very serial killer voice, and then left us with an equally disturbed waiter. He
was generally surly, but downright rude when we finished our main course
and asked to see the dessert menu. He bought it and then left us for far too
long before taking our order. Then, when we just asked for hot chocolate, he
said 'is that all?' as if giving us longer with the menu would mean we ordered
more. During the meal a Death Valley 'youth' came in for some take out. He
sat at the counter jailin' and drinking Red Bull, and exuding big ugly attitude. It
was almost laughable. To top the experience off, the food was not even that
great!
Walking back to the van beneath a sky crowded with stars and with
silence all around soon put us back in a better mood. We even sat out for a
while feeling at one with nature - until some animal starting scrambling
through nearby undergrowth, at which point we dived inside the van!
In Vegas food was not scarce, in terms of prices and availability we
encountered the opposite of Death Valley. All the hotels offered a range of
eateries from posh restaurant to hot dog type places. In between they had 'all
you care to eat buffets', which we tended to favour, having two meals instead
of three most days. The cheapest of these was about $10 a head (just over £6
at the time we were travelling), and included hot and cold starters and main
dishes, puddings and non-alcoholic drinks. In Caesar's Palace - one of the
higher end hotels - the buffet cost more but included crabs’ legs and Chinese
dishes, and had much better service.
The fact that places to rest your head and fill your stomach are more
abundant, luxurious and better value for money in Vegas than in Death Valley