Day 17 - Fri 31 Oct 2008

Today saw my last day in Las Vegas, the end of a surprising but decidedly entertaining and eye-opening trip to this gambling Mecca. Although not even close to the Bellagio Hotel in style or class, the Stratosphere served its purpose as a place to lay my head for one last night before the flight to San Francisco. Given not a huge amount of sleep had been had in the last five nights, to wake up in either a five-star hotel (Bellagio) or a more-budget hotel (Stratosphere) is neither here not there in a way - in both cases a decent night sleep was had and the "high" beds / thick mattresses and a minimum of four pillows were very cosy. The difference between the two is akin to the differences you notice when walking through the two english cities of Oxford and Slough.

Slough appears to have all the same type and number of shops as Oxford, including the major retailers, but it doesn't appear to have - on closer inspection - some of the "more individual" shops that Oxford does. Similarly, Slough town centre is not in a state of total disrepair by any means, but it doesn't quite compare with Oxford as it has very few historic buildings and has more eye-sores than eye-pleasers. When walking through Oxford the easiest way to describe it is that it is quite "peaceful" on the eyes with many beautiful old buildings that ooze character and history and it is only when walking around towns such as Slough and Reading that one realises something is "missing in character" from them.

Even Oxford's town centre has been "standardised" to the apparently same masterplan as every other town centre in the country- which identical paving through the pedestrian areas and "standard" lighting and even bins, but with its historic buildings it tends to preserve a degree of the individuality that a lot of other town and city centres seemed to have lost, particularly with the last 10-15years "globalisation" that has seen the world get smaller and the major (and also not-so-major) high street names appearing in EVERY town in the country.

In a similar way, the Bellagio is head and shoulders above most of the other Las Vegas casinos and hotels, although I didn't visit The Wynn whilst The Venetian did look as if some considerable thought had gone into its design. However, the Bellagio doesn't have the elaborate setup like the Venetian does, or the rather fake-looking statues that are at Caesar's Palace but it doesn't need those "gimmicks" to show its class. Like most hotels it does have something different to offer guests, but the dancing fountains in the massive pool out the front of the hotel that bring visitors from all hotels to watch in amazement from early evening-time and the vast outside swimming pool with its saunas and sunning areas are much more class than mere gimmicks.

The Stratosphere has a decent-sized casino and the tower with its astonishing rides but after having stayed in and gambled at the Bellagio, the second night at the Stratosphere just didn't compare at all. I can see myself visiting Vegas - and the Bellagio in particular - as a yearly detox from work and the normalities of every day life...Vegas is indeed an incredible place.

A breakfast at The Courtyard Buffet at the Stratosphere comprised of scrambled egg, bacon and potato waffle and although it was decent for $11.87, it could have been better. With Chris feeling slightly better after his illness and more in touch with reality, Anthony and I left him with a late check-out at hotel as we departed to the airport for our flight to San Francisco. The taxi driver appeared pleasant enough but I am quite sure that we were overcharged at $35 for the trip to the airport; although the traffic was fairly heavy, I am convinced he could've just driven straight down the Strip instead of the highway parallel to that which had roadworks on.

As it was an internal flight, it took hardly any time at all getting checked-in and through security although once we were through there we were faced with a flight delay, if only for an hour. Only in the States, however, could you walk up to a Gate to speak to a representative of the airline to ask for more information on the delay to find that...the staff were busy setting up an ad hoc bowling alley with a plastic bowling set, after which an announcement came over the tannoy informing passengers that if any of them would like to bowl down this makeshift alley and achieve a strike then they would be rewarded with a free drink or movie when the plane eventually departed!

Several passengers had a go, after about five or six it was obvious it was a bit "too" easy to get a strike and with interest waning on that front the staff changed tack to asking general knowledge questions for the same "prizes". Eventually, we were ushered through the Gate and the flight departed. On this flight the future of plane travel was partly-sampled as their in-flight entertainment system included such gimmicks as being able to type messages from your seat on the plane to any other seat on the plane, whilst I also got to play a game of Doom! Once the system is fully-running, one will be able to check emails on board the plane and buy whatever you want using the in-handset card reader.

The flight itself took hardly any time at all and flying over the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges on the way in to San Francisco airport was a nice experience. The security at the airport seemed as slack as any internal flight through USA, with a walk through the entire airport to get to the Baggage Claim Carousels which, as far as I could tell, everyone and anyone had access to, although understandably the area is supposedly under 24 hour surveillance.

A walk to the BART for a half hour trip to the Civic Centre Station near the Whitcomb Hotel was cheap and efficient at only $5. After checking-in and getting our bearings, we had an amazing meal at Lalita, a seafood/thai bar. A massive Calamari Platter for starters was top quality, before an also-delicious Sautee'd Crab with vegetables, along with a bottle of Bud. On the way back to the hotel, a significant number of Halloween-celebrating cyclists zoomed past, all dressed in a range of outrageous and colourful outfits; considerably more participants in the celebration than I've even experienced in England.