After spending 4 days in Singapore, there I go again. Holiday begins. This time, it's a long haul flight..
2 June - Took a 13hrs flight from Singapore to Frankfurt, spent 5 hrs in Frankfurt international airport.
3 Jun - After arrival into Frankfurt international airport, spent 5 hrs transit at the airport before another 8 hrs to Newark airport (New Jersey). It was my first time taking Lufthansa and United airlines. I love Lufthansa..for United airline, I think there is a lot of room for improvement.
Anyway, after 26 hours of flying, finally arrived at Newark airport at 2pm (GMT -5). Picked up by my friend and went straight to bed. Woke up around 6pm, totally knackered, had dinner at nearby restaurant in jersey city, I had lamb I think, then went back home to sleep at 8pm.. Woke up on and off through the night due to jetlag.
4 Jun - Managed to catch a good rest although was quite disruptive throughout the night. Woke up at 6am feeling fresh to catch the flight to Las Vegas!!
Took an hour to get ready and to the airport. Arrived at 8am, grab sandwich and a cup of latte to perk me up. Everything at the airport is rather cashless. Nice airport at Newark!
It was my 100th flights and to make it memorable, it was on a first class cabin. Flight departure at 9.56am sharp (US has weird timing schedule). Felt exculsive! Among the first to board the flight and meal was served in ceramic plate and glass! It was my first time in first class (United first class in domestic flight is equivalent to business class on international route, and only first class get free meals on board. Economy has to pay for meal). Wide seats, lots of legroom, meal and of course breathing first class air. Lol.
Flying east coast to west coast takes around 6hrs. The whole journey was incredible. Getting attention from stewardess and watching tv with my legs folded. That's how much space I had!
After 5.5 hours of pampering, finally arrived into Las Vegas airport around 12.30pm (GMT -8). It's the first time I see slot machines at the airport!!
When I walked out from the plane, I felt the heat straightaway! As I was expecting a limousine to fetch us from the airport, a Mercedes is equally great! Been first class means that my baggage is priority and ahead of anyone else at the carousel! Lol!
The moment we walked out of the airport, I felt "burned". It was 43 degree Celsius. Dry heat. I can't wait to go to the hotel and remove my trousers and put on shorts and flip flops! Checked into Mandarin Oriental hotel. It was an incredible hotel! The room was great with amazing view. Changed my outfit, put on lots and lots of sun screen and ready to face the heat!
I was so excited about Vegas as it ms always been labeled as the "Sin city". A lot of movies had been shot here and it's like a dream came true for me. The heat was unbearable and the wind blown towards me is like hair dryer blowing at you! I never felt so much that I needed aircon! Seriously. So we took the train from Aria resort to Bellagio hotel and start our heat exploration. Bellagio hotel is something like MBS in Singapore showcasing the high end products and with a casino too! I was lucky to catch the fountain show and it was just impressive! There were so many patterns splashing the water fountain. I was immediate glued myself in front of the fountain forgetting about the heat!
Strolling along the street in Vegas! Basically, different hotels have different theme like Paris, New York, Venetian, Rome, Mandalays, Egypt, etc. So we just stroll from Rome Colosseum to Paris Eiffel tower to New York Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn bridge. And everyone of them has a casino. It is just a huge gambling business. I pledged to discover all the attractions and spending the next 3 hours strolling all of them! Very well done I think!
Went back to the room and had a shower before heading to Bellagio hotel again for the O show (Cirque du Soleli) at 7pm. We dress up and wearing business attire as we will be having a posh dinner tonight. The show was exciting and astonishing! It's kind of acrobatic, gymnastic performance with water. Synchronized swimming to begin with, swinging in the air, then diving in the water. It's a must watch show in Vegas!! After the show, headed back to Mandarin Oriental hotel twist resturant. It was opened by Chef Pierre Gagnaire who has garnered three michelin stars in his restaurant. It was a fine dining concept, so the three course meal we had! Foie gras to begin with, scallop and fish fusion dish (the most delicious meal I had in my life), main course is steak and dessert was macaron and some jelly stuff which were delicious! We match the wine with every food we had! I had 4 glasses of wine and totally thrashed at midnight! It was an amazing dinner to end the night. The most tasty meal in my life!! Well deserved three Michelin stars chef and creativity in the food! Very appealing and thumbs up!!
5 Jun - Totally hung over and only woke up at 11am. Quickly shower and headed to Venetian hotel. The hotel looks stunning! It's really reminds me of Venice when I was there in 2014. The gondola, the bridge and St marks square looks so real!! Then we walked to Mandalays for a quick drinks before heading to Luxor (Egypt pyramid theme) under the scorching hot sun! The Luxor was kind of interesting..
After which, went to MGM, Montr Carlos and New York to try my luck.Didnt become rich. Damn! In the evening, went to The Crystal Shoppe Mastro Ocean Club for dinner. Another mid high end restaurant. I had lobster for starter and salmon steak for main course. Another sumptuous meal!!
Vegas became magical after it has becomes dark! The whole street was lighten up with LED lights and billboards. The temperature cools down a lot in the dark (after 8pm). It was totally different view compared to the day (dirty, plains). I went as far to the Ferris wheel next to flamingo hotel. Play some slot machines, enjoying the street show and just snapping pictures. It was really amazing to be here!
I was just amazed how the street transformed at night to become so magical and beautiful! Went back at 12 midnight as I have a morning flight to catch at 7.39am.
I really enjoyed the whole trip to Vegas..The whole street did smell of weeds, alcohol, prostitutes, vice and gambling...but it's reallly one of a kind and totally different from the rest of United States. I will be back again for grand canyon in the future! Many thanks to the company :)
