Saturday - I got bus to downtown LA and then caught my train/bus at 10.10am and got into 'Las Vegas' at 4pm. It was cool as we travelled some of the way on the old "Route 66" and also travelled through the "Mojave Desert". I checked into "USA Hostels Las Vegas", it was $18 and a really great hostel. It has a bar, swimming pool, free breakfast and trips into town. It was on a slightly dodgy part of the strip (druggies) but the buses were really close so no problems there (Mum!). I then chilled out by the pool and booked my trip to the "Grand Canyon". In the evening I then popped down to the bar with Lyla and Anna (UK) for a few cheap beers ($1). Sunday - Today I headed out to "The Grand Canyon". When we got back from the trip in the evening (8pm, due to the mentioned storm) Andy, Richard, Pete, Emma and myself decided to go onto the strip and hit the casinos. We went to "Caesars Palace", "The Bellagio"and "Flamingos". These casinos are so big, they are endless rooms of slots and tables with so many people playing at them. Emma and I decided to go on the slots first up to get in the gambling mood - safe to say we both lost (a whole $4 each). Then we watched that guys playing at Roulette and so thought that maybe we would do better at that. the rules were not difficult to pick up and so we put down $10 each and got 10 chips. I bet $1 chip at a time (it lasts longer that way) and managed to make $3!! Then I lost all my money - boo! Just before we left Flamingos Andy decided to bet $10 on number 5 black, and it came up; he made like $150 in seconds!! It was a great night we had so much fun, some of this could have been to do with the free drinks you receive when playing at the tables or slots! Monday - Today Emma, Selpjine (Brazilian) and I layed by the pool and relaxed, we did not get in until 5am from the casinos. Then in the evening Emma and I took the bus down to the far end of the strip and worked our way back up. We saw the pyramid and Spinx at the "Luxor" which were massive. Then we passed "MGM Grand", "Paris Paris" and "New York New York" before getting to the "Bellagio". We stopped to watch the water and light show done to music (Elton John), made famous in the closing scene of "Oceans 11", which was beautiful. Then we passed the "Mirage" casino and its spectacular erupting volcano show. We finally reached "Treasure Island" with its exotic dancing and pirate fighting show. it was superb fun. The strip itself is 4 miles long and is so bold, brash, colourful and so very over-the-top but such such a great sight! Tuesday - Emma and I layed by the pool again until we popped into town to sort out pictures on to CD - $3! Then in the evening we headed up to the "Fremont Street Experience". It is at the nice end of our road, with all the old fashioned style casinos - the original Las Vegas. They have covered the whole area with a massive LCD roof on which they do light shows, and very impressive they are too. It featured videos to music; dice, roulette wheels, chips, dancing women and cards - very Vegas. We went into the "Golden Nugget" casino, one of the oldest in the area and watched the high stakes tables. it was a really good evening. Wednesday - I leave 'Las Vegas' today for 'San Diego'.