I had found myself stuck in a hotel room with nothing interesting to do. It was drizzling outside and the only solace was internet access and a hot mug of coffee. I had friends in the United States of America, but in this business trip to Seattle, everyone seemed to be inaccessible even for a short chat. Being the lazy bum that I am, I preferred to stay indoors instead of loitering around in coffee shops or bars.
I had just hit upon an interesting website and started to unleash the mouse when the phone rang. It was late evening and the inactivity of the entire day had made me a little lethargic. The ringing phone pumped me up with the required stimuli. I acted as anyone presented with similar circumstances would do. I picked up the phone receiver and enquired “hello?”.
The course of events that followed was life changing under the given circumstances. Here I was lying inactive in a single hotel room completely hopeless of anything interesting to happen in life, and the very next moment I get a phone call from a friend who is equally hopeless in the other coast of the country. The phone call was from a friend in New York who was dying for some action. But unlike me, he had a plan for the action. He proposed Vegas.
Now, I am sure anyone reading this piece will be clueless about the term “Vegas” and so for the benefit of those, I shall embark upon a brief introduction of the same. “Vegas” can mean different things to different people depending (a) on what category of individual you belong to and (b) what kind of situation you are in when you are subjected to “Vegas”. People of a jovial kind with an open mind usually react to Vegas in a very normal manner. The reaction they exhibit when subjected to Vegas can best be described as “homing”. They react to Vegas as if it was always meant to be and they, sort of, naturalize to the environment. However, I know of another kind of individual whose reaction can be categorized as “shocked”. The reaction that one exhibits also depends on the circumstances under which one is exposed to Vegas. For someone who is feeling the blues, Vegas can bring about the required soothing of the sensory nerves whereas for someone who is already in an ecstatic state of mind, Vegas can push him beyond the edges. Whichever be the case, it is widely advised to let that what happens in Vegas stay in Vegas. So, I shall refrain from elaborating further and only focus on the story at hand.
My friend proposed that we treat ourselves to Vegas therapy and also presented with a detailed plan of action. Being in Seattle, I was to board a two and a half hours’ flight to Vegas on Friday. He would already be present on ground zero with shelter, food and equipment ready. We would formally inaugurate our binge exactly at 9-30 Friday evening once we had made ourselves comfortable with the environs. For the rest, we would let nature take its own course. The plan looked perfect on paper and there was no reason why it would not work in practice. We both were equally excited and were eagerly waiting for the D-day.
The D-day finally arrived and I reached the airport on time. As planned, I gave a phone call to enquire about by friend’s exact co-ordinates inside the airport. Soon, we were zooming on our way to the hotel room that my friend had carefully chosen. After necessary ablutions and intake of food, we set ourselves for the nocturnal safari.
We left no club unattended, no hotel unexplored, no casino ungambled. We set the streets afire, painted the town red, so to say. We had started in our best ironed suits and by now the creases were starting to wear out. Such was our dedication to let the demon loose. It was around 2 in the night and the novelty of the place was starting to diminish. Little did we realize that the best was yet to come.
In our feverish excitement, we had overlooked the sign that read “Rhino Ride” on a huge billboard with an arrow pointing north. There was a bright light glowing on another sign further down the road north which probably was the place of action. Now, in my extensive career as a wildlife enthusiast, I had had the opportunity to ride a wide variety of beasts starting from the usual suspects like horses and mules to the more exotic ones like the pigmy hog and the South American iguana. Somehow I had missed the rhino, one horned or not, I do not care. This one really looked appealing, something not to be missed. I was in full form and if remember it right, I felt a slight shiver down my spine - out of excitement. My friend was almost trembling with fervor. I had to steady his steering wheel to keep the car on the road. Soon we reached the spot of action.
On enquiring the person standing guard, we were informed that it cost 20 dollars a ride. I was pleasantly surprised at the affordability of the thing and was already preparing myself for at least half a dozen such rides. My friend flashed two crisp hundred dollar bills and requested advance booking for 10 rides. We both were sweating from excitement as we entered the den. The heart was beating at an accelerated rate.
In ten minutes life had changed for us. Everything that happened seemed like a distant dream that could always happen to others and never to us. We came out almost in a trance. Our backs were broken. Riding a one-horned rhino is one thing, having a fully grown rhino ride on your own back is quite another!
I had just hit upon an interesting website and started to unleash the mouse when the phone rang. It was late evening and the inactivity of the entire day had made me a little lethargic. The ringing phone pumped me up with the required stimuli. I acted as anyone presented with similar circumstances would do. I picked up the phone receiver and enquired “hello?”.
The course of events that followed was life changing under the given circumstances. Here I was lying inactive in a single hotel room completely hopeless of anything interesting to happen in life, and the very next moment I get a phone call from a friend who is equally hopeless in the other coast of the country. The phone call was from a friend in New York who was dying for some action. But unlike me, he had a plan for the action. He proposed Vegas.
Now, I am sure anyone reading this piece will be clueless about the term “Vegas” and so for the benefit of those, I shall embark upon a brief introduction of the same. “Vegas” can mean different things to different people depending (a) on what category of individual you belong to and (b) what kind of situation you are in when you are subjected to “Vegas”. People of a jovial kind with an open mind usually react to Vegas in a very normal manner. The reaction they exhibit when subjected to Vegas can best be described as “homing”. They react to Vegas as if it was always meant to be and they, sort of, naturalize to the environment. However, I know of another kind of individual whose reaction can be categorized as “shocked”. The reaction that one exhibits also depends on the circumstances under which one is exposed to Vegas. For someone who is feeling the blues, Vegas can bring about the required soothing of the sensory nerves whereas for someone who is already in an ecstatic state of mind, Vegas can push him beyond the edges. Whichever be the case, it is widely advised to let that what happens in Vegas stay in Vegas. So, I shall refrain from elaborating further and only focus on the story at hand.
My friend proposed that we treat ourselves to Vegas therapy and also presented with a detailed plan of action. Being in Seattle, I was to board a two and a half hours’ flight to Vegas on Friday. He would already be present on ground zero with shelter, food and equipment ready. We would formally inaugurate our binge exactly at 9-30 Friday evening once we had made ourselves comfortable with the environs. For the rest, we would let nature take its own course. The plan looked perfect on paper and there was no reason why it would not work in practice. We both were equally excited and were eagerly waiting for the D-day.
The D-day finally arrived and I reached the airport on time. As planned, I gave a phone call to enquire about by friend’s exact co-ordinates inside the airport. Soon, we were zooming on our way to the hotel room that my friend had carefully chosen. After necessary ablutions and intake of food, we set ourselves for the nocturnal safari.
We left no club unattended, no hotel unexplored, no casino ungambled. We set the streets afire, painted the town red, so to say. We had started in our best ironed suits and by now the creases were starting to wear out. Such was our dedication to let the demon loose. It was around 2 in the night and the novelty of the place was starting to diminish. Little did we realize that the best was yet to come.
In our feverish excitement, we had overlooked the sign that read “Rhino Ride” on a huge billboard with an arrow pointing north. There was a bright light glowing on another sign further down the road north which probably was the place of action. Now, in my extensive career as a wildlife enthusiast, I had had the opportunity to ride a wide variety of beasts starting from the usual suspects like horses and mules to the more exotic ones like the pigmy hog and the South American iguana. Somehow I had missed the rhino, one horned or not, I do not care. This one really looked appealing, something not to be missed. I was in full form and if remember it right, I felt a slight shiver down my spine - out of excitement. My friend was almost trembling with fervor. I had to steady his steering wheel to keep the car on the road. Soon we reached the spot of action.
On enquiring the person standing guard, we were informed that it cost 20 dollars a ride. I was pleasantly surprised at the affordability of the thing and was already preparing myself for at least half a dozen such rides. My friend flashed two crisp hundred dollar bills and requested advance booking for 10 rides. We both were sweating from excitement as we entered the den. The heart was beating at an accelerated rate.
In ten minutes life had changed for us. Everything that happened seemed like a distant dream that could always happen to others and never to us. We came out almost in a trance. Our backs were broken. Riding a one-horned rhino is one thing, having a fully grown rhino ride on your own back is quite another!
