Low Cost USA
You'll have heard the old saying, "Join the navy to see the
world". Well, you don't have to join the navy; just take a
holiday to Las Vegas and you can be in two or three continents in
the space of a couple of square miles. Desperate to outdo each
other and attract your attention, the hotels in Las Vegas have
turned themselves into mini replicas of tourist attractions from
all over the globe. Where else can you be in Paris one minute and
Egypt the next?
Egypt
Take the Luxor Hotel and Casino, for example. As with everything
in Vegas reality takes a back seat and fantasy takes over. In
Egypt you can go and visit the Valley of the Kings and stand in
awe before the Great Pyramids; in Las Vegas you can eat your
breakfast in one. The Luxor Hotel is in the shape of a pyramid
and the whole place plays along with the Egyptian theme. And with
a huge Sphinx at the entrance you would be forgiven for wondering
if you had too much wine with your dinner the night before when
you look out of your bedroom window. As if that wasn't enough
you can view a look-alike of Tutankhamun's Tomb and, if you have
any imagination at all, feel the hairs on the back of your neck
stand up as you remember the curse that dogged the folks who were
at the opening of the original.
France
Just around the corner from Egypt you bump into the Eiffel Tower.
Well okay, not the real one, but apart from its size you would be
hard put to tell the difference. This is the Paris Las Vegas'
pièce de résistance, a half size exact replica of the Eiffel
Tower in the back garden. This happens to be my favourite of all
the incredible sights in Las Vegas, no doubt because I love Paris
and this replica is so real!
So as to confuse your senses further, just behind the tower
stands a copy of the Arc de Triomphe. Things are getting really
crazy. You book a holiday to Las Vegas in the USA and here you
are looking at the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe.
The hotel really pushes the illusion to its limit with its
built-in market place that comes with a ceiling painted to look
like the sky, the whole thing fashioned to look like a typical
French village.
USA
Yes, I know you're already in the USA, but how about a trip to
the east coast, just a block or two away? Located on Las Vegas
Blvd is the fantastic New York New York Hotel, the closest to the
Big Apple that I've ever been. The façade of this hotel is a
concoction of all the familiar sights from the real thing,
miniatures of the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire
State Building and so on, a complete composite of the New York
skyline.
Inside the hotel there is an unbelievable roller coaster ride
which travels in and out of the buildings. If you dare to venture
onto it you will be riding in small versions of New York's
chequered cabs. All through the hotel you will feel that you have
stepped from the streets of Las Vegas into the streets of New
York. Familiar names crop up as you walk around, Central Park,
Broadway: you truly could be forgiven for thinking that you had
been transported two and a half thousand miles east.
Italy
Take a virtual visit to Italy and experience the romance of
Venice at the Venetian Hotel. Just when you think that you have
seen it all this hotel knocks you back with yet another
astonishing display. This time it's a half mile ride on an
authentically modelled Venetian gondola complete with singing
gondolier. You are transported along an imitation Grand Canal,
(could there be such a thing?), passing under typical bridges,
one looking suspiciously like the Rialto to me. The ladies in
your party will enjoy the typically Italian shopping experience
as they meander through the Grand Canal shopping mall, gondolas
floating peacefully by.
We began with the idea that by travelling to Las Vegas for a
holiday you could get a taste of the best that many other
countries of the world could offer, albeit scaled down a little.
The best thing of all is that you can wander around and enjoy the
settings of these wonderful hotels without being a guest.
However, you might find that there is a charge for the use of
some of the facilities. And I hope you noticed that the words
casino and gambling haven't been mentioned at all until now!
There is lots of fun and entertainment on offer in this larger
than life location. I hope you will find the time to visit and
experience some of the magic for yourself.
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