Vegas baby!!!! Even as I write this I find it difficult to hide the excitement you get engulfed in by this mesmeric city. I've over used the word surreal in these blogs but I simply can't think of any other way to describe the place. It's situated in the middle of the desert surrrounded by nothing more than mountains and sand. The city boasts hundreds of casinos, wedding chappels, shopping centres and over 75 strip clubs (apparently ;-D).

But anyway, enough of the tourist info and onto what we experienced during our stay. Our first day was the typical tired arrival after a relatively short overnight stay on the greyhound bus. But that wasn't going to stop us! We headed straight down to the strip which was a 15 minute walk from our hotel and then we simply took in the madness. There were entertainers, club touts, snakes, celibrIty impersinators and your typical crazy Vegas sights. After getting some food we heard from Rachel and Renee who were at the MGM pool party with Emily and their plans to hit the strip for a night out. After deliberating whether it was a good idea running on empty for all of 10 seconds we were showered and out the door heading towards the Bellagio fountains as a meeting point. Although our attire failed us when we attempted entry to the Bellagio lounge we went over to 'Paris' which came complete with the replica Eiffel Tower. George struck lucky with the poker and we were all pretty mesmerised by the sheer scale of everything. It was a great introduction to Vegas and the time absolutely flew as people were busy playing all sorts of slots and games.

The next day we started our typical routine of sleeping in till the early afternoon before heading down to the pool where the girls had already started sun bathing. The weather in Vegas was incredibly hot with temperatures nearing 40 degrees most days but the heat wasn't humid and it felt pretty decent sitting on a sun lounged all day preparing ourselves for another night on the town. And so onto the evenings activities... It was actually Emilys last night in Vegas and we decided to head down towards the iconic pyramid hotel with it's laser like beacon of light that shines from the top point. After scaling the statues for some hilarious photos we were welcomed into the lobby with some free VIP tickets to the hotels club 'Cathouse'. After having a stroll around the casino and seeing the Chris Angel choppers we made our way in. The club did not disappoint and the actual place was almost as stunning as the people in it! Although we were relatively sober knowing we had a 5:30 start for our Grand Canyon tour the following day we all got pretty caught up in the night and in no time it was pushing 2:30am - oops?!

3 hours of sleep later we were rising for our much anticipated tour. We'd managed to book a coach tour to the Southern rim with a stop at Hoover dam for a kodak moment. The wake up was hell and us lads with Rachel and Renee were all pretty desperate for some shut eye on the journey there. That wasn't part of our English guide 'Wally's' plan however as he began to comentate the history of sights we were passing. Video guides then followed talking about the canyon itself and the mule treks. It was really interesting and although suffering with a screwed body clock/lack of sleep the drive to the canyon flew by in no time. Upon arrival we simply stood open mouthed as the sheer scale and beauty of the place. I've probably recommended alot in these blogs but of all the things we've done i would say that you can't miss this wonder of the world in your lifetime. You simply get engrosed by it all and wonder about all the how's and why's that spring to mind. After regaining a little composure and having out lunch stolen by the local wildlife we decided to take the free local shuttle along to the furthest point and walk back to where we were dropped off. The views simply got better and better and the national parks continuous work really stood out. Scaling the edges of the rocks has certainly cured my small fear of heights and it was nerve rackingly unbelievable being stood feet away from a thousand foot drop with no barrier to stop you. It truely felt like being on top of the world. Unfortunately we only had a 3 hour stay at the canyon itself which meant that we weren't able to explore all the trails down into the actual canyon itself, but it still gave us enough time to appreciate it's magical qualities. It was a long day but after some rest on the way back we were all ready to go out on the town again - Clare and Jessie had arrived afterall and it was Rachel and Renee's last night so we needed to party in style. Things didn't really pan out as planned however as we were heading out later than planned and missed the Bellagio fountains and our opportunity to get into a club. We did have a wander around and caught sights of the stupidly huge casinos and hotel lobbys. My night didnt get much better as the 20$ flutter on roulette didnt end well. We did catch a sight of Chamillionnaire who was due to be appearing at 'Pure' in Caesers Palace though - typically, he looked like a tool. We then went back to our hotel for a little more gambling where I adopted the nickname '15$ guy' after winning a few hands of blackjack and immidiately cashing in!

Needless to say, after rolling in at 4am again we were all snuggled up in bed till midday. The girls came and knocked on our door to say goodbye before they headed onto San Diego and left us the best parting gifts ever - hand sanitiser and vodka! Our plans for the day were sunning ourselves at the pool before hitting the strip for a touristy night out. And that's exactly what we did... First we caught the volcano show at the Mirage hotel before walking down and watching a full show of the Bellagio fountains. Both shows are out of this world and showcased the craziness of Vegas. They're loud, extravagent and try their hardest to entice anyone and everyone into their hotels. After doing the touristy walk, we made our way down into Luxor where we ended up in our favorite spot once again, the Cathouse. I won't divuldge into the nights events too much but it was another top night out which showcased just what Vegas is all about. You do meet the old gold digger though as i found when some random Asian girl sat down next to me. At first she struggled to understand what I was saying to her but the motive was clear.

The following day was very similar as we sat in the 35 degree heat playing poker for cents and enjoying the jacuzzi. Since coming to the US we've all been followig the end of he basketball season and it was game 7 of the national finals between the LA Lakers and the Boston Celtics. Kobe was on fire as LA took it. The bar in our hotel offered 2$ Corona's which certainly helped the cause as prepared for a lads night out on Vegas. We started off heading into Aria to try and get into the famous club 'Haze'. They were having s girrafe with the prices though and wanted 30$ just for entry - and that was with reduced admission! So off we went to Caesers to use our passes to get into 'Pure'. The club was a roof top overlooking the strip with areas marked off for VIPs and various other important people. Unfortunately we weren't one of those and the drinks were 8$ a pop, even for tap water... The lads night wasn't going well and it was apparent that you either needed money or women to really hit the high end clubs of Vegas. We did pop into the Caramel bar at the Bellagio which was nice but by that time we'd walked miles and were feeling it, especially as we has been out every night. And so we tucked our tails between our legs and trudged back to the hotel. George and Wild did decide to head out and Wild even went and bought a Strawberry Dacary in a bottle shaped like the Eiffel Tower - safe to say they don't stop at the hotels when it comes to bragging rights.

The following day was our last and we wanted to spend some time taking everything in during the day. We went into the MGM to see the lions and then went shopping along the strip. We eventually made our way into the Planet Hollywood mile long shopping mall which was decorated with clouds for the ceiling. Window shopping certainly is a painful experience when things are cheaper than normal, but it's nice to know that if any of us ever needed to pick up something we could do so pretty easily. Plans for the evening were to meet up and say our goodbyes to Clare and Jessie (the Aussies). we originally wanted to go to Studio 54 in the MGM but the 30$ entry was a bit steep. So instead we met at the Diablo bar on the strip. The night was quality and us lads all split up a little as we all met different people. I personally ended up meeting a group of Irish lads and we ended up in Coyote Ugly bar for more than a few drinks. Knowing I had to check out he next day I did bail a little early though and managed to beat everyone else back to the hotel. Stories were sure to follow the next day...

But I'll leave those to be told another day as that brought the end to our Vegas adventure. Next stop, Palm Springs where my cousin has kindly offered us a place to stay for a few nights before we go onto Los Angeles. It's hard to believe we've only got a week or so to go before we head onto the Cook Islands... Sad to think of leaving America but freaking incredible times ahead!