It's still Valentine's Day, but a lot has changed since we got up this morning.
From temples to this :)
it's a bit of a culture shock!!!
Our 11 hr flight on Korean Air was great, (not sure what's wrong with me but there's no photos of food LOL) Ate kimchi which was good, watched movies, tried to sleep but didn't get much, but we were able to move around easily as we were in two seats, window and aisle.
Customs at LAX went smoothly, although different since the last trip having the photo recognition and finger prints taken, but I guess that's something you have to expect in this day and age unfortunately. For those of you who have been to LAX you know that for such a large airport with so many terminals that there's not a lot to do and we worked out that we had five hours to kill before we had to be back on a plane and we weren't going to sit at the airport for that. One thing I did like was that they have volunteers (I think) who give information and offer suggestions for things to do and I have to say thanks to the gentleman who suggested we spend $2 for a bus ticket to Santa Monica Pier. OMG I loved Japan
but I realised how much I missed sea air (apart from the ferry trip to Miyajima we weren't near the sea and before our trip away I was at the beach at least once a week, and there is just something about salty air and crashing waves) Part of me wanted to dive right on in but not today.
One thing we did notice (apart from the fact that we were walking around in t-shirts when we got here and yesterday had been in the snow) was how LOUD everyone is and it's a bit of a shock to the system. I love the fact that people don't talk on their mobiles in Japan on public transport, you get to the States and you can hear every conversation and there were a couple of doozies :) Another thing we noticed that in Japan they have smoking areas on the street, you're not allowed to smoke walking down the street, and when you are having to dodge cigarettes you wish the same thing happened here (and back home in Oz)
We had fun walking down the Pier, ate a great burger but I couldn't get the malted milkshake I wanted because not all the shops were open, but that's okay 'cos I'm sure I'll have one or two before we leave.
Back at the airport we are not thrilled to find out that our one hour flight to Vegas has been delayed by 2.5hrs (if we had known that earlier we could have stayed at the beach for longer) Samara got comfortable and managed to snooze, but I didn't until we were on the plane. I must have been tired because I've never fallen asleep at take off before but the sun was in my eyes as we were on the runway and I shut them, next thing I know is I'm waking up as we are about to land in Vegas.
We grabbed a cab remembering to tell the driver to go via the tunnel as we had heard that the five minute trip can be extended by cabbies wanting a bigger fare, a lot of unsuspecting tourists wouldn't know any different. We chose the Excalibur to stay at because it's cheap :) and we're happy with our room 'cos it's huge and looks out at the NY NY and although we are both knackered after a very very long Valentines day we can't go to bed without just a little taste of what Vegas has to offer.
After dropping off our bags, cleaning teeth and spraying perfume (we decided a shower could wait an hour because once we stop we're done for the night) we hit the Strip, well one tiny section of it the area around our hotel, so we took a look at the MGM, Excalibur and NY NY, and grabbed a little snack for dinner. We both tried our luck at the pokies, $5 was enough,(Samara won $20, I lost mine but that's okay) I don't get the gambling bug, it bores me and I'm too tight with my money, and the only thing that interests me is Texas Hold 'Em, and I don't have enough money to play that :). I know people come to Vegas to gamble, but we're here for the shows, and to go to the Grand Canyon, (and hopefully if I read my email right that we get to go to Bryce Canyon too :) but I'm too tired so I'll check it in the morning)
My bed is the only thing I'm interested in at the moment, and with nothing planned for the morning the only thing I plan is to have my first lie in in two weeks :)