I hopped off a plane at LAX… and gained new insight into life?

Ever since I was approximately nine years old and Miley Cyrus’ song “Party in the USA” was released, I’ve really, really wanted to visit the (in)famous city of Las Vegas. I guess my dream was pushed to the vacation backburner though, until recently when I was watching season 20 of The Bachelor, which happened to be filmed partly in Vegas! Although it is reality television, they actually looked like they were having a lot of fun, and that inspired me to once again ask my parents to take a trip to Vegas this Spring break. (yes, The Bachelor is a legitimate reason) Surprisingly enough, my parents agreed!
Now the very first thing my friends said to me when I told them I was going to Vegas was something along the lines of “why are you going to Law Vegas when $270 Canadian = $200 US??”.. Well, I guess my family never really considered the less than desirable economic conditions (oops), and we didn’t want to wait any longer. Reflecting back, though, the life lessons I learned in Vegas (while having fun of course) are more valuable than any item of monetary value (although I did pick up some pretty sweet souvenirs).

No, I didn’t head into Vegas searching for life lessons, but I ended up picking up a few anyways, so no harm done!

Here’s what I took back with me from  Las Vegas!
*drumroll please* (literally)

These insanely talented drummers were located on Fremont Street.

1. Time is of the essence

The line to take pictures with this sign was insane…

When I enthusiastically persisted on travelling to Vegas during spring break, I was definitely not aware of this “March Madness” phenomenon. It turns out that the sole month of March, not the summer months, is the busiest time to visit Vegas. And considering that Vegas pretty much runs on tourism, by busiest I mean busiest. The hotel I stayed at, the pyramid-shaped, Egyptian-themed Luxor, was also host to basketball fans visiting to watch the game, numerous teams of triathletes, and many many many other tourists. Therefore, much of my Vegas experience involved waiting in winding lineups, whether it was to gain entry to shows, check in and out, or eat. (What they say about buffets is true though- they are definitely worth the money).

The outside of the Luxor, the hotel I stayed at.  (It’s the black pyramid)  Did you know that I actually stayed at the smallest “large” hotel at Vegas, and it has 4000 rooms!?  I thought my hotel was impressive, but every other hotel was equally as stunning.

The inside view of the Luxor.  (Well one part of it, anyways- it was a lot larger than what I could capture with my camera)  A lot of the hotels in Vegas are connected, so you can just walk from hotel to hotel and check out the different sights.

2. It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey!

I wanted to remember everything that made up my vacation in Las Vegas, so I had to take a picture of me walking.

I may or may not have stolen this cheesy quote off of Tumblr, but it was applied consistently throughout my vacation. Funny story: (although it wasn’t funny at all at the time) My family and I stayed on the Las Vegas Strip (the main attraction in Vegas; it’s stunning), which is about a 5 hour walk to downtown Las Vegas, the other main attraction in the city. Good thing there’s a transit system that takes you between the Strip and downtown! However, this form of transportation was apparently unknown to my family, because we decided to walk all…5….hours through desert terrain and deserted parking lots. Although our end destination, Fremont Street, was stunning (the ceiling played a movie!), we actually saw way less of the “real” Las Vegas than we did as we were walking there. I had no idea that Vegas is home to possibly the greatest amount of cheesy but cute wedding chapels, all lined up neatly beside each other. Also, you will never be short of McDonalds or Subways or Starbucks.

Above is the Golden Nugget, located on Fremont Street.  This is the oldest hotel in all of Vegas!

MVI_9124

Apologies for the mediocre quality and sound, but this was what the ceiling of the Main Street Buffet I went to looks like. (pretty nifty)

       Thinking back, that walk was very draining, but until I found out there was a transit system I didn’t really mind because in Vegas normally everyone walks everywhere. In order to check out the Strip, which is bursting with Vegas culture, you have to go on foot. I actually managed to have a pretty good time during the journey parts of Vegas (basically the copious amounts of walking), because the scenery in Vegas (not including empty parking lots) is nothing short of spectacular- lights, glitter, and vibrant colours, and beautifully decorated palm trees and outlets. If I had to describe the city of Las Vegas in one word, it would be “Alive”.

The action-packed ceiling of Fremont Street.

3. Life throws obstacles at you, and you have to face them.

Thinking back once again, on behalf of my family and myself, it probably wouldn’t have hurt to do some research on Vegas before walking right into it. When you picture weather in the city, you imagine sunny skies and mild weather in general. Yes, it was nice and sunny, but also extremely, extremely windy. In fact, it just so happened that the on the same day we took our 5 hour walk on, the strongest gusts took a stop. My hat flew off at least times, and I cringe thinking about how I had to run to fetch it… yes, the wind was certainly an unexpected obstacle. But I did manage to find a silver lining in the windy walk… the wind helped create very flattering photos, when it blew in the right direction! (and didn’t blow all my hair in my face) I kinda felt like a supermodel with a very powerful fan sending a very powerful breeze through my hair.

(holding on so I won’t be blown away)

        On a more serious note, though, I learned that in life you gotta be prepared for more dangerous obstacles as well. Las Vegas is the only city, in North America at least, where drinking, smoking, and prostitution is permitted, well, everywhere. And oh boy do people take advantage of the first two. There was a lot of smoke by the way, which made my eyes sting, but I didn’t mind too much because I like the smell of smoke. (unpopular opinion here sorry) Anyways, with lots of drinking there was no shortage of drunk people, especially drunk 21-30 year old men. I was walking along a bridge with my family, when a man holding a beer approached me and asked if I would like to go home with him. Scary, I know. Now normally I would have reacted better, but my brain froze and instead I ran away as he called after me. Thankfully, my parents quickly stepped in between us and we disappeared into the crowd away from him. Please, if you ever find yourself in my situation, do not do what I did… if I found myself in that situation again, I would probably be polite and straightforward, such as saying “No, have a nice day”.

4. There are other pathways in life than academic ones… (crazy, I know)

A crazy talented street electronic violinist.

           In the city of Calgary, most people you see downtown are people dressed in snazzy suits and carrying even snazzier briefcases. I attend an academics-driven high school where most of the parents value other outlets less than those that are academic. I thought that I was exposed to culture in Calgary, but in Vegas the things you only imagined are realities. If you grew up in a more relaxed family, what you would see on the streets of Vegas might not be that out of the ordinary to you. However, for a person such as myself who grew up in a bit of a bubble, what I saw was exhilarating, and it reached out to my creative side. Every few blocks would be a different type of street artist, from actors impersonating, well, other actors… to comedians, to musicians, to mimes, to bands, to visual artists, and pretty much everything in between. What inspires me isn’t how good these people are, it’s how they find it in themselves to perform everyday on the streets, risking criticism, judgement and ridicule, but not caring at all because they are pursuing what they love.

A speed painter! (damn)

       However, although those talented performers restored my faith in humanity a lil’ bit, bumping into people handing out cards for basically glorified prostitution services left and right and seeing both men and women sell their bodies all over the streets served as a sad awakening to me about just how sexualized this society has become. I was also slightly disappointed with the people on the streets holding signs that swore at people or asked for drugs… I guess there is a good and bad end to everything.

6. Sadly, there are limits and rules to seemingly endless fun

Vegas is basically one giant party. It has a reputation for gambling, clubs, flashing lights, and fun. It’s basically what it looks like in the movies. However, like in any situation in life, there are rules which keep the city as safe as possible. For example, anyone under 18 cannot be associated in any way with gambling; I found this out as soon as I stepped into the airport and attempted to take a picture with a slot machine. Right as I was taking a photo, the nice security lady informed me that it was illegal…later on in my trip, I was resting my elbow on a daiquiri bar counter. However, it turned out I wasn’t allowed to be in contact with any part of the bar… I applaud whoever is behind the rules and security of Las Vegas, because that’s a job well done. (although I did manage to snag one of the beverage cups without the beverage)

Oh yes- before I forget, I also saw one of the 7 wonders of the world! The Grand Canyon! Of course, it was absolutely breathtaking.

My sis and I looking out over the Grand Canyon.

      Writing this post, I see a common theme/overarching lesson coming through: travel smart! (do research on EVERYTHING) Wow that would have saved me a lot of trouble… but then, I can’t say that I regret anything, because the little mishaps in the vacay ultimately made it more fun, not to mention more valuable. I highly recommend that you visit Las Vegas some time in your life if you haven’t already, because it parallels a dream life.

VIVA LAS VEGAS!

sources:

1

2