"America's Playground," Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

I have to admit, I’ve been to a lot of places that people have spoken highly about, but there are very few that actually live up to the expectation and hype—Las Vegas is certainly one that lives up to both!

Admittedly, before going in, I was a bit incredulous over the actual scale of Vegas’ spectacle; thinking it would easily compare to something I’ve already seen before. Boy, was I wrong!

If you’ve ever played Final Fantasy 7, you’ll remember the Gold Saucer*; a highly renowned and exclusive playground with one sole purpose: provide entertainment. Las Vegas is that and more. Whether you’re looking to catch an unbelievably spectacular show; shop till you drop; party till the wee-hours of the morning; eat some really delectable food; or, of course, gamble till you make it big or go broke, Vegas has got you covered.

Sadly, this isn’t a place you can actually tackle in a mere 3.5 days (like I had initially hoped), so I’ll definitely have to go back! Though this 6.8 kilometre strip may sound relatively small (some people run 10 kilometres as a morning workout, to put this into perspective), there’s just so much jam packed in this relatively small stretch that you’ll need a larger number of days (not to mention a larger number of dollars in your bank account) to soak everything in—and that doesn’t even include the surrounding attractions and jaw-dropping landscapes which you can also go visit. (Again, this place naturally calls for a few return-trips!)

Whether you’re a decadent traveller (stick to the strip) or a landscape-loving backpacker (Arizona and the Hoover Dam might be your jam), I think Vegas and its surrounding parts have something to offer for everyone!

All that being said, Las Vegas is definitely now up there amongst my top “must see” cities list, which also includes: Hong Kong, Singapore and New York. But who’s number one? Well, it was Hong Kong; then it became Singapore; then New York took over; and, all things considered, it’s definitely now Las Vegas! Will it stay there? We’ll see after I visit a few more “bucket list” cities…

…the next couple of places on my list to compare: South Korea and Dubai!

-never stop exploring (especially now that COVID is basically over and we can head back out again).