after resting the night before, iris and i were ready to take on the city again on sunday (05 january). we woke up early (8:00am) to meet up with iris's great-aunt and uncle. they drove all of us out to primm to go shopping at the outlet mall. i was bummed that calvin klein was closing down and even more bummed that jcrew *had* closed down, but i did a lot of shopping in dkny, bcbg max azria, and gap.

after four hours in primm, we drove back into vegas and stopped at the belz factory outlet for another two hours. i bought a shirt for jon at vans and khaki pants by tilt from pacsun. overall, i think we did pretty good.

after shopping we ended up going to see the shark reef at the mandalay bay. on the way there we visited aureole, which features a four-story wine tower.

the wine tower at aureole.

the shark reef features an array of some of the most dangerous aquatic animals, including sixteen species of sharks, golden crocodiles, pirahnas, and jellyfish. they even have this shallow pool where you can actually touch sting rays. it's kind of soft and mushy. definitely the most weirdest thing i've ever felt. it's beyond description.

two black tip sharks.

we returned in time to relax a little before iris, jen, joy and i had to get ready to go to see "chippendales, the show". we got to the rio with plenty of time to purchase our tickets and get good seats, until we asked this lady where to go and she pointed us the wrong way. we ended up all the way down by the convention rooms. stupid lady. i bet she wanted all the guys to herself.

after chippendales, we met up with the guys to go clubbing at light in the bellagio. unlike at rain, the dj at light played a mixture of techno and hip hop, rather than just mainly techno. he even played old skool songs like "opp" and "jump around". i definitely had a blast.

more photos of the night.

we dragged ourselves out of the club at 4:00 in the morning, caught a taxi back to the fremont and started packing our luggage so that it would be ready for pick up at 7:00am. we ate breakfast at 7:00 and then met with the vacations hawaii representatives at 7:30. by 8:30 we were lounging around the airport, waiting for hawaiian airlines to fly us back home.

i owe so much to iris's parents for their kindness and generosity. and to iris for inviting me. thank you so very much. *hug*

owari.