Day 296: Las Vegas
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
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!
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!
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