I caught the greyhound bus from LA to Las Vegas and it took about 7 hours. Most of the journey was through the desert, so it was just miles and miles of dry land that we passed. The sun set just before we reached Las Vegas and the colours of the sky were beautiful over the desert land. I was pleased that it was dark when we arrived because all the lights were on and I could see Vegas as it was meant to be - bright lights, big city! I made my way to my hotel on the strip and spent my first evening in the confines of my room. I was in heaven. For the first time in 9 months I was in a proper hotel room by myself, with a king size bed, a bath and a TV - what more did I want? The casino was just downstairs but that could wait until the morning as could everything else. I must say by this time, I was failry exhausted and I slept well in Vegas (one night I even slept for 12 hours)! I think this was because most nights in a hostel you don't have a solid night's sleep because there is always someone coming and going. Here, I had a room to myself with really dark curtains, nothing was going to disturb me!

Unfortunately, it was freezing cold in Las Vegas - it was about 10 degrees celcius and very windy. The wind having come down from Chicago etc where the storms had been. It was just a bit too cold for my liking considering I had only one jumper but with just 3 more days to go, I was just going to have to grin adn bear it.

The casino I was in had free table lessons in the mornings and I learnt how to play Blackjack, Craps adn Roulette. I am a big Blackjack fan and actually won some money playing it. I also managed to play for quite a few hours on just a small amount of money so I am looking forward to hitting the casinos in South Africa and giving Blackjack a go there too. I played the slots but only briefly as I have found a new love in Blackjack :-) Yes, I know, I sound like I could become addicted to the game but after my next holiday there won't really be much time to play.....It's also because the hotel I was at was the only one to offer $3 minimum on Blackjack - all the other hotels were more expensive and it was nice to be able to start betting low being a beginner and all.

I took the bus up and down the strip venturing into the different hotels and looking around the casinos. They all differ so much in appearance as each is set up under a different theme. They all offer buffets for breakfast, lunch and dinner and these can be good value, but if you get sick of stuffing your face that way they all offer restaurants and deli's too. The Mirage, which is one of the fancier hotels, has a volcano show each night. There is a huge volcano outside the hotel, surrounded by a waterfall, which erupts and shoots fire. The Bellagio which was made famous from 'Oceans 11' puts on a fountain show every 15 minutes to music and it is absolutely beautiful to watch. Inside the Venetian hotel the roof is painted as the sky so it is nice and light inside and you can take a trip on a gondola along a 'river'. Inside the Circus Circus you can watch a free acrobatics show every hour. Also, at each hotel you can go watch famous shows but unfortunately I did not do this as I had limited time (and I had left the bookings until too late). Downtown in Freemont Street there is a llight show on the ceiling of the promenade each night. While I was waiting for this to come on, there was a live performance being filmed - the US artist similar to David Blaine.

Vegas was a fantastic city in which to end my travels, I just wish I had been there with someone else as it would have been fun to share the experience. I definitely recommend it as a destination but if you're going for a week (I was only there for 3 days) tkae a lot of money and catch lots of shows, try the different buffets at the different casinos and if you want to learn the table games, chat to your hotel about it as they can be more fun than the slots.

I had a 10 hour journey to the UK from Las Vegas.... and I couldn't beleive it had all come to an end.... but I was also pleased to say I had done it!