Vegas Part 2

Currently Listening Wonderful World By James Morrison You Give me something

After all the many weddings, it seems to be easy street for a little so I am having a Saturday to myself. I want to catch up on the tennis and watching the soccer anywhere that has FOX sports!
My predictions:
Chelsea Vs Liverpool (1:0 Liverpool)
Man Utd Vs Arsenal (2:1 Arsenal)

Definitely one of the most visited Casinos in Las Vegas is Bellagios. George and the crew of Oceans 11 made this place into must see destination.
This is the ceiling of main entrance of Bellagio. The amount of detail that goes into this part of is stunning.
The sad corruption of a beautiful ceiling.

Uh Huh! It was beautiful when you have music to it.
It was so amazing how everyone including people driving, just stopped to admire this spectacle.

This was our bar at the top of our Hotel.

Willy and I spend so many nights talking about random things. He was like my roommate in most of the places we stayed. Definitely a laughter to my day.
The best Hotel Casino was the Wynn Hotel. (http://www.wynnlasvegas.com/index.jsp)
This guy is a tycoon in the Hotel Casino Business. No one is as innovative and creative in the business as he is.Some of the unique things about the hotel are:
*He has put his name on it so it has to be good
*It has an exclusive golf course that has been designed by some the biggest Pros of the PGA.
*It has a Ferrari Store. Just in case you win the millions you've always sought. A great place to spoil yourself is at this store.
*Best chefs that have been sourced from all over the world.

Seriously I could list so many more special and unique facets of this Casino so I'll let the photos do the talking. Lets just say that I didn't win too much money here.

The casino is really beautifully crafted. Each detail of it is purposely made.

As we were sitting outside on one of the bars at the Wynn, we watching in amazement as the water fountain changed ...to this...
to this...
and then to this..
By the end of the shows we saw here, we became numb to everything being so creative and arty.
The last hotel that we visited was the Venetian.
Most famous for its man made stream of water in the middle of the hotel, it was one Eunji didn't want to miss.
Also our last day in Vegas coincided with Julie's birthday. We thought it would be nice to give her a ride in one...along with Dave and Eunji...we're still not sure why Steve was on this.
Steve looks like he had so much more fun the rest of them. Willy and I decided that we would save this special ride with someone a little bit more significant in our lives.
Our Mothers! The Venetian was the most generous Casino that I visited. I managed to pool back some of the money I lost in the other Casinos. This is the last remaining tour group. Seriously only Asians take shots like this. Steve was granted the chance to become an Asian with us. Some of the classic European artwork which featured in the hotel's ceilings and walls.
Well that concludes my Las Vegas Trip. It was an mind blowing journey through Sin City. I can't explain in words being there. It needs to be something people try at least once in their life.

I guess these photos will spur memories of an entertaining holiday.

I just want to congratulate Steve and Mel on their marriage. You guys did it!

Viva Las Vegas Part 1

Roadtrips are awesome!

I remember that these sporadic trips with friends create memories which are etched into your mind and heart forever. Vegas was no exception.

Before we left for Vegas I met up with Angela who was responsible for taking me home from Eunji's wedding back to Jerry's place. Props to you Angela. She actually took us to Saddleback church which was amazing. An unbelievable church.
On the way to church we visited Laguna Beach which is the actual place of the reality show on tv.Despite all the candid reasons not to go to Vegas from my father, I told him that I needed to go in order to expand my understanding of the Hotel industry. His concerns were very valid however the reasons that I stated to him were of sufficient for him to say yes.

So this is the group of friends who made this trip enjoyable and definitely one to remember.
(Dave, Eunji, Danny, Steve, Julie, Jane, Will, Sammy, myself and Kasey)
In and Out, the famous burger place which was our first meal on the road of Vegas.
My pick is the Double Double Animal Style with Half Sprite and Fresh Lemonade. Delish!
Although this picture is a blur, the blinding lights is that of Vegas. Las Vegas is in the middle of a desert therefore its an awesome viewing driving along the road into this city.

Stratosphere was the Hotel that we stayed in. It was comfortable enough and as soon as we walked in, we were bombarded with slot machines. Its just like the pull down ones you see in American movies. We only have the buttons in Sydney.
One of the first hotels we went to was Caesar's Palace where we saw this poster of Rain. It was surprising that a Korean popstar could gain enough popularity to perform in Vegas over the Christmas period.
Julie, Jane and I were excited to go on the first night. We look very tame and behaved here but this is definitely not how we looked at the end of the night.
Caesar's was quite a pretty casino. Its one of the main ones on the strip and is home to the famous Pussy Cat Doll's nightclub. Need I say more?Dave and I were checking if there were any bugs in the toilet. I don't think we found any. It was a pretty clean place despite some hazardous water on the carpet saw a certain individual fall onto the ground.

This post is to be continued....

I still call Australia home

Currently Listening Duets: An American Classic By Tony Bennett

I'm back from a trip to the US. This time I wanted to really see everything about this country, eat much food as I can possibly consume and enjoy capitalism at its best. Last time I went there more to unite with family and to visit a Euno nuna who was studying at UCLA.

I wanted to write this post because so many people wanted to see photos of Eunji's wedding. Just a pre warning, it may be a long post. Luckily I was given a day off from work to recover.

I want to congratulate Mrs and Mrs Chung. Finally a new chapter of their love story is to start. Just to give a quick recap of this couple. Eunji is originally from Sydney, Australia and David is from the OC California. Whilst they were in Korea, they hooked up and were dated for 18months. Although they physically separated, I had not seen Eunji so happy and sad at the same time. Part of her was happy that she was dating Dave (this guy is pure butter) on the other hand she was upset that they were apart.

Well although they were from different continents and met in another different continent, they married in the US. I was actually really thrilled when I heard they would be getting married. I was sad that Eunji would be leaving but to see her unite with her Prince Charming was worth it.

I distinctly remember looking down the aisle and seeing Eunji with her face down making sure she didn't stack it. But I also remember that she couldn't look up to see Dave or she would have started crying. Eunji's dad was calm as well but you could tell that he was sad giving his daughter away. He was also fighting back the tears of joy that was welling up in him.
Eunji had done well until the vows. She was coughing back tears to the vows. It must be something about the groom. The 2 weddings that I went to in 2006, both grooms were cheesing it soo hard. The only reason Dave looks a little sombre in this photo is that Eunji is crying and obviously he's feeling emotional too.
Dang..feeling emotional just looking at this photo. Maybe its the fact that I changed what I'm listening to Brandy's 'Right here waiting for you.' I had to put this photo on because I had to see this too!

They look so happy here. At the reception, I think both of them were relieved that everything went perfectly.Lets just also add that Eunji didn't really have a conventional wedding. It was traditional that she had it at a church and then the reception at the Radisson Hotel. I unorthodox thing about this wedding was that I was a bridesMAN. I copped so many jokes throughout the entire process. I remember telling my buddies and I was the bud of all jokes for soo long. Somehow and someway a bridesMAN joke would surface. To justify this, they also had a groomsMAID. Presenting Jane Woo, the groomsMAID for Dave.


Given the opportunity to do it again, I would definitely say NO. Don't do it people! Stick to tradition. However the only reason I did it was for Eunji. I would have no intentions of doing this again except the fact she I grew up with this chick and I've known her since 5. Daniel, you owe me man. You would have had to this year if you came.

This is the bride's room which I was able to be apart of. Now enough jokes about whether I wore a purple dress or not!
The trauma this caused will be forever embedded in my brain. Eunji will be paying for some therapy I may need in 2o years time.
I still remember vividly, walking down the aisle at the wedding and seeing the shock on some of the faces of the older folk and people holding back laughter. I also remember walking past Eddie Bang and him calling out, "BRIDESMAN" in a whisper just loud enough so I would hear it. I had to hold back laughter for that one. Even I thought it was funny...at the time anyway.

Well after the wedding, we made our way to La Jolla Radisson Hotel for the reception. I had to do a speech and I was actually quite nervous doing it. I remember slamming a glass of chardonnay before I went up there.

Pretty much anything after that is a blur. I want to thank all the awesome American friends I met there. Janey, Gela, Steve 'Tequila' , Julie, Rob, Sammy, Danny, Ron, Hye Yun, Scott, Joanne, Victor, Kasey K and I know that I have missed some of you guys out. I'm sorry. A big shout out to all ya'll!
I just want to thank Fedex Kinkos for all their help at 4am the day of the wedding, In & Out burgers and Carls Jr for nourishing us with nutritional food and also to TGIF's for providing free food for us whilst we consumed many beverages the day before the wedding.

Steve and Rob introduced me to a new friend in Patron. He's from Mexico and we became very much acquainted throughout my trip in the US.
Best wishes to all for 2007.
Well I'll see you in China in 2008 my Executive Assistant!