This past weekend I got to go to Las Vegas for one of the most amazing weekends of my life. This trip was a birthday gift for my 22nd, and I got to take a much needed vacation after the last two years of BCIT hell. This was the second time I’ve been to Vegas and the first time I’ve been there post legal drinking age. And oh MAN was it a different experience.
Although neither of us enjoy alcohol regularly, we still had a drink here and there when it was necessary (at the pool club, at Hakkasan etc.) The great thing about traveling with someone who is equally as uninterested in getting wasted as you are, was that I never once felt pressured to drink. Which in my opinion makes the times I DO drink much more enjoyable.
We left on Friday to make our trek down to Seattle. We bought a flight departing from SEATAC airport because the prices were significantly cheaper flying domestic rather than leaving from YVR. That’s a tip for anybody traveling to the states from Vancouver. Usually Bellingham and Seattle has WAY cheaper flights if especially if your final destination is somewhere in the states.
We arrived in Vegas shortly before 12am and took an Uber to our hotel. We stayed at the MGM because his family has a hotel host there so we were able to enjoy a complimentary room as well as shows, food, and drinks.
The view from our hotel room
Our first full day, which was Saturday, was spent walking and exploring the strip. His family takes trips to vegas several times a year, so he acted as our tour guide for most of the trip.
We had a list of food places we wanted to try around Vegas and one of them was Gordon Ramsey burger. I won’t go into too much detail about the food in this post as I have a separate post dedicated to all the food places we tried, so make sure you check that post out.
Walking the strip was honestly not a stroll in the park as I had imagined. From just looking it seems like everything is quite close together and the hotels at the other side of the strip were just a few steps away. The reality of it is that the hotel properties were SO large that they actually take up entire blocks on their own. So of course each hotel looks like they are right beside each other, because they technically are. But the distance from the start of one to the end of another was a much larger distance than I had imagined.
Thankfully we dedicated almost a full day to exploring the different hotels, casinos, and shops along the way.
Apparently the Wynn hotel changes their decor quite regularly. During the weekend we were there, they featured a floral/nature set up which was absolutely stunning ?
One of my favourite hotels on the strip has definitely got to be the Venetian. Everything from the decor to the architecture was aesthetic GOALS. They even have a canal running throughout the inside of their shopping area as well as outside throughout the streetscape, where you can choose to ride a gondola on with your own personal singing gondolier.
Top: Aritzia | Skirt: Levis from Aritzia | Shoes: Steve Madden from Shoes.com
The last time that I was at this hotel I was probably 12 or 13, and everything was stunning and grandiose. Coming back here a decade later, and I was still in AWE at how amazing this place was. 
Saturday night I got to experience one of the best dinners I’ve ever had in my life at Stripsteak at the Mandalay Bay. Details will be on the food post. It was probably my favourite night of this trip because we had a (somewhat) relaxed evening which consisted of dinner and a show. Because of the length of our trip, we really wanted to milk it and fit as much as we could into the four day weekend. Although still a little crazy, our saturday night was the chillest of the weekend and filled with all of my favourite things.
We ate like kings and watched O by Cirque Du Soleil. Of the two Cirque Du Soleil shows that I watched this trip, O and Ka, O was definitely my favourite. Although both stages were amazing feats themselves, the O show with the giant tank was just breathtaking. I’ve seen three Cirque shows in my lifetime now, and it’s only fed my love for them more. 
Jacket: Mackage from Aritzia | Dress: Aritzia | Shoes: Aldo | Bag: Alexander Wang
Sunday we woke up slow and went downstairs to eat Wolfgang Puck. We had Wolfgang twice this trip because their Pizza was delectable. After our brunch we headed to the pool to try to get our tan on. We checked out Wet Republic which is the pool club at the MGM. We only had a couple of hours to spend by the pool before we had to start getting ready for our evening at the Billboard Music Awards so sadly we couldn’t stay and wait for Tiesto to come on stage.
We left Wet Republic about 30 minutes before we had to go so that we would atleast have that time to relax and lay by their regular pool area rather than stand around at Wet Republic. 
The Billboard Music Awards was such a cool thing that we got to experience this trip. Originally the plan was we would watch the Jabbawockeez on Sunday night instead. However, last minute his hotel host told us he had extra tickets so we changed our plans and headed to T-Mobile Arena.
It was equally as weird as it was a cool experience because the show was mainly tailored to the fact that it was going to be aired internationally. Being there at the arena we got to see the behind-the-scenes version of what we usually see on TV which included all the stage changes, commerical intermissions, and even the empty stage when they showcase artists performing at other areas in Vegas.
The most amazing moment of the entire award show was definitely when Celine Dion performed her hit song “My Heart Will Go On” in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the infamous movie, The Titanic. I think of all of the shows and stars that I got to see in Vegas, Celine Dion was the single most EPIC thing I’ve seen in a long time.
This just happened. My life is complete. You are a LEGEND @celinedion pic.twitter.com/JMOwihqg8v
— Angel Zheng (@angelzhng) May 22, 2017
Top: Aritzia | Skirt: H&M
Monday was our last day in Vegas and so we made it our shopping day! We visited The North Premium outlets and The Fashion Show Mall. We came back to MGM for dinner and had the simplest but tastiest meal at Hakkasan.
This was one of the meals that I was the most excited for because of how highly he spoke of the food there. After dinner we headed straight to watch our last show of the trip, Ka by Cirque Du Soleil, and then to the airport to catch our 10 pm flight. 
Las Vegas has been one of my most loved trips yet not only because of all of the adventures that I had there, but also because of the company. Albeit short, I got to see a face of Vegas, that I may not have been able to see if I were traveling with someone else, which made me fall in love with the city. It seems that each time I travel as an adult, I seem to have better and better experiences every time.
I have another short weekend roadtrip planned soon so make sure you keep your eyes peeled for that.
And don’t forget to check out my Vegas Vlog!
More soon,
