Friday June 10th

After showering, I left the hostel at 7am to grab a quick breakfast, as I had a 4.5 hour bus ride ahead of me to New York. I checked out of the hostel without waking my dormmate – she had told me the night before that she was catching a 7:30 bus to New York, but maybe she meant 7:30pm as she had made no signs of stirring by the time I’d left.

Being the tightwad backpacker that I’ve become, I walked to the metro and took a train to Union Station, rather than a taxi as I could of. I arrived with plenty of time to spare but the bus depot was difficult to find. After a few laps of the station, I happened upon a directory which showed the bus departure location – well and truly hidden up several set of stairs. There was a large queue of people for the bus, with every departure (every half hour, 24 hours a day) sold out for the day.


The bus was really well equipped – plenty of leg room; free wi-fi; even power outlets at each set. The 4.5 hour trip passed quickly as I played on my laptop, and we pulled into New York City just after 1pm. Thanks to the free wi-fi, I’d written down walking instructions to the hotel – 12 blocks north and 5 blocks east of the bus drop-off location. The walk didn’t take too long (apparently, 16 blocks in New York is equivalent to one mile), and I arrived at the grand old Roosevelt Hotel at about 1:40pm. It was too early to check-in (check-in was at 3pm), so I stored my bags whilst I waited for Amy to arrive (we had scheduled to meet at 2pm in the lobby).


Just after 2pm, Amy walked in with a mountain of shopping bags. She had arrived in New York the day before, and had already headed out to explore the local shopping (more on that soon!) First things first though – we were starving. The closest place was an Irish pub (which seem to be located on every street corner), where we enjoyed magnificent bowls of French onion soup for only $6 – a good start to the trip!


By the time we finished lunch it was check-in time, so we retrieved our bags and went up to our room … which was tiny! It consisted of a queen bed with very little room to manoeuvre around it, and a tiny little bathroom. New York real estate is expensive I guess!


We weren’t in New York to stay in our hotel room though: we were there to see the Backstreet Boys – and shop!! Exiting the hotel, we made our way down to Times Square, which was only a few blocks away. “On your marks, get set: go” – let the shopping begin! Sharyn had told me about a 4 storey Forever 21 store at Times Square, so we made a beeline there (I think we spent 1.5 hours in it!) I emerged triumphant with 4 items, whilst Amy purchased a few dresses at H&M (which always looks like a bomb has hit it!) Also on Times Square was the 3 storey M&M World and the Hershey’s store, which had the newly released aerated Hershey’s Kisses – yum!

Everywhere you looked, there were a hundred more stores to visit; famous restaurants or sights; and billboards advertising Broadway shows. We really were in New York!! I’d instantly fallen in love – this was my kind of city!

As the sun set over Manhattan, the lights in Times Square started to twinkle, and the New York of postcards emerged. We purchased tickets to see a comedy show the next night, starring comedians best known from the Letterman Show, and also bought the required ‘I Love New York’ t-shirts from one of the numerous souvenir stores. It was close to 11pm by the time we made our way back to the hotel, laden down with bags. This would be a fun (expensive?) few days!

With the heat as bad as yesterday, I was taking no chances and took the metro out to Arlington Cemetery. Arlington Cemetery is an American War cemetery, with the best known tomb being that of J.F.K. At first, I wandered through random graves, taking in the little aspects – the number of stars at the top (representing the rank of a general killed); the age of death; the war fought. The number of gravestones is staggering, as is the size of the cemetery – it’s just a continuous set of rolling hills and white tombstones.


J.F.K.’s tombstone lies towards the back of the cemetery – a simple plaque lying on the ground, next to two of his children’s and his wife, Grace’s. A few hundred metres away lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is under constant guard by a member of the Armed Forces. I watched the changing of the guard take place here, as it takes place every half an hour, and felt sorry for the soldier (who was decked out in full dress uniform) – it was 40 degrees! The Americans really do pomp and ceremony well though.


Next stop was Embassy Row, which began at Dupont Circle on Massachusetts Avenue. Washington D.C. has the most number of embassies in the world, and they are all extraordinarily beautiful buildings. There were some really random countries as well – Togo; Madagascar; Malawi; whilst South Korea had three buildings! I couldn’t find the Australian embassy – what a shame, as I’d really hoped to run into Kim Beazley (not!) who is the Australian ambassador to the USA. One thing I found of interest was a mosque at the end of the embassy strip, with the flags of Muslim nations flying in the front.


Although it was earlier than I had planned to come back to the hostel, it was too hot to remain outside and continue sightseeing. Back at the hostel I watched ‘Made of Honour’ with Patrick Dempsey (a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy); caught up on my blog and did my laundry.


At 6pm, all dressed up, I had some dinner and then headed to the Verizon Centre for … the Glee concert! Although it started at 7:30, the venue didn’t open until 6:30, and there was a large queue to get inside. Luckily, it moved quickly and I was inside soon enough.


I had a good seat – not on the floor but only slightly elevated from the stage, and had a clear view of the performers. First up was a dance troupe, who performed crazy stunts on stage for twenty minutes, and then it was what we were all waiting for – Glee! It kickstarted with a message from ‘Mr Schu’ and the evil Jane Lynch via video-screen, before the whole gang appeared on stage for ‘Don’t Stop Believing’, their big hit from Season 1.


Whilst there was no special guest appearance from either Matthew Morrison or Gwyneth Paltrow, each cast member had their time to shine. ‘Kurt’ performed a rousing rendition of Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’, backed up by Heather Morris who was actually a back-up dancer for Beyonce. Heather performed Britney’s ‘I’m a Slave For You’, dressed as per Britney’s film clip in a tiny green bikini-like outfit. Artie made it out of his wheelchair to perform ‘Safety Dance’, and the boys rocked out to Rebecca Black’s ‘Friday’, which had become such a cult hit (even Katy Perry does a version of it during her concerts!)


After an hour and a half of performing, the lights came down on the show. Feeling particularly ‘Gleeky’, I stopped by the retail outlet on my way out and purchased an ‘I Like Boys’ shirt (unless you’re a Gleek, you won’t get the significance). It was raining slightly as I walked back to the hostel, but the rain was a welcome relief to the hot weather. Back at the hostel, I printed off my bus reservation for tomorrow and then fell into bed, still singing Glee songs to myself. New York tomorrow

Wednesday June 8th

With only two of us in the dorm, I had one of the best sleeps I’ve had on this trip. I had scheduled myself to awake at 7am but didn’t get up until 8am, but ultimately it didn’t matter. My dorm mate was still asleep when I left the room, having to pack up and leave my bag at reception as I needed to change rooms that afternoon.

At breakfast, I saw an absolutely horrifying sight. You know how you see the pictures in the Guinness Book of Records of the people with fingernails a metre long, coiled round and round? Well, there was a lady who had those horrifyingly long nails! She wasn’t a bum either – she was dressed professionally for a day of work! Could you imagine living with that?

After breakfast (and the purchase of water bottle #1), it was off to the National Mall for my long day of adventuring. Obviously the Washington DC weather bureau (or God) didn’t get the memo, because it was hot. 100 degrees Fahrenheit hot (40 degrees Celsius), and it only got hotter as the day progressed. The first stop was the White House, a tie with the US Capitol as the most memorable building in Washington D.C. From the front, it wasn’t too imposing, although I’m sure there is far more to the building than meets the eye. After yesterday’s tour of the International Spy Museum, I was on the lookout everywhere for undercover agents and secret service, of which there were plenty in plain sight.


From 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, I walked past the US Treasury (an absolutely massive building!) to the rear of the White House, which was a little more interesting than the front but still not as imposing as the movies make out. Whilst here, the first of several motorcades came blaring past – with only five cars in the cavalcade, I don’t think it was the president – maybe Joe Biden? Next was the Washington Monument, a stone building that towers over Washington like an Egyptian Obelisk.


Dying from heat, I entered into the Museum of American History for a cool-down. This was a really cool and interactive museum based on American history (duh!) and culture, with regularly rotating displays. The red ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz were on display on the third floor, whilst the second floor house the top hat Abraham Lincoln was wearing when he was shot. My favourite exhibition though was the First Ladies – a display of the gowns and accessories they wore to the inauguration balls. Michelle Obama’s Jason Wu dress was on display, as were dresses from Martha Washington and the most gorgeous flapper dress I’ve ever seen!


At midday, I decided to tackle the heat again, and armed with drink bottle #3 I made my way to the World War II Memorial. On the inset was a fountain and water feature, whilst flanking it were columns, each inscribed with a state of the United States of America. Near the WWII Memorial were several other war memorials, including those dedicated to the Vietnam and Korean Wars.


Set at the end of the Mall, nearing the border with Virginia, is the Lincoln Memorial. Inside is the well-known and imposing statue of a sitting Abraham Lincoln, and the two opposing walls house the words of his Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural Address, his two most famous speeches. This was definitely my favourite part of Washington D.C. so far.


After completing the loop of the Washington Mall, it was time for lunch. It was so nice to be out of the heat, which was really quite dangerous now. Although I had most of the National Mall to continue, I just couldn’t bear to be out in the heat any longer, and headed back to the hostel via the National Archives. I wanted to see the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights but the line-up was too long, so it was back to the hostel for a few hours inside. Checking into my new room, I’d actually been allocated a private room to share with one other person as the dorms were fully booked – score for me!


At 4:30pm I ventured outdoors again, hoping it would be cooler. It wasn’t. I dragged myself down via Chinatown to see the US Capitol. I was quite surprised to find you could walk on its lawn, right up to the steps! From there, I walked down to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, as my sources told me it was open until 7:30 tonight. It wasn’t. It was too hot to do any more exploring, so I walked to the nearest Metro station, which happened to be Union Station. After eating dinner, I hopped the metro (all 4 minutes of it) back to the hostel, and watched Community on my laptop in the air-conditioning.

Tuesday June 7th

Up early, I was glad to leave the hostel, if not Boston – there was just a bad vibe about my dorm room and dorm mates. After dressing and checking out, I walked across to the metro station and made my way to the airport. Although the trip sounds difficult (walk to the metro; catch red line 4 stops; transfer to blue line and go 4 stops; catch shuttle bus from metro station to airport), in reality the trip was very simple, quick, and cheap.

As I checked into the flight, I noticed a large group of American soldiers farewelling their loved ones – off to Afghanistan I assume? With another Australian death in Afghanistan – this time, a 23 year old on his second day of deployment – my thoughts are with Mark quite often, and seeing the soldiers make me a little teary. He will be fine though!!

The flight to Washington DC was on a mini plane (like the Dash 8 that fly between Canberra and Sydney) and took just over an hour. Again, I took public transport into Washington DC – for only $1.85, it took me almost directly to the hostel, and was probably speedier than catching a shuttle bus or taxi (and obviously a lot cheaper!)

I was able to check into my room slightly before check-in time. I’d booked a premium dorm which meant only 4 beds, and I was the first one in – only joined by one other person that night. After sharing with 3, 5, 7 and even 23 (yep, in Bangkok) people, having one person is a luxury! The room was also spacious and clean, and the hostel had plenty of lounging areas with an excellent wi-fi connection, so I was stoked.

Although the hostel was located only blocks from the National Mall, I wanted to keep the surprise until tomorrow, so I headed the opposite direction to explore the rest of the city. I was instantly in love with Washington D.C. – just when Boston had laid a hand on the title of best city in the world, Washington D.C. makes a late play for the title! Everywhere you looked there were historic buildings of national significance – the Treasury Building; the building where Abraham Lincoln was shot; Smithsonian Museums – and one of the great things about D.C. is that almost everything is free!


The one thing that isn’t free is the International Spy Museum, which the guidebook gave raving reviews about, but when I stumbled upon it I decided to pay the admission fee of $18 and visit. It was a look at spies over the centuries – their tools (i.e. rectal kits, shoe phones); techniques (i.e. disguises); and famous spies over history. It was very interactive as well – we even had to memorise a new identity at the start and had to answer questions about our new identity throughout the visit. I was quite fascinated by the historic look of spies – for example, many people believe that William Shakespeare’s books were works of codes and Machiavelli was a famous code maker; and there were large sections devoted to the codes used in the World Wars. I left the museum thinking about applying to ASIO – wouldn’t travelling the world as a blonde backpacker be a great disguise? I could make my secret drops at pop concerts around the world!


From the Spy Museum, I headed south (I think?) and found the National Archives, which holds the original Declaration of Independence, and added that to my list of things to see tomorrow. It is directly opposite the FBI Headquarters, which unfortunately had stopped running their tours whilst re-development occurs – I would love to have seen Booth (from Bones) or the Criminal Minds gang! (Yes, I do realise these are fictional characters on TV shows ….)


Back at the hostel, I spent a few hours on the internet uploading photos; making arrangements to get to New York on Friday; buying a new Glee ticket; and making my plans for tomorrow. It was 11pm by the time I fell asleep, and I needed my beauty sleep – it was to be a long day tomorrow!

Monday June 6th

Today my plan was to follow the Freedom Trail across Boston. After oatmeal for breakfast at McDonalds, I hopped the train to Park Station, which was the starting point for the trail. I grabbed a map and then followed the signs to the first point. Everywhere I turned, there were men and women dressed as historic characters taking tourists (mostly school kids) on walking tours of the trail. Without a guide, the trail became nothing more than a group of buildings, so I started veering off track.


The first off track moment came at Quincy Market, an outdoor shopping community. I wasn’t here to shop, but I did browse the coolest Christmas store I have ever seen. It was two floors and had Christmas ornaments for everything you could imagine – they’d even set-up a tree in a shoe addict theme!


I made my way across to the Harbour, where I found ‘Sargent’s Wharf’, and across the bridge to more sights on the Freedom Trail. It was easier to follow now as there was red paint marked on the footpath and the road. On my way back into town was TD Stadium. This was of interest for two reasons, one being that it was where the Glee concert was supposed to have taken place tonight, and two being it was the place where the third game of the Stanley Cup play-offs was taking place tonight against Vancouver (go Canucks!!)


I made my way back to Fenuil Hall, which was located inside Quincy Market. It comprised 40 ‘street-carts’ – pizza, pretzels, bagels, brownies – you name it! After much debate – and steering clear of the tempting brownies – I had a bagel for lunch, before checking out the souvenir stores below (there was even a ‘Cheers’ store, as the original bar that Cheers was based on is located in Boston, very much a tourist trap now).


Having now done the Freedom Trail, however bad a job it may have been, I spent some time exploring the Boston CBD – including ducking into a H&M store. After a few hours of R&R in the hostel, it was time for dinner. There weren’t a lot of options around the hostel but there was a food court down the road, which I made a beeline for. After a few bites of a terrible Chinese meal, I remembered there was a Pinkberry store nearby. Pinkberry is a new addiction after first tasting it in Los Angeles (although I haven’t actually found another store up until now) of frozen yoghurt, topped with whatever toppings you like. Small salted caramel frozen yoghurt with hazelnut praline and yoghurt chips, coming right up!


The hostel didn’t have a TV room to watch the hockey, so I followed it on my laptop. Just as well, as the Canucks went down 8-1. Lucky it’s a best of 7!

Sunday June 5th

As I’d crashed after arriving at the hostel last night, I had a few chores to do before my 10:30am tour of Harvard – the primary one being to get money out! I’d given every spare cent to the shuttle driver last night (and still hadn’t had enough for a tip) so an ATM was the first stop.


After printing out my tour ticket online, I caught the ‘T’ (public transport) down to Harvard. As it was still only 9:30am, I had an hour in which to walk around the area. Harvard University is actually located in Cambridge, and the city and the university enjoy a fierce rivalry. On my self-led tour, I walked past an ex-house of George Washington’s; the Kennedy Law Centre; and the old women’s college.


At 10:30, I joined about 50 other people on a ‘Hahvahd’ Tour – so called because Bostonians don’t pronounce their ‘r’s’. Our tour guide was a third year religious studies major – but don’t hold that again him, as he was hysterical. Over the course of 70 minutes, he told us numerous fascinating stories about the college (a couple: the night before exams start, thousands of students line up outside the John Harvard statue and yell to relieve tension - whilst naked!; a 1911 graduate had a library dedicated to his honour of 1915, merely 4 years after graduation – because he died on the Titanic, trying to rescue a precious book, etc etc). We saw the largest library, which apparently has 5 miles of book shelves; the dormitory window where Tommy Lee Jones and Al Gore shared a room as freshmen; the John Harvard statue, known as the statue of 3 lies (he wasn’t the founder of Harvard; it’s not his impression; and the year of foundation is incorrect).


Harvard really is a beautiful University, and very much upper class. The buildings are all red brick, with some dating back to the 17th century. I loved it so much I was keen to join up – they accept 1200 undergraduates a year, and a year’s tuition, board and food is about $54,000 (hmm … might need a scholarship!)


On completion of the tour, I headed to the largest souvenir store, known as the Harvard Co-Op, for some shopping. I’d always wanted a Harvard sweatshirt (hoodie), although that’s not what I ended up buying. I walked out with a book on Harvard’s history, a t-shirt, water bottle, magnet, key-ring, and postcards!


After lunch at a hip Harvard hang-out (see, I fit in here already!), I took the T back to the hostel. I got off one stop early and enjoyed a walk in the sunshine, along one of the many beautiful streets here. There were heaps of people on the street, making their way to Fenway Park (home of the Boston Red Sox, baseball team). I arrived back at the hostel to do some laundry – very much needed! – and play on my laptop.

The Hangover 2 was playing at 6:50pm at the nearby cinema, and I decided to head out at 4:30 for a few more hours of sightseeing. I went in the complete opposite direction of the cinema – on purpose of course! – and ended up finding the main ‘cool strip’ of Boston. It had numerous restaurants, shops and theatres on it, so it filled in my time adequately.


At 6pm, I walked back in the opposite direction, and ended up finding Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. Did you know that baseball has the most number of games per year of any of the major sports? They play six times a week! I think a match must have just finished as there were people in Red Sox shirts and caps streaming out and into the pubs. Just past the park was the cinema, which was a proper cinema complex but the movie theatre itself was tiny! Every seat was taken, and the crowd laughed ferociously the whole way through – the movie was hysterical! I don’t know if I really needed to see a lady-boy up close and personal like that though …

I walked back to the hostel just as it went dark, grabbing Subway on the way (I hope they have flatbread in Australia as well – I’m addicted to it here!) After some more blogging, I was asleep at about 11pm.

Saturday June 4th


The accommodation in Niagara Falls might not be that great, but I was able to get in some great sleep (maybe because it’s dark and slightly chilly?) After waking at 8:30am, I headed out for breakfast before returning to the hostel to pack and check the internet. With the express airport bus scheduled to leave at 11:05am, I walked the kilometre to the bus station with all my gear, arriving shortly before the sky opened and it started pouring.

I’d arrived with plenty of time to spare, which wasn’t a good thing. The bus centre seemed to be a hive of ‘gang’ activity, with drunk (and most likely high) black guys hanging around the front meeting with their dealers, and even the most normal looking person continually muttering about jail time and how they wouldn’t let them take him, making me concerned about a possible shoot-out …

11:05am came and went; at about 11:20 a guy approached me, asking me where I was from and where I was going. When I said I was waiting for the airport express, he said, “Oh, that already left!” What!!!! There had been no bus with the number 210 on it! “Oh no, it didn’t say 210 or the airport, she didn’t change the sign”. Again, what!!!!!!! The next express bus didn’t come for another 2 hours, which would leave me pushed for time to make the flight. The only other option, apart from an expensive taxi, was to do the reverse of what I’d done on Wednesday night – the #40 to the transit centre, and then the #40 to the airport.

The two bus rides went relatively scare-free, and arrived at the airport at about 2pm. After a run-in with a rude Delta staff member (American airlines are just hopeless), I received my boarding passes, passed through security, and ate lunch before the flight was called. Flight #1 today was to Detroit, Michigan (doesn’t it make you want to start singing ‘Lose Yourself’ by Eminem?) The plane was tiny, with only 52 seats, and we were in the air for less than 45 minutes before touching down in Detroit to 97 degree weather (I’m not familiar with Fahrenheit, but I know that’s very, very hot!)

Surprisingly, the Detroit airport was massive and very well designed - there was even a light show in one of the walkways – although my next flight was of course at the furthest away gate than the one I’d landed at. Skipping the souvenir stands (would you really want to wear a sweatshirt that said ‘Detroit’?), I spent a while playing on my laptop before boarding the flight at 5:44pm. I’d barely done anything all day, but it was already the evening!

We touched down in Boston at 7:30pm, more than 9 hours after I’d left the hostel in Niagara Falls. I had instructions on how to reach the hostel via public transport, but it involved one bus and three subway stations, and I was over it. I went outside into the car park and flagged down a shuttle bus – sometimes you just have to pay the extra for convenience!

Well, I should have gone the whole hog and paid for a taxi, because the shuttle driver was a maniac. He didn’t make any money off just having me in the car, so he went and harassed for passengers at each of the terminals – for half an hour! – before eventually snaring one more person to make the trip into Boston city. In the car, he continued to drive like a maniac, tooting at people and cutting them off. He held up a piece of his bumper, telling me how someone had stopped suddenly in front of him, but he hadn’t called the police because he didn’t want to lose ‘another’ 3 points. He also kept making comments about me, his ‘sexy lady friend from Australia’. Aah!!

I was so relieved to finally make it to the hostel after 9pm. From what I saw of the city, it looks amazing – very clean and European-like – and I’m looking forward to exploring Harvard tomorrow. The hostel is quite old and crammed, which is surprising – it’s the most expensive hostel I’ve ever stayed at, at $42 a night for a 6 person dorm!

Friday June 3rd

After showering and packing, I had to move my gear to a new room as the top floor had been booked out by a private group for the night. As I was the first one in, I got the first choice of beds …. Lower bunk, furthest away from the door! (In hostel life, bunk choice matters!)

Although I was in Niagara Falls for one reason (do I need to say what it is?), I had a chore to do first. I needed to cross over into Canada and close my bank account. My tax return had arrived into my bank account two days after I had left Canada … isn’t that always the way? … so I was taking advantage of my proximity to Canada to withdraw the remaining money and close the account.


I started walking towards the Falls when I happened upon a Denny’s and popped in for breakfast. I was dying to try out their pancakes after seeing Dave eat them in Bakersfield, and ordered two. They came out in minutes, bigger than any pancakes I’ve seen before, and I struggled to finish one. The server then bought the bill for me to pay – the cost of the pancakes as 99c!! I felt so guilt and embarrassed paying – I left a $1 tip, which is 100%, but nothing in the grand scheme of things!


I found Rainbow Bridge and crossed over into Canada, and the change was instant. Cars with Ontarian number plates; Canadian money; friendly people!! The border patrol officer had even jumped on Google to find a RBC for me when I told him that was my reason for entering the country, but do you think I could find it? After an hour of walking, ignoring the Falls and the frivolity lining the streets, I jumped in a taxi and asked them to take me to the bank, which proved to be miles away from the main strip. It took me all of about two minutes to close my account, and I then proceeded to walk back to the Falls.


Niagara Falls, both American and Canadian, is known as the ‘Honeymoon Capital of the World’. I’m not sure why – it’s more like a poor person’s Las Vegas, with hotels, casinos, and theme parks lining the strip (at least on the Canadian side; surprisingly, the American side is more demure). There were museums from the Guinness Book of Records and Ripley’s Believe It Or Not; wax museums; dinosaur mini golf; the Hard Rock Hotel and Planet Hollywood. I had a quick look in the souvenir stores along the street, purchasing a funky snowdome (although I probably should have bought it on the American side, as it would have been cheaper).

Finally, I made my way back down to the Falls. I hadn’t wanted to peek whilst searching for the bank, instead preferring the ‘big bang’ surprise. Honestly … it was a disappointment. I’d posted on the Lonely Planet Forum asking for information about Niagara Falls, and someone had written, “when you get there, you’ll think to yourself – was it worth it?” and now I knew what they meant. Along the river, there was a small waterfall facing the Canadian side, and then the grander Falls about 100m to the right. I’d really been expecting Falls on the scale of the Grand Canyon, but these were paltry.


As all good tourists do, I purchased a ticket on the Maid of the Mist cruise, donned the cheesy blue raingear, and headed onto the boat. The voiceover was near impossible to hear over the crashing waves, and as we approached the larger of the Falls, we got saturated. With the wind swirling the raingear around, it was hard to stay dry and try to enjoy the scenery – and keep my camera dry. Something that interested me was the 1000s of seagulls swarming in the area – it was like being at a rubbish dump!


There were other options for getting close to the Falls, like observation decks and walking along wooden piers, but I chose to enjoy the views for free by simply walking along the footpaths that lined the Falls. I made a bad decision to explore the Guinness World Records Museum, and also checked out the Hershey’s store, which had an amazing café.


Crossing back onto the American side, the difference was startling. I found an Information Centre and asked about a movie theatre, which was apparently inaccessible by walking. Knowing what Americans are like, I set out by foot anyway. I didn’t make it all the way to the cinema, instead calling in at Subway for lunch and then a salon to get my nails done. There were two African American women in there getting their nails done, who had to call for re-enforcements in order to pay their bill. They obviously had their priorities straight!


I enjoyed the peace and quiet of my dorm room for the rest of the evening, as my two dorm mates didn’t return until 2am (I’m assuming they’re workers), catching up on Grey’s Anatomy and organising myself for the next day of travel.

Thursday June 2nd

A very early start to the day – even though I had set my alarm for 5:30am, I was in the shower at 5:20am. Everything was already packed, so I just had to throw in my toiletry bag and I was out the door. Given the size of the MGM Grand (it has over 5,000 hotel rooms), it’s a trek to get anywhere, so I utilised the express check-out so I could head straight to the taxi rank.

My taxi driver seemed to have stepped straight out a movie, decked in khakis and a Hawaiian shirt, and regaled stories of conferences in Las Vegas (can you believe it is a common occurrence to have a conference of 130,000 people, and may include sit-down dinners for 8,000+ people?)

The McCarran airport is extraordinarily close to the Strip – yesterday, when I was walking back from the post office, a plane came in for landing mere metres above the cars on the street!

After receiving my boarding pass and paying for my bag, I stopped off to have a frappucino and take my cough medicine (fingers crossed it would work … 4 hours of coughing on a plane did not sound fun!) I was a little concerned about clearing security with it as the bottle was over 100ml, but the security officers just waved me on.

Within the airport there were still numerous pokie machines (and even more disturbingly, people playing them), but I just headed for the departure gate and played on my laptop until boarding. The flight was near full but it passed by remarkably quickly as I passed out as soon as we’d taken off, thanks to the sedatives in the cough medicine. (I’ve never had such a good sleep before – I know what to do on the longer flights now!) The only thing of interest was a comment made by the very redneck flight attendant, whom I overheard telling a passenger, “I don’t believe in shares and all those things, I believe in investing in liquor!” I think that’s the most American thing of the day ….

I had a quick one hour layover in Atlanta, just enough time to grab a sub (seriously the most unappealing food ever, and that was the best choice in the airport!) and board the second flight to Buffalo. It was only a short flight, but arriving into the airport terminal was chaos. None of the baggage carousels listed the flights for the baggage which was appearing, so everyone was walking around in a daze.

My bag took forever to come out, and by the time it did I had missed the 6:05pm direct bus to Niagara Falls. There were two alternatives: wait until 8:05pm, or catch the #24 and connect to the #40. I decided to do the latter, but regretted it … there seems to be a common theme that the only people that catch buses in America are the extreme lower-class of society. At one point, I thought there was going to be either a fight or police involvement, when a trashy (what am I saying, they were all trashy!) guy was denied entry.

I had a 30 minute stopover at the downtown transit centre, which was in an extremely dodgy area (the bus drivers won’t walk outside the centre, and apparently there was a shooting outside 3 weeks ago). I did a lap of the centre and was approached by a bus official, Shaun, asking if I needed any help. (I didn’t, I was just pretending I was in the Amazing Race, ensuring I was taking the quickest route to Niagara Falls). We got talking, and Shaun told me how he was trying to set-up a country-wide safety policy, based around 4 key areas: bulling, terrorism, assault, and medical emergencies.

Just before 8pm, the next bus pulled up, and 45 minutes later I was in the town of Niagara Falls. An obnoxious American, who I had tried my hardest to ignore during the ride, pointed out my stop, and I made my way to the hostel just before dark hit. Despite being a sanctioned HI hostel, the place was merely a large old house that had been converted into a hostel. It had only 38 beds, no real reception, and no facilities of note … although at $22, at least it was cheap! Although it was only 6:30pm Las Vegas time, it was 9:30pm New York time, and I fell asleep almost immediately thanks to another dose of cough medicine ….

Wednesday June 1st

There was no sleep-in again this morning, as my coughing woke me up. After showering, I started to organise the ‘crap’ in my room, making 4 piles: rubbish; clothes; essentials; and things to send home.

At about 9am, I headed down to the breakfast buffet – the second of my included buffets. Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day and I was looking forward to seeing the options. There was the traditional egg station, and mini pancakes, French Toast, and stuffed waffles, which were all satisfactory; and the dessert station was in operation, with what I will assume were Americans grabbing Danishes, muffins, and even ice-cream (!) for breakfast.

Passing through the casino on the way back to my room (everything routes you through the Casino – and they make it so disorienting that it’s almost impossible to find your way out!), I noticed a ‘Deal or No Deal’ pokie machine. It looked like fun – hey, haven’t you always wanted to play Deal or No Deal? – so I inserted some money. The premise worked as such – for $1, you had a spin of a board. You had to keep spinning until you landed on ‘Bonus’, which would actually take you into the game. Then once you were in the game, it worked the same as the TV show. I didn’t do too badly for the first few spins, winning $12 and even doubling another win for $23, but of course I got greedy and walked out down $30. (Oh well … I’ve barely gambled at all whilst I’ve been in Vegas!)

Back in my room (housekeeping had already been and gone), I looked up postage rates and the nearest post office to the MGM, then grabbed the ‘send home’ pile I had made earlier and headed to the taxi rank. One thing I’ve found in Las Vegas is that there are no essential services on (or even near) the strip – for example, hospitals and doctors are in the suburbs; and the same rule applied for the post office. The friendly postie (can I call him that even though he doesn’t actually deliver the mail?) helped me get a box, package my items, and fill out the customs paperwork - it worked out quite reasonable at $80 for 12 pound (5 kgs?). Sending the non-essentials home meant I would have more room available for shopping in New York … something I planned to do a lot of.


The cabbie had recommended he wait for me at the post office as it was in the middle of nowhere, but I decided to walk back. (Americans mustn’t walk anywhere … it was probably a 2.5km walk, but the cabbie had looked at me aghast when I said I’d walk back!) The route took me past the airport and a billboard for the upcoming NKOTBSB concert, which I got all excited about …. Less than 2 weeks to go until I see them in New York!


After my walk, it was nice to be back in the air-conditioned comfort of my room, and I spent a few hours on my laptop, trying to get my blog updated. After 2 weeks in the national parks, I have scraps of blog on various bits of paper, and I need to get them typed and uploaded with photos, as well as actually write the blogs for the last few days! I felt so guilty being in Vegas and not gambling, drinking or going to shows – although, being sick (and tired after 2 weeks camping), it was nice to just have a hotel room to mill around!

By 3pm it was time for another walk along the strip, and I decided to check out the hotels nearest the MGM Grand, namely Excalibur, New York New York, and Monte Carlo. The Excalibur façade is a castle, and one of its claims to fame is the restaurant ‘Dick’s Last Resort’. Sharon has told me about it – apparently, the wait staff is deliberately obnoxious, bombarding the clientele with insults. I guess it’s something you have to experience to understand and appreciate ….


New York New York is one of my favourite hotels. It’s hotel towers mimic the skyscrapers of New York, and there is a replica of the Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge outside. It even had a rollercoaster starting within the hotel, that gives you a bird’s eye view of Las Vegas (albeit, upside down!) The souvenir stores there were really amazing, with lots of I Love New York items and a candy store that had a 100s and 1000s replica of the Statue of Liberty – yum!!


Next door to New York New York was the Monte Carlo. It didn’t really interest me that much, so I used it more as a means to get along the strip rather than to explore (although as I said before, the Casinos are designed to keep you in, getting you totally disoriented). I heard a UK lady say how she was surprised about the lay-outs of the hotels – she had though that the Casinos would be at the back of the hotel, separate to the eating and sleeping facilities. In reality, the Casinos dominated the buildings – you actually had to walk through the gambling areas to get anywhere, which meant that children were in the Casinos! Completely different to Australia ….

On the way back, I stopped in at Ross’s, a discount clothing store. It had racks and racks of clothes, from designers to basics, and you had to sort through the overflowing racks to try and find yourself a bargain. For example, I found a Calvin Klein shift that had been discounted to $27.99 (unfortunately, it wasn’t very flattering, so I walked out empty handed).

Back at the MGM once again, I turned on the TV to find game 1 of the Stanley Cup play-between the Canucks and Boston in progress. The Canucks managed to scrape through with a 1-0 win after scoring with 17 seconds to go, and the Canadian crowd erupted when the goal was scored. I will actually be in Boston shortly – my Glee concert has been re-scheduled from Monday to Tuesday due to the play-offs, which means I am no longer able to attend. (I’m looking at attending in Washington DC instead …my refund from Ticketmaster has already been processed).

I was too tired to head out for dinner (and not really hungry to be honest), so after completing a few ‘chores’ I simply packed my bag and headed to bed, thus bringing to an end my time in Vegas.

Tuesday May 31st

Today, I had one aim: to find a doctor and get this cough looked at! I’d planned to head to the clinic at the nearby pharmacy, but changed my mind after realising they aren’t doctor’s: only physician’s ‘assistants’, whatever that means. I found the nearest clinic to the hotel and walked down (it didn’t accept appointments).

The first thing they asked me was how I was going to pay for the appointment, which was $190!!! When I replied credit card, they took my credit card off me, gave me a slip to show the doctor so he knew I could pay, and then kept my credit card whilst I was taken in. Something really does need to be done about the American health care system …


I was first seen by a nurse, who took all my vitals and my medical history, before the doctor arrived. After checking me over and asking a number of questions, he said I had bronchitis and prescribed some cough medicine. He said it would make me drowsy, and if I wanted to be alert then there was an over-the-counter medication I could take. Um … no thanks … I want the hard stuff! I also told him how part of my tooth had fallen out, and he prescribed some antibiotics that would calm the pain if it ended like that – enough to hold me over until I got back to Australia.

$300 later (yep, one doctor’s appointment and some medication), I returned to the hotel for a rest. I msged Sharyn and arranged to meet up at 3pm, having a quick walk around New York New York before I met up with her. We’d planned a number of activities that evening: dinner at Dick’s Last Resort; a trip up the Eiffel Tower; a movie (the Hangover); and the pirate show. Do you think we got that through that list? Not at all.


We walked up to the other end of the strip, wondering through the Venetian with the gondolas and fake canals. We ventured into the rare book store, which had an original copy of Shakespeare’s complete folio of work for $425,000! (We left empty-handed).


At the Fashion District, it was impossible to bypass the Forever 21 store, but I walked out empty-handed – I’m still saving myself for New York! We walked on past the pirate show, as it wasn’t playing for another hour, and onto another mall, having a frappe at Max Brenner’s, my favourite chocolate café.


Realising that we didn’t have enough time to see the Hangover (Sharyn had an early start the next day), we did make it up the Eiffel Tower, and were greeted with a beautiful nighttime view of Las Vegas. It was billed as the most romantic experience in Las Vegas – and I was with Sharyn!! Oh well ….


Finally at about 9:30, after 6.5 hours exploring the strip, we farewelled each other. Sharyn was off to New York early the next morning, whilst I had one more day in Las Vegas before heading to Niagara Falls. It was sad, as Sharyn was the last remaining person from the Trek America trip, but such is the way of a traveller’s life!