What do Obama, Branson & me have in common? We are all treading in virgin territory & trying to make a difference in other's life. The how, the why & the way may be different; we are all trying to do it though.
Branson explains it here partly in his interview with Huffington.
Obama does that often enough through the media and videos released from White House.
As for me, I'm trying to live a dream that those whose life has been touched will be thankful and pay it forward with their own deeds. It is in China that I found myself given the chance to do so on a daily basis. I shall return to this country in the near future & hopefully established myself here.
In the mean time, Colbert has responded to Branson's challenge for a fist fight!
The markets around the world, at least for the major part of Asia, rallied like a bull in heat for the last 6 market days and will probably continue to do so amidst job cuts & the controversial Swine Flu (well, some lost lots of business simply because of the name while others in the travel industry are seeing a drastic drop in cross country travels). Confidence seems to have returned for the most part (bankers and fund managers alike are feeling rich & snapping up whatever they can find in the markets). Fear dissipating & greed once again rules. One would think the last 7 months never happened! It's like the early stage of a difficult pregnancy is now long forgotten and people are looking forward to the arrival of the baby!
It marvels me as to how short term our memories are. Oh, I've made my fair share of mistakes and I'm still living some of them. It is however, in our self defence, that our mind functions (collectively) to want to get over any pain as quickly as possible. Human nature is still optimistic for most and life still goes on for the better part of it...
I wrote this review about Las Vegas on Lunch.com a few days ago but was told that I can't post anything related to Travel on that site. Hence, am transfering it to this post as I haven't written a blog on this day. Also, it acts as a slot for anyone who wishes to read about that review I wrote in response to another review done by one of its top contributors.
Here's the original of that said review:
I was told to stay clear of travel stuff when I joined this site less than 2 weeks ago, having been on VirtualTourist which some of you know once belonged to the same boss as Lunch. Unfortunately, I can't. Sorry, J.R.!
After seeing what's on here, well specifically, a review (the only one, btw) on Lunch, there is no way I can stop myself from doing what I'm doing right now. A year of beta Lunch & all one sees is a review by its top contributor who has never even been to Las Vegas!!! That's totally unreal! And one of the reasons he formed that ‘opinion' was his brother told him he didn't like the place 15 years ago! Oh mine, we're on web 2.0 now… c'mon America, get real!
Ok, sorry for being harsh & blunt. That's really not me , normally. But it is not normal for me to read something as such & coming from one of the top 3 contributors on this site. That review alone is enough for me to rethink about staying on this site, not to mention for those who might choose to believe what they read and skip a fabulous place just before they go for a visit! God forbids! :-)
It works like this… at least for me it does. Now, I'm certainly not going to check anymore reviews by this guy. That's not objective right? But hey, how can one trust anything a man says if he writes a review on something which he has never personally visited or tried? I'm totally out of sync here… Emotional? You bet! Hey, may be I get lucky and a call from Vegas top shots with a job offer if I do good on this review! ;-) I hereby declare myself a self-appointed ambassador for this city :-)
Enough… I need to write a real review on Las Vegas. A travel review. I haven't lived there as a resident but one day I just might ;-) Here's the deal… Vegas is my most favorite city in the U.S.! Like any city, it has its bright & dark sides. I like it just that way! Same as with the 1st review on this site… it now inspires me to write a better review! (Sometimes, I'm so in love with myself :p)
Las Vegas as a city is easy to manouver. Get through the airport & in no time, you are in your hotel room! & I do mean in no time. The airport is right in the city! How many cities in U.S. has such easy access to the airport? Not many! And I don't mean places like Whites City. So, now that you are in your hotel, amazing, isn't it? I love the mega & absolutely opulent hotels here, especially those on the strip. You can do anything in your hotel room, but not out on the Strip! Remember that, you've been forewarned! For those who don't like big rooms, fanciful furnitures, gigantic bathtubs & pools, you have plenty of choices in this city. Rooms ranging from US$20 (not sure if u can get it at US$10, but you can try your luck) to US$20000 are available. Isn't that great about a city with choices? At times, Vegas offers too many, imho. Some of us are just plain lazy, not caring for much choice.
Casino, casino, casino… architecture, architecture, architecture… design, design, design… all happening at the same time & in the same sphere. That's exciting to me. Out here in broad daylight, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! Ok, I confess, I hardly go to casino to gamble. Gotcha! I'm not a casino person, I hardly can sit still, except when I'm being paid to do so, that is! ;-)
I must admit though, the attraction to Vegas for many is the casinos. The rest of the attractions are simply perks for the other visitors. For the Asians, casino (more blatantly, gambling) is a big draw. So big so that now the earnings from the casinos in Macau has surpassed those from Vegas! Bellagio has classy tables and a good professional crowd. Same with Palazzo, it's for the big timers. If you prefer the slot machines, there are those $500 slots here as well. Talk about being sinful!
If casino is not your cup of tea, for indoor entertainment, there are theme parks within each resorts for you to choose from. At New York- New York, you can check out the skyline of Vegas by taking a ride on its rollercoaster. At the Venetian, you can ride on gondolas & at Luxor, you can go back in time on board the Titanic!
One thing you'll need to remember to do is to bring your credit cards. Not one, many! This place has all there is to offer in the whole of America. It's a shoppers' paradise. Of course, if you are extremely lucky, a coin may also do the trick! Where in the world can one be so lucky? ;-)
I've yet come to the very best of Vegas. Be patient! As with money, I never seem to have enough time in this city. The nights always come too soon & it's time for one of those marvelous Cirque du Soleil shows I enjoy so very much. O at Bellagio was one of the best entertainment I've had in my life. The last one I saw at the Venetian was that of the Blue Man Group. They are a funny trio and if you like comedy, it's great! If you like musicals, Phantom of the Opera is live at the Venetian as well. David Copperfield is a great magician and he's on at the MGM Grand from May 21. For Disney's fan, the Lion King is on live at the Mandalay Bay every night! The lastest buzz is the show at Wynn (Las Vegas most expensive & exclusive hotel), Le Reve. I missed it last year when in Vegas but hope to see it soon! Vegas, here I come again!!!
When you're done with the shows, enjoy a great dinner (be it buffet or a la carte, be it French or Japanese, be it at odd hours or 24 hours room service) at any one of the 5* resorts in Vegas. Tip: Bellagio offers amazing buffet with wonderful spread and top quality selections. Theme dining (fun & refreshing) can be found at Caesars Palace, as with shopping at the Forum. For a taste of Paris, head over to Paris Paris!
A stroll around the Strip after dinner is delightful. The music fountain outside Bellagio is an amazing backdrop & a fun place to watch children & lovers alike. For more excitements, head to Mirage & be thrilled by the volcano eruption with 120 fireballs thrown into the air every night! Save the best for the last as they say…
The VERY best of Las Vegas attractions is NOT in Las Vegas city but is a hour or 2 away from it. Las Vegas boasts some of the very best nature & sceneries in U.S. if not in the world! My favorites are (in descending order):
You can drive, you can hike, you can fly (one of the best way to see Grand Canyon; I highly recommend it, been up there 3x & haven't seen enough! I highly recommend Scenic Airlines for this trip, it is expensive but worth every single cent! Much better than that of the heli. Take the full day trip all the way to Monument Valley & Lake Powell, it's spectacular!) or you can paraglide. The choice is clearly up to you. Here lies the very attraction of Las Vegas. Choices, choices and even more choices! The question is if you like anything different from what you can get from home. If you don't, stay home. But, if you do or want to find out if you will, then by all means go to Las Vegas. At current prices, Las Vegas is cheap! I've never quite see prices at this level. $89 for a room at Mandalay Bay?!
LAS VEGAS is THE place to be in! Hip hip, hurray!!! [Just a note, try to go as soon as possible & do not go in Summer, the heat is the major problem of this city. You can still go if you don't mind staying indoor. Otherwise, watch out for the heat! Las Vegas is best in the winter!]
After writing blogs for an entire month & some reviews on Lunch.com, I decided it's too taxing to make it a daily affair. So, change of plan. Alternate days... odd month like May, I'll write on odd days (ie. May 1, 3, 5... you get the drift) & on even months, even days (ie. June 2, 4, 6. etc...).
This will makes it more enjoyable for me & whoever is reading these blogs, I suppose. Just as I missed those spas in Thailand. Yet, with the Swine flu around, I'm practically grounded! In the mean time, we stay home & check out what the virtual world has to offer...
We now twit, blog, flick(r) or QQ. What else do we do that we didn't back then 10 years ago? Plenty. We watch a tv program on YouTube; we talk to our friends via QQ, messenger or skype; we blog & we have virtual sex (see my post on Second Life)! I've certainly known a few couples who have had gotten divorce on such grounds. The world we are now living in is a world filled with ipod, iphone, blackberry, MP5, PSP, xBox, netbook, smartphone, wifi PMP, etc...
I have traveled as a child, but the real path to travel didn't begin until around 6 when I was transported to another foreign country. The inspiration to travel only truly surfaced when I graduated from university. But in a few short years, I traveled on a monthly basis & for leisure only. I've lived in Indonesia, Singapore, Canada and now China. I've traveled to all the 7 continents and have thus far completed another circuit of 7 continents in a single year in 2005. That is probably my major accomplishment so far, where traveling is concerned. I've also covered all the provinces of China.
In 2009, I hope to visit countries in C. Asia & Middle East, in particular, Israel, Bhutan & Uzbekistan.
All in all, my ultimate goal is to have lived in all 6 continents (I've only lived in 2 - Asia & N. America) for at least a year each. As for Antarctica, it is a great feat for me to have visited it twice. A third would be a bonus. I'd never have dreamed of living there for a year. It's much too cold for me!!!
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