After a nap and a jacuzzi i felt energized and went up the tower to watch the sunset. Next on the list was seeing the singing fountains of the Bellagio, and more night pictures.

 A scary and stressful first day was followed by a great second, and my final impressions of Vegas where more than positive, staying in a hotel in Vegas is definitely a great experience, not to mention the great opportunities for some great pictures!

The next morning i woke up to a beautiful and sunny day, the streets where full with people, it was a total contrast to what i saw the previous night. As it turns out Monday's in Las Vegas are usually like that, people go there towards the end of the week since most of the shows are during the weekend. That of course reflects on the prices of the hotels. They are cheaper in the beginning of the week and very expensive at the end.

  I liked that new face of Vegas, it felt welcoming and relaxing. My plan for the day was to get to the end of the "Strip", since i wasn't able to figure out the public transport system i had to walk the entire strip. My saving grace was that an officer showed me how to buy a card, and i took the bus on the way back to the "Stratosphere"

I arrived at the hotel an hour early for the check-in, and i asked the guy at the reception if he can arrange for me to check-in before that since i was very tired from the long walk. He offered me an upgrade for my 40$ reservation of 20$ and a total of 60$ for a brand new room on the last floor of the hotel with a king size bed, big screen tv, great view and wait for it...a jacuzzi. So i gladly accepted. Later i found out that my room card- gave me free access to the tower(the tallest building in Vegas), free pool and fitness entrance, fancy that!

Las Vegas

On the day i had to begin my journey to Las Vegas, winter was still at large at "The Grand Canyon". I made my way through the forest and took the shuttle to Flagstaff. By the time i got off at the Amtrak station the snow fall had evolved into a full blown blizzard, which didn't help me a lot since i had to walk all the way to the Grey Hound station. After i got there i had to wait at least 5 minutes until the lady at the desk decided to pay any attention to me.
   The small waiting room was full of all kinds of people. I heard from one of the bus drivers that the highway was closed yesterday due to the snow storm, and a few buses got turned back, so it turned out that the people in the waiting room have been there since 11pm last night...The good news where that the other highway leading to Vegas was open.
   After a few hours of waiting i finally boarded the bus, and let me tell you...it was a MESS! Grease stains and chewing gum everywhere, and i thought that some of the old buses in Bulgaria where bad. At least there was nobody in the seat next to me so it turned out a little better than expected.
The whole trip took a little more than 5 hours, and i was in Vegas at around 8-30pm. At that point and time a voice in my head said: "You don't need a taxi! You should walk! It's Vegas, at night it should be full of people!" So i said to myself why not?! And took off towards the "Strip" carrying my backpack full of equipment worth around 6500$...
   Immediately i regretted my decision, as the more i walked i saw more closed and bankrupted businesses, dark alleys and not a living soul for miles. I sped up and after around 45minutes of walking(running) i was at the "Stratosphere Hotel & Casino" where i had a room reservation, but for the next night. The view didn't change much on the "Strip", closed casino's and empty building lots, so i decided to catch my breath and warm up in the McDonalds nearby. The boy at the counter was looking at me with his eyes wide open, because i was wearing gloves and a winter hat, then he said to me: " Man you look like you've been through a blizzard!" and i responded: " You are pretty close, i walked all the way form the Grey Hound station", at which he replied that i was completely mental to do that.
  My goal for the night was getting to the Bellagio Casino, and playing some Texas Hold'em Poker, which i did after another 5km walk. I didn't win any money but the experience was well worth it. Tired and cold i checked in a "Travel Lodge" and went to bed.