I'm going to Las Vegas at the end of the month for AWS re:Invent as part of a work trip. I've never had much interest in Vegas, tech bro culture makes me puke, and as a simple lefty hippie kind of dork with a very different taste for lifestyle and entertainment, I'm not sure how best to appreciate the city and the experience.

First off I have no interest in gambling. I've got a skoolie to pay off so I have no desire to go throwing away piles of money, and I only enjoy games like Texas Hold'em if the stakes don't involve cash. I'd actually like to see how little money I can get away with spending when I'm there.

I'm also not big for tourist attractions. Last few times I travelled I much more appreciated staying with locals and immersing myself in their routine life, and to my knowledge that's not a possibility on this trip. Is there anything you'd really recommend seeing or doing even for someone like me? I'm down to try some different foods while I'm there. I'll be limited somewhat in that respect because :im-vegan:

Substances could be fun, but I'm off coffee, weed, and booze for the month. I probably won't have time for any psychedelics unless I pull a :matt-jokerfied: and take a tab of acid during the day when I'm at the conference.

My two ideas right now are a) to get out to some natural settings, hiking trails, or scenic desert spots (is that possible in an evening?), and b) take enough detailed notes to write an ethnography on re:Invent from an outsider's perspective.

Any advice is appreciated. It's far too late to back out now so I need help from people like y'all who get where I'm coming from.