We decided, well really I decided, that one day needed to be spent looking at the Grand Canyon. We asked at the hotel if the skywalk was on the South or the North Ridge. We were told the South. They were wrong.
The skywalk is a platform that extends over the edge of the canyon and has a glass bottom.
The skywalk is actually at the West ridge, on a native reservation. What was so aggravating for me was we drove for 5 hours to the South ridge and could have saved half that amount if we went to the West Ridge. Also there was no sign saying “Come see the skywalk at the West Ridge” anywhere along the highway!
The sun was setting by the time we reached the canyon and the wind was blowing so it was fucking cold. Also the entry fee is $25! Where do they think it is, China? Seriously it is the biggest rip off ever. We did get some good photos though…
The Canyon is nice, but if you’ve seen it before, do yourself a favor and skip it.
New Years Eve
Las Vegas is definitely the place to be on New Year’s Eve (review the best variants to stay in). The entire city turns into one HUGE party. Vegas is already a pretty serious party town with open booze allowed on the streets at all hours, but this, this is something else. They shut down the strip in the early afternoon and reserve the middle lanes for emergency vehicles. Other than that it is pedestrians only and people start gathering on the street as soon as it gets dark.
Zuimei asked me from China if I had wanted to go to this New’s Years Eve party and I am so glad I said “yes”. His friend Kei is very well off, even rich, and he likes to gamble so the Bellagio comps his visits. That means they fly him and a friend, Hide, to Vegas, give him a room, and all his meals are free.
Hide, Kei, me and Zuimei
This time they also gave him four tickets to their New Years Eve party called “Glitter”. It was a black tie affair with most men wearing tuxedos. I wore a black jacket, slacks and tie going for the “classic” cool. Zuimei wore his new Burberry suit and dark tie.
The meal was spectacular, the entertainment amazing and the company… awesome. Stupidly I didn’t take any photos of the dinner, only the dessert! I did, however keep the menu, which was printed on a record (click to see a larger version).
The unlimited champagne served was Moet Dom Perignon 1999, which runs about $100-120/bottle. There was also an open bar and wonderful red and white wines although I failed to write them down.
The dessert takes up half the menu for a reason. Look at this thing! And yes, those are gold flakes sprinkled on it.
For entertainment they had amoung many other artists, the Village People! Who were amazing of course. They did all the classics; “macho man”, “In the Navy”, “Go West”. The other performers were also very accomplished but before our time. In fact, we were some of the youngest people there.
To top the evening off we went out onto the driveway of the Bellagio at Midnight to watch the fireworks. Most hotels along the strip set off pyrotechnics at midnight. It is spectacular to say the least. Easily one of the best nights of my life!
