🍱 Delicacy of the Day

Ninajirachi - Infohazard

Alright, this week has been full of chill tracks.

Lets up the excitement a bit eh?

And who better than Abnormal Australian Ninajirachi for this task.

She has been on FIRE these past couple of years releasing some of the best songs in the game.

It’s a lot of energetic tracks that sound eerily similar to the 2010s electro. (best genre btw)

This song in particular has the best payoffs to an AMAZING buildup.

There’s a level of energy and euphoria this song will give you.

It’s one of those songs that you can’t get enough of after the first listen.

The best way I can describe this is the “audible version of best rollercoaster you’ve been to.”

Njoy.

💭 Quick Drivel

Day 1 in Shanghai, China.

It’s a packed day so there’s no time to waste.

Not before defeating the first enemy:

Hearing about it is nothing like experiencing it.

I can't access 80% of the apps on my phone nor anything in my browser.

I connect to Nord VPN and try going to google.

It takes a good 3 minutes to load.

This won’t do. I need a better VPN.

Problem: GOOGLE PLAY STORE IS BANNED. So downloading apps is nearly impossible without a VPN.

Second Problem: the Great Firewall detects the VPN use and randomly turns it off, so I have to watch it at all times to make sure the connection works.

Third problem: I have NO idea what VPN can bypass the great firewall.

So the game plan was:

I spent a good 2 hours trying 15 different VPNS before I found one that worked.

(It was called “lets VPN” for those who are curious).

Once that was done and everything was caught up, it was time to start the day.

I take a step outside and immediately feel the scorching sun.

Ah yes. Summer.

I look aroud to see what’s nearby and notice something strange.

A pole with a row of 5 cameras on top.

I then look to my left and see the same thing.

Then I look behind me to see another camera on top of the building.

Then I notice another row of 10 cameras in the traffic light pole…

Another row of cameras on the other side of the road…

And last but not least, outside of every door to a building.

I see…

…and they see me.

It was a bit uneasy; after all this is one of those things you hear in “dystopian stories”

Of course, when in Rome…

I decided to ignore it and start making my way to the next destination.

…but not before hitting the next challenge.

Yeah so another curious thing about China is that they don’t use cash or credit cards.

Everything happens through like 2-3 apps lmao.

If you don’t have either of these apps, you quite literally don’t exist. And if your phone dies? Good luck. (gulp)

You can’t pay or do 80% of things.

“Hz, you didn’t do this BEFORE starting the trip?”

I tried FOR A WHOLE MONTH.

Despite my best attempts at verifying my identity with Alipay (which included sending them 50 pictures of my passport and ME holding my passport)

THEY WERE NEVER TO VERIFY I WAS THE SAME PERSON IN THE PASSPORT.

So I couldn’t actually use the mf thing to pay or do anything.

“What about WeChat?”

I couldn’t make an account in the USA unless ANOTHER WeChat user gave me access.

Which you know…

UNLESS I FOUND A RANDOM CHINESE TOURIST IN THE MIDDLE OF MIAMI WHO HAD ACCESS TO WECHAT, IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE.

Thankfully, the group of Chinese friends I met in Korea kindly helped me set up the access and account. (Fate encounter #2)

And that's when I realized WeChat Pay was a thing.

Of course, the thought of getting stuck in verification hell for ANOTHER essential app was scary.

So I waited until I was physically in Mainland China to try.

And so in the middle of the scorching heat, getting observed by 30 cameras, I went through the verification process.

Problem: I am now permastuck in 230kbps THANKS TO THE TMOBILE DATA + VPN.

So after 20 minutes of loading screens, I managed to verify my identity and got access to WeChat pay!

It felt like unlocking human rights.

And after another 15 minutes of loading screens I managed to order the first Uber!

(THIS IS ATONEMENT FOR SOMETHING AND I DON’T KNOW WHAT.)

Alright, I can’t lie, the route to this temple was pretty fun.

This uber in particular came with a built in screen for the back seat passengers.

And it was FILLED with entertainment apps.

Games

Shows

And I think shopping? (idk I can’t read chinese and there was no way to change the language, Google Translate wasn’t of much help either)

Of course it was all Chinese media, which I can’t lie, looked interesting!

After spending some time interacting with the app I arrived at the destination:

The scale of this place is impressive.

I saw online that this was a “must-visit” due to the Jade Buddha they have on display.

…the problem is I didn’t know exactly “where” this was.

So I spent a good hour exploring the whole place

The amazing part about it was the inside of the temples (they allowed pictures)

It was apparent that their shrines were no joke. These were A LOT more heavily decorated than the ones in Japan and Korea.

Which I can’t lie, is really cool. You can spend a good 5 minutes analyzing all the details and find a bunch of things.

And then, after going building by building, I found the fated Jade Buddha

Very nice!

With the mission completed, it was time to go to the next destination.

I don’t know what’s with aquariums being the biggest buildings in existence.

Gonna spare you the 5 billion word explanation and just give you some pictures of cool fishe.

The coolest thing about this aquarium was that it had different “Ecosystems” it would walk you through.

Nice spot icl, seeing fishes from all ecosystems was quite cool.

If you like fishes and such, this is a cool aquarium to visit.

Say it with me

This was the tallest tower in Shanghai and let me tell you…

It was a FANTASTIC VIEW.

Unlike usual, I got there 20 minutes before sunset so I could catch it in time.

I even bought the upsell for the higher floor to get a better view!

So I rush my way to the higher floor upon entering.

They tell me I have to wait for 10 minutes before heading up.

Okay, no biggie, still time to watch the sunset!

After waiting they let us into the fateful room.

And when we get there we see…

Yeah so…

I CAN’T F#$(*NG READ.

THIS WAS NOT A BETTER VIEW, THIS WAS A LIGHT SHOW OF THE DEVICE THAT BALANCES THE BUILDING.

Don’t get me wrong, it was BEAUTIFUL. (and I reccommend you give it a shot if you go)

…BUT THIS COULD HAVE BEEN DONE AFTER THE SUNSET.

Once the show was over, I rushed back down to see if the sunset was still going and saw this.

Yeah so it was pretty much over.

Oh well, the sights were still FANTASTIC.

Yeah, these nightscapes were no joke.

They had warmer lights and EVERYTHING illuminated.

It was getting kinda late so it was time to head down.

I heard that the waterfront was pretty good so I went check it out.

And yeah, I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

There wasn’t much after this so I just headed back to the hotel.

BEEP BEEP BEEP. Incorrect pin please try again.

Ah, yeah, must be tired, lets try again.

BEEP BEEP BEEP. Incorrect pin please try again.

I triple check the code provided by the host and input it again.

BEEP BEEP BEEP. Incorrect pin please try again in 60 seconds.

Oh boy. Getting locked out now does not sound like a good plan.

Problem: There’s no front desk here.

And so I messaged the host on WeChat.

…and waited for 10 minutes without answer.

I tried the code again carefully.

BEEP BEEP BEEP. Incorrect pin please try again in 120 seconds.

Texted the host again.

I wasn’t sure what else to do, it was already 11pm.

Thankfully, she replied after 20 minutes.

“Someone’s on the way now”

And so a man came over. He didn’t know english.

I showed him the pin on the phone trying to explain that it wasn’t working.

He quickly got to work and pressed the same keys I did.

Except he pressed the * symbol instead of the # one.

The door unlocks.

ah.

I am destined to be the stereotype of a dumb tourist huh?

He gave me a confused face, said “all good” and left.

After that embarassing experience it was time to head to bed.

I hope it gets better from here…

Hz

P.S. TRIP SCORE: (24 days)

Hours slept total: 143.

Times phone died: 7.

Times lost/taking the wrong train: 25.

Strangers met and talked to: 36.

- Got this sent by a friend? Join them and start getting your daily song by signing up here.

- Artists: Want to have your music showcased? Let us know about you here.

- #VibeFind: Need a song for a special moment or the right tune for the vibe? Reply with #VibeFix, and we’ll get you sorted.

- Song Requests: Want your favorite song featured? Reply with it and a short story about what makes it special, and we’ll send it!

-Can't concentrate to screeching sounds or forced vocals? Brain.fm will fill the electronic void while doubling your focus. Get the first month FREE by clicking here