California Trip - Day Two (01/17/2009) ... part 2

And the 4 hours journey to Las Vegas began at about 5 pm. Doing simple math, I was put under tremendous pressure to ensure that we reach at 9 pm. Hrishi who was the navigator was counting every single minute and reporting it out to the team. Damn!!! I love working under pressure. But this was a little overkill for me as well.    

As I was focused on driving, others started talking about every single topic under the sun. The topics ranged from Hrishi’s school to Sumeet’s mool (child). Shital was exhausted as she was up from early morning for interviews. Sumeet suggested that she take an afternoon flight on Tuesday instead of the scheduled early morning flight. The conversation that followed between Sumeet and Rohit was hilarious. Only 3 lines were spoken but that diverted my focus and attention off the road. Here is how it went, 

Sumeet: Rohit tu Continental la phone kelas ka? 

Rohit: Are pan mazhya kade Continental cha phone number nahi aahe.. 

Sumeet: Are pan tu phone kelas ka!!! (I can’t resist laughing even as I am typing this).   

Sumeet then tried to find the Continental number on his new Blackberry. And No points for guessing that he was unsuccessful. There were several occasions during the drive when I laughed till tears rolled down my eyes. Only Asawari was little sober in all this. Apparently, she claimed to someone over the phone that we are all Sumeet’s friends. Hence, she was just an outsider travelling with us. We all felt real bad (joke) and called on Sumeet’s cell phone and left him a message (Don’t get confused.. Sumeet was with us in the car). Each person other than Asawari spoke and left him a message. I think Sumeet can elaborate on the voicemail since I cannot remember any of it.   

The air was getting cooler outside as the temperature dropped from 70 degrees to mid fifties. Rolling down the windows at that speed would have bothered Neel who was sleeping peacefully. Knowing the circumstances, the opportunist Rohit released the deadly weapon. The enclosed van became a gas chamber in a matter of seconds. If there is any concentration camp left in the world, then here we were suffocating to death. I can understand what people went through during the holocaust. Unbearable!!!   

After lot of vaas and bakvaas, we reached the first glitter on the road. Sumeet pointed that this was the “South Point”. Total naapaas!! That was something else. South point didn’t appear until we were right outside Vegas. It was 9 pm but it felt like 9 am at Vegas. The street lights and people on the street deceived the actual time. We drove on the strip and were mesmerized by the glitter. Money was not an issue over here. I couldn’t believe that rest of the nation was going through a recession. It felt like all party over here.    

We stayed at the Monte Carlo. Hrishi and I stayed in 1 room while the married and kids in the other. In quick time we were all ready to go down. It was slight chilly but it was all worth it. The Bellagio fountain show was playing “My Heart Will Go On” and the fountains swayed in the tune. Very impressive!!! Right across the Bellagio was the Eiffel Tower (a dummy). The real place could be our next venue to meet. The whole strip was beautiful with people walking with large glasses of margaritas and dressed in the funkiest clothes. Everyone was carefree. Neon lights attracted the by-standers while great music made us groove to the tune. People from all over the world came here to the city where there is no limit. We even saw a small brawl on the street. The whole atmosphere was amazing. You have to see it to believe it.

The cool wind had put Ruhi and Neel to sleep. They were ignorant of the crazy people around them including us. Hrishi got Margaritas for us. Great margaritas!! Shital finished off the good one with Hrishi. The rest slurped the thick drink while walking down the street. Rohit and I packed few BK sandwiches for the gang. We continued walking down the strip for a while. It was getting tough with the kids and Shital/ Asawari decided to retire. The all matured Sumeet stepped up to check if the girls can go in a cab without the car seat. The cops were unsure of it. So finally after some discussion with Asawari and Shital, Sumeet was once again asked not to accompany them as they were fine walking back to the hotel room. I have heard of this stunt by Sumeet sometime before as well. It was more than 15 years back but it is still funny. 

Now it was just the 4 of us and the whole city of Las Vegas for us. Sweet!! 

Well, what happened in the next 6 hours cannot be revealed as it will break the pact between Vegas and guys. All that I can say and remember is that hotel phone rang and I could hear Rohit on the other side saying, “Are dahaa (10) vaajle aahet. Tayaar vhaa”. And so Hrishi and I woke up the next day.    

A night that remains etched in the memory and time that remains cherished for eternity. Thiswas my first night in the Sin City.