Since I just spent the last hour and a half typing on my phone about the timeshare I'm going to be lazy and just put a few photos, they don't really do it justice though, it's huge.
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Friday, May 27, 2011
Hoover dam
One of the places Sharon was quite keen to see was the Hoover dam. We were lucky enough to have Jonathan take us out there for a look around then we went on a tour of the power plant.
Since I just spent the last hour and a half typing on my phone about the timeshare I'm going to be lazy and just put a few photos, they don't really do it justice though, it's huge.
Since I just spent the last hour and a half typing on my phone about the timeshare I'm going to be lazy and just put a few photos, they don't really do it justice though, it's huge.
Free show tickets anyone
Monday 23
All up and down the strip there are people offering free vouchers like food and drinks, these are a scam as you usually have to spend at least $9.90 to claim it, also they have a stand that sells cheap show tickets or tours. After a quick assessment of your situation, ie are you married?, to each other?, what's your income etc, they start offering you the show tickets for free, all you have to do is attend a 2.5 - 3 hour presentation for a timeshare and they also give you some lunch. We haggled with the guy for 2 good shows for $20 and some other tickets that you have to pay $5 per person at the box office if you want to see the show.
We have been on one of these timeshare pressure sales scams many years ago in new zealand so had an idea what to expect. We booked in for the next morning as it was mid afternoon and there was nothing left for the day.
On monday we got up early and went down to the pickup point where we waited for the shuttle, from there it was about a 10 km drive south on LV blvd to the timeshare location. The place looks quite nice and of course has a casino. We were first seated in a room like a hotel lobby but full of rows of chairs and people. I took a pit stop to the dunny and when I came back there was only sharon there, we were picked up by our salesman and went off to the presentation, as we were slightly late we actually managed to skip the first part and went straight up to lunch. We had a sandwich and chatted, we were quite up front with the guy and told him we aren't buying anything we are just here for the free tickets. He was insistent that we still need to do the tour etc anyway so we went through the questionnaire about how we spend our holidays and what would our dream vacation be yada yada yada, then we went through how their points system works and how you can holiday anywhere in the world with your points and it's actually better points value if you stay in a hotel instead of your 1 week per year in the timeshare. Next we went outside to look around the property, pool, bbq area, casino, movie theater and finally the timeshare unit. The unit itself looks quite nice and is actually 2 separate 1 bedroom units each with their own locking door. From there we went back to the lunch room and had another drink, we skipped the sandwiches this time. Then it was sales pitch time, the price started at about 39000 for both units then he showed us a nice easy way we could pay out off, no we are just here for the free stuff, next he said he had to get a manager to sign off the sheet and came back with another guy, he didn't want to talk much when I started asking him about himself and got quite anoyed when I told him we are just here for the free stuff, he said he didn't believe me, but did drop the price in half for only 1 unit instead of both. Still NO. Then he said how about if out was less than 10000, still NO. Ok we can go now and get the stuff we signed up for.
We waited for a minute outside another room then were shown in, it was a huge room with basically us in it and a guy who wanted to do a survey on how we found the presentation. He started asking what was the guys name, what about the manager, what was the lowest price offered, did they offer it to you for 5000, did they tell you you have 1 month to think about it, then he got quite strange and tried to make us feel really guilty by saying stuff like, I know you are nice people, not professional gift collectors, the person you spoke to isn't even a manager, the manager is a woman not a man, that's wrong that they did to you, they didn't even get a manager to sign off the paperwork, then he went and got it signed off, onto the next waiting room, after a few minutes a lady came along and we went with her to a booth where we waited for her to get the tickets for us. Finally it's over. Back on the bus and back to the strip. Five and a half hours later.
Was it worth it? Absolutely, we had a great time and wouldn't have been doing much else anyway, we got free show tickets, lunch and even a five and a half hour sideshow.
Would we do it again? Absolutely, it was fun apart from the last guy who was trying to make us feel guilty.
The scariest thing is when you do the math on what any poor fool who signs up would pay. 5000 minimum outlay plus a maintenance fee of at least $380 a year for the rest of your life. And that is multiplied by 52 times for each unit because it is a timeshare, plus if it's not being used by any of the "owners" they rent it out like a hotel because that is what it really is.
All up and down the strip there are people offering free vouchers like food and drinks, these are a scam as you usually have to spend at least $9.90 to claim it, also they have a stand that sells cheap show tickets or tours. After a quick assessment of your situation, ie are you married?, to each other?, what's your income etc, they start offering you the show tickets for free, all you have to do is attend a 2.5 - 3 hour presentation for a timeshare and they also give you some lunch. We haggled with the guy for 2 good shows for $20 and some other tickets that you have to pay $5 per person at the box office if you want to see the show.
We have been on one of these timeshare pressure sales scams many years ago in new zealand so had an idea what to expect. We booked in for the next morning as it was mid afternoon and there was nothing left for the day.
On monday we got up early and went down to the pickup point where we waited for the shuttle, from there it was about a 10 km drive south on LV blvd to the timeshare location. The place looks quite nice and of course has a casino. We were first seated in a room like a hotel lobby but full of rows of chairs and people. I took a pit stop to the dunny and when I came back there was only sharon there, we were picked up by our salesman and went off to the presentation, as we were slightly late we actually managed to skip the first part and went straight up to lunch. We had a sandwich and chatted, we were quite up front with the guy and told him we aren't buying anything we are just here for the free tickets. He was insistent that we still need to do the tour etc anyway so we went through the questionnaire about how we spend our holidays and what would our dream vacation be yada yada yada, then we went through how their points system works and how you can holiday anywhere in the world with your points and it's actually better points value if you stay in a hotel instead of your 1 week per year in the timeshare. Next we went outside to look around the property, pool, bbq area, casino, movie theater and finally the timeshare unit. The unit itself looks quite nice and is actually 2 separate 1 bedroom units each with their own locking door. From there we went back to the lunch room and had another drink, we skipped the sandwiches this time. Then it was sales pitch time, the price started at about 39000 for both units then he showed us a nice easy way we could pay out off, no we are just here for the free stuff, next he said he had to get a manager to sign off the sheet and came back with another guy, he didn't want to talk much when I started asking him about himself and got quite anoyed when I told him we are just here for the free stuff, he said he didn't believe me, but did drop the price in half for only 1 unit instead of both. Still NO. Then he said how about if out was less than 10000, still NO. Ok we can go now and get the stuff we signed up for.
We waited for a minute outside another room then were shown in, it was a huge room with basically us in it and a guy who wanted to do a survey on how we found the presentation. He started asking what was the guys name, what about the manager, what was the lowest price offered, did they offer it to you for 5000, did they tell you you have 1 month to think about it, then he got quite strange and tried to make us feel really guilty by saying stuff like, I know you are nice people, not professional gift collectors, the person you spoke to isn't even a manager, the manager is a woman not a man, that's wrong that they did to you, they didn't even get a manager to sign off the paperwork, then he went and got it signed off, onto the next waiting room, after a few minutes a lady came along and we went with her to a booth where we waited for her to get the tickets for us. Finally it's over. Back on the bus and back to the strip. Five and a half hours later.
Was it worth it? Absolutely, we had a great time and wouldn't have been doing much else anyway, we got free show tickets, lunch and even a five and a half hour sideshow.
Would we do it again? Absolutely, it was fun apart from the last guy who was trying to make us feel guilty.
The scariest thing is when you do the math on what any poor fool who signs up would pay. 5000 minimum outlay plus a maintenance fee of at least $380 a year for the rest of your life. And that is multiplied by 52 times for each unit because it is a timeshare, plus if it's not being used by any of the "owners" they rent it out like a hotel because that is what it really is.
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Monday, May 23, 2011
Still in vegas baby!
We have decided to stick to the free stuff. A few of the casinos have a free slot machine or push of the button to win, limited to 1 play each per day, it's a scheme to get people inside and to sign up to their rewards programs. So far we have 4 shirts a lanyard, $20 free food and $60 of free slot machine play as well as free photos with a showgirl and another with $1 million cash.
The slot machine girl
The push to win
The slot machine girl
The push to win
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Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Fabulous Las Vegas!
Can someone please loan us a couple of grand we lost it all and had to sell everything now we can't get out of here! Just kidding.
Vegas is a hard place to describe, we've walked up and down the strip, that took all day. Of course it would have been quicker if we didn't have to keep stopping in at the casinos along the way.
The atmosphere at first seems like one continuous 5 km long party. First you see the huge themed buildings, replicas of the landmarks of the world, the New York skyline, the eiffel tower, a pyramid, then you start to notice groups of people laughing and having fun, drinking from enormous themed shaped glasses, for example, boots, guitars, the eiffel tower, then you start noticing the mexicans on almost every street corner pushing pocket size cards advertising prostitutes, then every now and then you see a homeless person or two with a piece of cardboard with a lame story asking for money followed by the obligatory "god bless".
All the action is down the south end of the strip. The top 1 km has a section that feels like a ghost town, until you get to the stratosphere tower this is mainly due to a large section of construction on both sides and the sahara casino that is closed down and fenced off.
Well enough rambling, we've got millions to win, I can feel it, today is our lucky day. :)
Vegas is a hard place to describe, we've walked up and down the strip, that took all day. Of course it would have been quicker if we didn't have to keep stopping in at the casinos along the way.
The atmosphere at first seems like one continuous 5 km long party. First you see the huge themed buildings, replicas of the landmarks of the world, the New York skyline, the eiffel tower, a pyramid, then you start to notice groups of people laughing and having fun, drinking from enormous themed shaped glasses, for example, boots, guitars, the eiffel tower, then you start noticing the mexicans on almost every street corner pushing pocket size cards advertising prostitutes, then every now and then you see a homeless person or two with a piece of cardboard with a lame story asking for money followed by the obligatory "god bless".
All the action is down the south end of the strip. The top 1 km has a section that feels like a ghost town, until you get to the stratosphere tower this is mainly due to a large section of construction on both sides and the sahara casino that is closed down and fenced off.
Well enough rambling, we've got millions to win, I can feel it, today is our lucky day. :)
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Saturday, May 14, 2011
LAX
The airport is not very exciting as fast as airports go. Theres not much to see our do there the food court and duty free suck and you can't watch planes from there. We walked around to the north east corner of the airport and watched a few landings which at lest is exciting. Here are two of them.
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Sunday, May 8, 2011
Bbq
Yesterday we went up to the supermarket and while wandering about found a disposable bbq for about $4.50 so we got some steak and corn and went back to the hotel for a cook up. The fire was going nicely when one of the hotel owners came over and let us know that it's illegal to have a fire going but we can use the gas bbq if we want to. He let us continue anyway, I guess he thought it was safe enough and on the concrete anyway and fully contained. I'm glad we continued as the taste was fantastic.
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Venice beach and Santa Monica
Well it ain't like the movies. Sure it's a huge beach with yellow sand but after that it's weirdos, medical marijuana and trinket stalls. Santa Monica pier is interesting as it has a fun park complete with roller coaster on it.
The surface of the pier is old wooden planks and is quite uneven. Sharon tripped and one of her fingers went between 2 planks and got bent backward. Luckily it doesn't seem broken just sprained and sore.
The surface of the pier is old wooden planks and is quite uneven. Sharon tripped and one of her fingers went between 2 planks and got bent backward. Luckily it doesn't seem broken just sprained and sore.
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Funny signs
Sunset blvd. Funny signs.
Anal beer?
Notethe small sign, drop off round back.
This one is on hollywood blvd just before the main strip.
Anal beer?
Notethe small sign, drop off round back.
This one is on hollywood blvd just before the main strip.
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Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Tar pits and Beverly Hills
Yesterday we went to the la Brea tar pits then Beverly hills. The tar pits are quite interesting as you can see sticky black tar seeping out of the ground as well as natural gas and tart bubbling out of the lake. There is a museum there that has pulled over 100 tons of ice age fossilized bones from the area but we didn't go in as it was getting late.
Beverly Hills
After the tar pits we went to rodeo drive for a bit of a sticky beak. Finally something as expected, exclusive designer shops and expensive cars parked on the street. The unexpected thing was when we went to the frozen yoghurt shop. You pay by the ounce which is funny, 2 large cups came to about $12 and I only had a $100 note, despite being in america and having a note that clearly states is legal tender in america and being in an expensive neighborhood the guy behind the counter refused to take it as they don't carry that much change. Luckily another customer had enough $20 notes and changed it for us. On the bus on the way home we able to pay the kindness forward and break a $20 note for a couple so they could pay their bus fare of
$3 instead of $20 as the buses don't give change at all.
Beverly Hills
After the tar pits we went to rodeo drive for a bit of a sticky beak. Finally something as expected, exclusive designer shops and expensive cars parked on the street. The unexpected thing was when we went to the frozen yoghurt shop. You pay by the ounce which is funny, 2 large cups came to about $12 and I only had a $100 note, despite being in america and having a note that clearly states is legal tender in america and being in an expensive neighborhood the guy behind the counter refused to take it as they don't carry that much change. Luckily another customer had enough $20 notes and changed it for us. On the bus on the way home we able to pay the kindness forward and break a $20 note for a couple so they could pay their bus fare of
$3 instead of $20 as the buses don't give change at all.
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Hollywood blvd
After downtown (see post below) we caught the train to hollywood blvd. It was interesting and once again not as expected although seemed completely safe. It is lined with tattoo parlors, bong shops, souvenir places as well as a few theaters. We had a snack at mcdonalds on the main street where out the front a couple of happy african american drug dealers were smoking a joint. Then on the corner a couple of other crazy people were handing out huge $100 bills that on the reverse side were going on about jesus.
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Downtown? Maybe we were in the wrong place.
We have been to downtown and chose the wrong day to do it. As it is it takes an hour our so and you have to change trains. We went on saturday and there was track work which meant we had to change to a bus as well. The train ride is an experience in itself with people selling stuff to people arguing to people being loud and almost yelling on their phones.
The downtown area itself was quite disappointing, that is if we we were in the right area. We walked along broadway which seemed to be where the action was but it was just rundown theaters that had been turned into cheap clothing and trinket shops. The best part was at the north end where there is a mexican food market that we stopped at for lunch. Mmmm, fatty soft shell tacos and prawn soup.
The downtown area itself was quite disappointing, that is if we we were in the right area. We walked along broadway which seemed to be where the action was but it was just rundown theaters that had been turned into cheap clothing and trinket shops. The best part was at the north end where there is a mexican food market that we stopped at for lunch. Mmmm, fatty soft shell tacos and prawn soup.
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LA Baby
Woo hoo, it's certainly cheaper than DC and new york and has a more alive feeling. We are staying near LAX in a part if the city that seems quite poor. We are directly under the flight path final to the airport which isn't so bad as I can watch planes all day and night if I want to. The temperature is warm to slightly hot so no more heavy jackets, it's shorts and t-shirts weather again.
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