Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas: Partnership with Great Yarmouth

Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas: Partnership with Great Yarmouth

I grew up in a small village called Caister-on-Sea, near Great Yarmouth in Norfolk. Norfolk is a pretty rural part of the United Kingdom, located on the east coast and washed by the North Sea. Although I left my home county over 12 years ago and rarely return except for occasional visits, I still have great affection for the county in which I grew up.

There's the beautiful Broads (a network of interconnected lakes and rivers), rolling farmland dotted with windmills and quaint little villages with great pubs. There is a lush coastal landscape with sandy beaches, rocky cliffs and sand dunes.

There's also Carrow Road, home of my beloved Norwich City, and Norfolk also happens to be home to some of the best fish and chips in the world.

And of course there are the people: some of the friendliest people in the country - and I'm not just saying that because so many of my friends call home here. After eight years in London, I can assure you that Londoners can learn a few common etiquettes from my friends back east (try saying please and thank you to bus drivers first).

alt=”Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas – sister city of Great Yarmouth – Norfolk Broads”>Cristobal Palma Photography/Creative Commons

This is Norfolk. Then there is Great Yarmouth.

I'm sorry to say that I don't have as much affection for the town of Great Yarmouth as I do for Norfolk. The town is about three miles up the road from where I have lived most of my life and unfortunately lacks the charm and beauty of the surrounding countryside. It was a seaside resort and an important fishing port for over 200 years and suffered a slight decline in the second half of the 20th century.

Great Yarmouth's seafront, known as 'The Golden Mile', attracts millions of British holidaymakers every year, almost tripling the town's population in the summer months. The Golden Mile is a series of neon-fronted amusement arcades and cheesy attractions that blast equally cheesy tunes, catering only to the endless streams of vacationers that arrive every Saturday.

I never really saw the appeal of Great Yarmouth as a holiday destination, but growing up next to something like the Golden Mile can cloud your view of a place. That said, just because it's not for me doesn't mean others wouldn't love it - like I said, millions visit every year. That brings me to fabulous Las Vegas, the glittering desert city that attracts nearly 40 million tourists every year.

When I realized we would be visiting Vegas on our Great American Road Trip, I imagined James Bond-like characters sipping cocktails, rolling dice, and winning big at blackjack and roulette - something along the lines of Ocean's Eleven. Well, maybe this Vegas exists somewhere, but that's not exactly what I found. In fact, I found Great Yarmouth on steroids.

This is Great Yarmouth...

alt=”Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas connected to Great Yarmouth seafront”>Leigh Last/Creative Commons

And this is Las Vegas...

alt="Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas, sister city to Great Yarmouth Vegas Caesars">

This is Great Yarmouth...

alt=”Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas – Partnership with Great Yarmouth Flamingo Coast – 1″>

And this is Las Vegas...

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This is Great Yarmouth...

old=““>Ellen Munro/Creative Commons

And this is Las Vegas...

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Fabulous Las Vegas is certainly impressive and I can see how much fun it can be if you have money to burn and are just looking for a bit of fun with your friends. But that's a long way to go for a Norfolk boy who wants to have a bit of fun with his mates!

As we walked the streets, Kia and I were quite impressed by the glittering, grand hotels, dancing water fountains, and neon-clad imitations of landmarks like the Eiffel Tower. Likewise, we felt a bit offended by the jostling masses of screaming bachelor and bachelorette parties and shady men pushing through business cards with “hot and horny girls w8ing 4 u”…

We walked past a few more "classic" establishments that were a little more reminiscent of Ocean's Eleven, but for every one of them there were 10 rundown arcades filled with seemingly mindless zombies pumping endless coins into slot machines. It was really quite depressing.

As you can probably tell, I wasn't exactly thrilled with Vegas and I doubt I'll be back any time soon. Maybe it's the Norfolk boy in me, maybe it's because even after eight years in London I still don't really get along with big cities.

Maybe I'm getting old or maybe I'm just not as funny as I used to be, or I think I used to be... But you know what, I'm okay with it. I'd rather go out with my old schoolmates in Yarmouth than in Las Vegas any day.

I guess Vegas (and Great Yarmouth) is a bit like Marmite... you either love it or hate it. But at least Great Yarmouth has decent fish and chips.

alt="las-vegas-great-yarmouth-fish-and-chips">Andrew Dunn/Creative Commons

Mission statement: Atlas & Boots

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