Welcome to the fabulous Las Vegas: Partnership with Great Yarmouth

Welcome to the 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, which is located on the east coast and is washed out by the North Sea. Although I left my home district over 12 years ago and, apart from occasional visits, I rarely return, I still have a great affection for the district in which I grew up.

There are the beautiful Broads (a network of interconnected lakes and rivers), hilly arable land with windmills and picturesque little villages with great pubs. There is a lavish coastal landscape with sandy beaches, rocky cliffs and sand dunes.

There is also Carrow Road, the home of my beloved Norwich City, and Norfolk is also the home of some of the best fish and chips in the world.

And of course people are there: some of the friendliest people in the country - and I don't just say that because there are so many of my friends at home here. After eight years in London, I can assure you that the Londoners can learn a few joint decency rules from my friends in the East (try first to say and thank the bus drivers).

Alt = “Welcome to the fabulous Las Vegas-partner city of Great Yarmouth-Norfolk Broads”> Cristobal Palma Photography/Creative Commons

This is Norfolk. Then there is Great Yarmouth.

I'm sorry to have to say that I don't bring the city of Great Yarmouth as much affection as Norfolk. The city is about three miles up the street, from where I lived most of my life, and unfortunately it lacks the charm and beauty of the surrounding landscape. 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.

The coast of Great Yarmouth, known as "The Golden Mile", attracts millions of British vacationers every year and almost tripled the city's population in the summer months. The Golden Mile is a series of amusement halls with neon facades and kitschy attractions that sound like kitschy melodies and only provide the endless currents of vacationers who arrive every Saturday.

I could never really see the charm of Great Yarmouth as a holiday destination, but if you grow up next to something like the Golden Mile, it can cloud the view of a place. That means just because it is not for me, that doesn't mean that others would not love it - as I said, millions visit it every year. That brings me to the fabulous Las Vegas, the glittering desert city, which attracts almost 40 million tourists every year

When I realized that we would visit Vegas during our great American road trip, I imagined James-Bond-like characters, sipping cocktails, throwing cubes and gaining big with blackjack and roulette-something in the way Ocean’s Eleven. Well, maybe this vegas exist somewhere, but that's exactly what I didn't find. In fact, I found Great Yarmouth on steroids.

This is Great Yarmouth ...

alt = “Welcome to the fabulous Las Vegas, which is connected to the beach promenade by Great Yarmouth”> Leigh Last/Creative Commons

And that is Las Vegas ...

alt = “Welcome to the fabulous Las Vegas, twin town of Great Yarmouth Vegas Casars”>

This is Great Yarmouth ...

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And that is Las Vegas ...

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This is Great Yarmouth ...

alt = ""> Ellen Munro/Creative Commons

And that is Las Vegas ...

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The fabulous Las Vegas is certainly impressive and I can see how much fun it can be if you have money to burn and just look for a little fun with your friends. But that's a long way for a Norfolk boy who wants to have a little fun with his buddies!

When we went through the streets, Kia and I were quite impressed by the glittering, large hotels, the dancing water fountains and the neon -blown imitations of landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower. Likewise, we felt somewhat attacked by the pressing masses of screaming bachelors and hen parties and dodgy men who pushed through the business cards with "hot and horny girl w8ing 4 u" ...

We passed a few "classic" facilities that reminded a little more of Ocean’s Eleven, but for each of them there were 10 dilapidated arcades, which were filled with apparently amazing zombies that pumped endless coins in slot machines. It was really pretty depressing.

As you can probably see, I was not enthusiastic about Vegas and I doubt that I will come back soon. Maybe it's because of the Norfolk-Boy, perhaps because even after eight years in London I am not really able to cope 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 was before ... but you know what, I agree. I would rather go out with my old schoolmates in Yarmouth at any time than in Las Vegas.

I guess Vegas (and Great Yarmouth) are a bit like Marmite ... either you love it or you 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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