mild heart attack as you walk by). Everything is about entertainment and keeping everyone distracted, happy and feeling as if they’ve gotten away from it all.
This is my first time in Las Vegas (if you hadn’t already guessed), and it may very well be my last. True, I’m here for work—stay tuned for my review on the brand new 2012 Hyundai Accent and Genesis which we’ll be driving tomorrow—but I’m not sure I’d make a conscious effort to come back here of my own free will. It’s almost too much.
Maybe I’ll change my mind when I experience Vegas at night (my plan for this evening), away from the scorching afternoon sun. They say Las Vegas at night is a whole other beast—I’m not too sure I’m ready to meet that creature. Wish me luck.
I have to say, I’m very much looking forward to my drive out into the desert tomorrow, away from all the lights, music, motion and general insanity of The Strip.
And it truly does. I’ve spent the last 5 hours wandering aimlessly up and down the strip, in and out of casinos, stores and lobbies. I’ve seen more naked women on business cards, moving billboards and posters to last a lifetime—and I guess it’s legal to drink on the streets of Vegas because everyone seemed to have some form of cocktail or beer in their hands as they jostled around me.
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All around me, Las Vegas looms in all it’s materialism. I’ve never felt so much like I’m walking around on a movie set. Everything about Vegas is manufactured, fake. It’s all there for our entertainment (meaning the tourists). I can’t imagine calling Vegas home. Or if I did, I’d be living out in the those desert canyons away from it all with a dune buggy and a convertible.
No matter where you look, something assaults your ears, eyes and sometimes even your nose. If it’s not the street vendors and performers (I had a Stormtrooper with an R2D2 sidekick shoot me multiple times as I was walking by), then it’s the Bellagio fountains (which, if you’re not prepared for them to go off, will give you a mild heart attack as you walk by). Everything is about entertainment and keeping everyone distracted, happy and feeling as if they’ve gotten away from it all.
This is my first time in Las Vegas (if you hadn’t already guessed), and it may very well be my last. True, I’m here for work—stay tuned for my review on the brand new 2012 Hyundai Accent and Genesis which we’ll be driving tomorrow—but I’m not sure I’d make a conscious effort to come back here of my own free will. It’s almost too much.
Maybe I’ll change my mind when I experience Vegas at night (my plan for this evening), away from the scorching afternoon sun. They say Las Vegas at night is a whole other beast—I’m not too sure I’m ready to meet that creature. Wish me luck.
I have to say, I’m very much looking forward to my drive out into the desert tomorrow, away from all the lights, music, motion and general insanity of The Strip.