Las Vegas!!! Febuary 8 to 11th.

Right before my home trip in March, which was already confirm earlier on thanks to my Kiasu-ness in applying the leave during December, I will be heading to Las Vegas for a 4 days holiday with my room mate Ricky, my immediate counterpart at work Garfield, Kok Meng, Munkit and Wife + Aaron and Wife. Will be spending 8th of Feb Thursday to 11th of February Sunday at the world best entertainment city (as far as I know).

It all begin not so long long time ago when the United States President announced that US will be sending additional troops to Iraq and our exercise partner, the 82nd Airborne was going to be involved. We thus will not be heading for the JRTC exercise with the 82nd Airborne in February since they are going to be deployed oversea and obviously not joining them Iraq either. So the whole exercise was postpone and our "Dark Vader" (my boss by the way) release all of us to take leaves on February.

Applying the leave was the easy part, planning the trip was a real challenge. As we are a big group of 8 heading for the tour, we must plan ahead on where we gonna stay, gonna play and how we gonna get around in Las Vegas. I realized conflict could arise between different party during a group tour of such proportion after hearing stories from another of my colleague who went for a group skiing trip at Colorado. So a wise man will sit down on the table de-conflict all aspect of the itinerary with the rest to avoid all unnecessary unhappiness that might crop up during the tour. To have a peaceful trip, everyone gonna come to a common understanding and most important be open mind, open to changes during the tour and more "Chin Chai" and "Mai Hiam" too much.

We need to look for Flight tickets, Hotels and Car Rental. Things would have been easier if we are all CEOs, Tow Kay or just struck the lottery for we could just get the best air ticket, the best hotel along the Las Vegas Strip and rent a limousine for 8. Budget is an Issue and so is the timing for the flight tickets. Our plan--

Day 1 -- Fly off to Las Vegas early Thursday morning to ensure ample of time for enjoyment

Day 2-- Get a car and head to Grand Canyon to stay for a night and watch the sunrise the next morning. Head back to Las Vegas, check in to a hotel and explore the Strip. Drive around and around

Day 3--Still in Las Vegas, its so big we couldn't complete in a day. Do some shopping at the factory outlets over there. Drive around and around

Day 4-- Last Day in Las Vegas, its still very very big...we haven't finish exploring it for sure. Catch a night flight back to Dallas.

Simple 4 day plan but all the hotel booking (3 days at Las Vegas and another and 1 Day at Grand Canyon, flight ticketing (return tickets) and car rental could have been a mind boggling affair with lots of phone calls and trip down to tour agency 10 years ago. Most people would end up with swollen ears from Telephone calls and aching legs traveling from one agency to another to search for the best deal for the bucks. No so much today when we could all the stuff through the Internet, right in the comfort of our bedroom. Just an PC, Internet connection and credit card on is does the job.

Flight tickets, Hotel and Car Rental can all be found in this websites which combines all major airlines, hotel and car rental company bookings within a single website...

Travelocity

Expedia

Orbitz

There is option to book a package combination of Hotel+Air ticket or Hotel+Car Rental or Hotel+Air Ticket+Car Rental. Package combination usually earn savings compared to purchase of each item separately. Of course the option of just getting Hotel only or Air Ticket only is also available. This websites take away much of the trouble of searching separate company website for the right deals since everything happens just in one screen including every aspect a traveler will need to plan his trip

Timing, price, availability, airlines company, Hotel name and ratings and location, Car rental type and price, recommendation, electronic airlines ticket, online booking, printable receipt, destination weather, places to go, tour guide, everything a traveler need and sometimes even more information than you expect which will surprise some.

This websites are the holy grail of todays GlobeTrotters making planning a holiday so much more easier and less of a challenge especially for the budget conscience when it comes to comparing prices, getting the timing to make personal travel planning.

Due to our plan not to stay at Las Vegas on the first day, we thus did not get a combo package deal from the websites. So it begins a long night our bargain hunting, discussion, de-conflicting and planning. Thanks to the effort of Shirlene and Shirleen (Munkit and Aaron wife), in the end, We got our air tickets from Travelocity.com for just US$314.30 per person. We booked the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel, 2 rooms, 8 guest, 3 days 2 night and less than 2 miles to the strip for US$353.68.

Realised that the gender role of women are crucial and this moment. They are good with meticulous planning and calculating. While we guys might look pretty dumb folded, lost and needing smoking,drinking, toilet and sleeping break frequently, we lend our muscles to carry the heavy stuff, physical endurance, stamina for the driving and loco-ness (craziness) during the trip while the girls do the planning. So we are the soldiers in the hot field while the girls are the mission planner in the air-con command center.

Whats outstanding at the moment is a Full Size SUV Rental handled by Kok Meng and Munkit and the 1 night accommodation at the South Rim of Grand Canyon...

Maswik Lodge

Its cheapest and closes to the Grand Canyon park Entrance and for US$188, 2 room, 2 queen size bed per room and 1 night. I love the nature and I'm sure I will be memorized with view of Grand Canyon as much as I was captivated by the view of Niagara Falls last September. Nothing I could blog about Grand Canyon and Las Vegas right now untill I see it with my own eyes. Stay tune for my field report....

View of Grand Canyon from the South Rim