My first trip within the U.S. was to Las Vegas, Nevada. Actually, it was a waste of time, although this was the first city where I spent more than a night (as I had in New York). At first I kind of liked it.
Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Vegas” (as the Americans say) is uniquely situated. From the air—desert. One hour left. More desert. 30 minutes as preparation for landing is announced. But where? Everywhere, desert. And great turbulence to boot! The plane screeches, shakes – how it didn’t come apart already I’ll never understand. Alas, heading toward landing and I’m freaking out with the thought of setting down in dunes! Is that Sudan?
Suddenly, the city appears. At first—and typical for American cities—garbage dumps and warehouses. Then, awesome beauty. Vegas, where people come to from everywhere in America and the world to blow a few million bucks in an evening.
But Vegas in not N.Y. That’s for sure. The atmosphere is mellow, child-like in its devil-may-care attitude. No hurrying here (and why? You lost a ton, so relax!), with everyone almost suspiciously polite. Bus drivers can’t stop babbling with their passengers. Love to joke. And it’s perfectly normal for them to stop in the middle of the road and speak with a passer-by. Give him directions. Why not? Passengers are good with this. On my very first day, for example, I was accompanied out of the bus by the driver who wanted to give me directions, while the passengers waited and smiled. Many drivers are females.
In general, Vegas is one big street (narrow side streets run off of it), with enormous hotels hunched over on both sides. Traffic into it gets bottled-up. What more is there to say? That’s it. On the evening of my second day in Vegas I left for L.A. While it’s beautiful, Vegas isn’t for me: To laid-back and boring.
