Today I’ve been ruminating some more about this place. The conclusion is that I really understand it/them as little as I did when I first arrived. The experience is a series of contradictions and as such I vascillate between a kind of growing affection and growing exasperation.
Today I decided to start late because I was tired after yesterdays adventures. When I eventually got going it was around 10. I went to find some brekky but nothing really suits. I had an orange juice and decided to stuff it and have coffee and eggs as well. This time I didn’t get charged at all for the coffee…confusing. Was that a mistake or is it what they do?? I don’t know.
I then read up on whether I should be tipping the hotel staff. Apparently I should be leaving between $5 and $10 /day in the room….shit. They’re definitely going to leave a horses head in my bed at this rate. So I came back up to my room and left $20. The room service person came while I was there and I said to him I wasn’t sure what to do but I’d left a tip for him. What happens…I come back this afternoon and the tip is still sitting there. Again, I’m confused.
I went and looked at the pool. Should I lounge about by the pool?? But its 111F….what’s that? 40 something surely. Is it too hot? There was a lovely bloke guarding the entrance to the pool who encouraged me to sully forth but to stay hydrated!! But there were also things to tick on the list of things to tick so I decided to plunge on. Another Uber…you absolutely cannot walk anywhere. At least I can’t. This time it was off to what I’d heard was the doozy of them all, Caesars Palace.
So huge, so glitzy. Every brand name was there, every famous Chef known to man. Restaurants, glitzy shops, little side shows and of course the pokies and card tables everywhere you look. 3 hours just to wander around it. Full of people doing the same. Such a transitory population I’ve never seen before, Did I just pay $7 ($10) for a small bottle of water, yes I did but it won’t happen again!!
Back to the safety of my room around 3pm today and holed up to gather my thoughts. Honestly people are so friendly and everyone goes out of their way to be helpful but there is always that sense that its a bit hollow. Everything, absolutely everything is geared to keeping you in the casinos.
Enough for today, think I’ll go down for my quick happy hour glass of wine then batten down for the night. 6am pick up tomorrow morning for the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam!!