The vibrant night life of Las Vegas had deterred me from catching up on my sleep the previous night. I spent the past eight hours wandering around the city with my friend, Jaron, giving ourselves a visual treat by marveling at the splendor and opulence of the casino's architecture, as well as trying my luck at the blackjack tables. After being deprived of the hustle and bustle of city life for a few months, I was addicted to the vibe of the place. The effervescent life, the bright neon lights which outfitted "The Strip" and the stunning structures of the casinos enthralled me like a bee drawn to a lovely flower.
             At five that morning, my mum, sister, friend and I headed for the entrance of our hotel, the Golden Nugget. The bus came. My feet gained weight as I lumbered up the steps of the bus. Fatigue overwhelmed me; I closed my eyes and indulged in the pleasures of rest.
             "Time to wake up!" my sister exclaimed. I rubbed my sticky eyelids and opened my eyes to glance at my watch. I realized that I had been sleeping on the bus for seven hours straight. We have finally reached our destination- the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. When we got out of the bus, the tour guide brought us to the Visitors' Welcome Center. An introduction of the Grand Canyon was given to us and he left us to explore the center before we met at the tour bus in an hour.
             "Mum, why must we travel so far just to see trees and rocks? We could have just seen all these at the park near our house." I lamented to my mum after calculating the hours I could have spent trying my luck at the casino instead.
             Replying in a colloquial Singaporean tone, "Since we are here in the U.S, just come here and take a look at the place."
             "I could have just googled it online and show you thousands of pictures of the Canyon taken by professional photographers at all angles." I answered sarcastically.
             Wandering around th...