It is not as if I am so excited about heading home that I am counting or anything silly like that, but it is only 5 days, 4 hours, 9 minutes until my flight departs from Mumbai to Las Vegas! (Dear Mom, please add another 30 hours worth of flight time, 3 hours of layover, an hour for customs and a few minutes for lost baggage while calculating how long it is until you finally see me.)
Because I cannot keep my mind off anything else…this Friday it is all about Vegas and what you probably did not know about the city of Sin.

Things You Probably Did Not Know About Las Vegas

1. To my own surprise, I have been told 3 times this month ‘I didn’t know anyone actually lived in Las Vegas’. I try my best not to chuckle and ask how all the hospitality workers come from California or Arizona everyday to work, but instead choose to respond with the typical ‘Yup, over 2 million of us”.

2. Most of the Las Vegas strip is not actually in Las Vegas, but in the unincorporated Township of Paradise, Nevada. My license says Henderson, Nevada not Las Vegas. To keep it simple, we all just stick to Las Vegas.

3. It snows! The chilly weather and half an hour drive to Mount Charleston make skiing, snowboarding and sledding more than possible during the winter. Don’t worry about what everyone will do once Jack Frost hibernates and the snow melts off the mountains. Lucky for the residents of Las Vegas, spring and summer means flooding in masses to Lake Mead for water-skiing, wake-boarding and soaking up the sun.

4. Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is located 15 miles outside of Las Vegas and is visited by over 1 million people a year. Sadly, most visitors do not make it past the gambling, pools parties, clubs, and general debauchery and will miss out on this absolute gem. From the perfect backdrop for photography to rock climbing and rappelling, Red Rock offers it all.

5. Las Vegas does not have any professional sports team due to the gambling. Thank goodness the UNLV Rebels are stepping their game up this year in college basketball, so we can cheer with pride!

And how about something you probably did know about Las Vegas…. You can take your drinks to-go! Feel free to walk around with open containers on the Las Vegas Strip with no issues.