The Grand Pink Experience, 19th Feb

Woke up to a irritating throat, voice threatening to go and a sore body. Its only 6.30am and i need to leave Lei's house to The Flamingo, the meeting point for Pink Tours in their Pink Van!!! Had a cup of coffee with croissant that tasted so flat. Walked down towards the North Tower, pausing to admire the Flamingos in the Garden. Its a cold day. After trying to find out where the Pink Tour desk was and was told there was no such thing, was starting to panic. Was relieved when after a chat with 2 ladies from Calgary, found they were also booked on the same tour company. They were however going to take the helicopter ride. Then the pink van turned up, but not for either of us. Finally fat happy Ken turned up and got into the van. It was 7.30am sharp and my companions was 2 ladies from Texas and one gentleman from Argentina, who didnt speak much English. Ken decided to poke fun at Edna when she called to check on me..she was willing to pay $100 to Ken just to have the phone so she can find out where i have disappeared to. Ken is an amusing guide, with quite a lot of jokes to keep us amused. I asked whether we cld stop at Hoover's Dam on the way to take pictures even though it was not part of the tour. He was so sporting and agreed. Little did i realise that the Grand Canyon is actually in Arizona state not Nevada. Between two ends of the Hoover Dam laid the boundary between Nevada and Arizona state. Damn, we lost an hour when we crossed to Arizona. Ken of course had to tell us to look up at the highest toilet cubicle on earth. Watch out fellas, if you feel something running down your neck, don't look up!! We took some shots with the madding tourist crowd. So many tour buses. Off we went. Pass Boulder City which was created due to the Hoover Dam jobs. Another name for Boulder City - Bring Cash!! Nope, not for the slots, in fact, Boulder City lays claim to the only town in Nevada that has no casinos or slots. Those folks working hard at Hoover Dam sure don;t want to lose their wages. Ahahah..thats what we all think. Right at the boundary line of Boulder City, we see this ugly casino building hotel. Ken said its to create jobs..since the total population of Boulder City is now so small and its not much building going on at Hoover Dam, the local folks need to create some income. Enuf said. Then we stopped by at a home made chocolate shack shop past Dalton Springs..got to relieve ourselves. Toilet is really clean. Got a cup of coffee and we were on our way. Another name for Dalton Springs...Deep Shit. These Americans are so good at coming up with alternative names. Ken decided to eat a burrito and succeeded in making all of us hungry. Then he told us in order to make sure we get to eat, we must not lose the stub on the ticket which he will give us once we get to the Grand Canyon post. Native plants including many types of cacti and shrubs dotted the way to the Grand Canyon post. Ken pointed out the Mohave plant which is a key ingredient extracted for shampoo due to its sudsing properties. The native Indians extract the point of the plant and used it to thread mocassins. And we passed the Shiny Mountain range..dotted with snow. Arizona is the most mountainous state in the U.S...numerous ranges criss cross, of course the most famous being the Grand Canyon with the Colorado river running across it. One can imagine the cowboys, the Spanish, the Mexicans, native Indians criss crossing the harsh landscapes of Nevada and Arizona. Finally after taking the short cut through one of the Indian reservation lands, we got to the Grand Canyon post. Specific instructions repeated by Ken, we had to walk towards the tour bus area, where we were going to board and head off to the 1st part of the Western Rim, managed by the Hualapai tribe where the skywalk is located. The Skywalk costs extra $35 for a once in a lifetime experience of walking on glass floors. You have to take off your shoes for this walk because they don't want you scratching the floors. I didnt take this walk since i have already experienced a similiar walk at CN Tower in Toronto many years ago. Decided to brave the elements instead and let Ken help me to sit on one of the ledges and take some photos. With the wind in my ears, sun shining on my head and back, i bravely smiled. Don't even want to find out the statistics of how far down the valley was going nor how many lives have been lost. Since the path to the edge was pretty narrow, there is a native Indian posted there to make sure no one foolhardy wld play around and trip over. We sat down to watch a few dances performed by the Hualapai tribe, in all their costumes regalia. Then picture time incl one at the Teppee. Modern times means souvenir shops again and had a quick browse before we got on the bus again. This time to the other section of the Western Rim. Was told to take the 40 minute trail walk, which i did. Never underestimate Mother Nature. If the temperature reads 6 deg, it is exactly that, never mind if the sun was scorching down your back. Me tried to be the hero, got warm and took off the jacket. That got me a lesson from Mother Nature. Got a bad chill, didnt realise the false feeling i had with the high altitude. By the time we got down to the souvenir shop at the main bus terminal, to pickup the certificate, i was feeling sick. Wasnt even in the mood to browse through the stuff, just picked up whatever that was near the cashier. Ken then said makan time..i was hungry but i had no appetite. With a feverish body, managed to walk across the cowboy town to the shack where lunch was to be served. Took the first dish, the pie which was way too big a serving. Took some bites, then gave to Ken to eat. Decided to follow Texan Mama's daughter selection of stew. That i managed to eat up. The cowboy band was playing, typical country and western ballads. Asked them if they could oblige me with a photo and they did. Wondered if they really cld point out where Malaysia is when i told them. After that, some shooting show ala cowboy duel style and then we got amused by the Magician. Sorry lad, not your day huh? Every card i took didnt show up the card which Texan Mama selected. Then time to head back to Vegas. Told Ken i was gonna sleep so he better not fall asleep behind the wheel even though i was in the front seat. Well, his voice pointing out the highlights of the bush again, was so much like a lullaby, i slept. Then the stop again at Dalton Springs, which i told him, i was not getting out of the car. Thank God, i got dropped off first at Flamingo..cldnt wait to hit the bed once i get home to Lei's. What a day.