🍱 Delicacy of the Day

No Mana - Can’t Say No

The intro is fantastic. The drop is addictive, and the midsection will have you returning for more.

This is one of those songs that sounds basic in the first listen.

But then after a couple of months it invades your mind and doesn’t leave until you hear it again, and again, and again.

American’t No Mana is a master of melodies and sound design. He’s in my top 5 favorite artists.

His versatility is unmatched and this song is one of many examples.

It’s perfect for the midweek slump and will hopefully give you enough energy to make it to the end of the week.

Njoy.

💭 Quick Drivel

Last full day in Chongqing.

Yeah so the curious thing about using a hotel laundry in this building is that there was also full time residents that were using the machines?

This building feels like that one animated show with the dude and the monsters.

Alright now that we got the incomprehensible schizo rant out of the way, lets get on about the day.

Yeah, so it seems that they built first and asked questions later because this whole place feels like a very fun LEGO project.

I mean, where else in the world do you have a train station built into a residential area that is also a market?

I can only imagine the town hall meeting.

“Yeah so… for this next train line, we’re just going to cut through a building”

“Yeah, sounds good!”

In any case, they made it, and it makes for an impressive stop.

On to the next.

Yeah, this place is no joke.

Its’ bigger than the smallest Walmart.

There’s like 5,000 seats (all with a hotpot stove by the way)

Can’t even imagine the logistics of running a place like this.

Upon arrival I saw a waiter knocked out cold in a couch, it didn’t help that I didn’t really know how to get a table so I just wandered around until someone asked if I wanted a table.

Upon saying yes, they sent me on a plilgrimage to the top floor of the restaurant to this little pagoda place.

I ordered a couple of things thinking they would size it for a single person.

And then they pulled up with this.

I guess the whole “american eat a lot” stereotype came to haunt me because what the actual hell is this lmfao.

I tried to eat all of it but only got 80% of the way before I literally couldn't eat anymore.

This was the last meal of the day.

This is that optical illusion building that goes from floor 1 to floor 22 when you go from one side to the next:

That’s when a man wearing a Hawaiian shirt randomly approached me.

“Hey, excuse me sir, are you American?”

Oh no. Is this how I get arrested for dodging the Great Firewall with a VPN? This man LOOKS like those stereotypical CIA undercover agents.

“Uhhhh, why?” I reply.

“Well, I’m curious if you know who iShowSpeed is?”

This was a bit of a shellshock. Is this a trap?

“Yeah, I’ve seen him” I reply with skepticism"

“Well, My name is Charlie. I was actually his driver when he came visit China!” He says, pulling up a picture with proof on his phone.

What happens next is a masterclass in my survival instincts.

“I’m actually asking Americans what they think about Chinese cars, do you mind coming with me to review my chinese car?” He asks

“Sure! Lead the way.” I say, somehow correlating iShowSpeed to this guy not being part of the Secret Service.

If I got kidnapped I would 100% deserve it.

But honestly, where else are you going to get first hand tours of modern Chinese life than this?

He showed me the car which he summoned from his phone.

Then he asked “do you mind if I drive you around some popular spots?”

“Sure!” I say, getting into this strangers car.

Now here’s what came out of this experience.

A. The social credit score is a LIE (as you know it).

Take this with a grain of salt; however, his explanation made sense.

Essentially, China has all these SEPARATE score systems like credit, driving and a couple other scores (similar to what we have in the USA.)

Except some journalist combined all of them together and called it “The Social Credit score”. That is totally false.

The reason why its different in China is because of all the cameras.

Gunned a red light? That’s $100 automatically deferred from your account. Good luck defending against that when there’s 20 cameras proving you did it.

Owe someone $1,000? Haven’t paid them back in a year? Well, you won’t be able to “ball out” until you pay them back.

The consequences are real and instant since everything is linked to you through wechat and alipay.

It’s a very curious system, which led me to the second question.

B: The cameras are for safety and most people are happy they exist

This one was quite insightful. China hasn’t had a peaceful improvement period.

Crime was rampant and the cameras brought peace of mind and deterrence.

Now, people think twice about doing anything illegal since they can get caught in 5 seconds.

C: The 30 year evolution is real.

Nothing we see today existed when this guy was a kid. He got to see first hand how villages got turned into megacities. Chongqing itself is a perfect example of this.

D: People LOVE Xi Jinping

He is seen a shrewd leader that’s helped China grow and achieve global dominance.

E: Teslas are still the “gold standard” when it comes to electric cars.

This one was the most amusing. Despite experiencing the newest Chinese electric car model first hand, most people STILL prefer Tesla, saying it’s “much better than the Chinese models.”

A bit jarring to hear but I didn’t hear any insincerity, lmao.

Again, take these insights with a grain of salt, but I believe them and its given a newfound level of respect for this country.

I also ended up in Chinese social media after drinking a diet coke bro had on his car frige. I still don’t understand how people drink soda everyday. It tastes gross and made me feel like death afterward.

Regardless, after talking about all the differences between the US and China, it was getting late so it was time to say goodbye.

After that incredible conversation, Charlie dropped me off at this “locals only” viewpoint.

I felt a bit out of place but check out these sights:

Say it with me:

Unfortunatley, I got here too late and it was already closing, so I only got a bit of pictures before they kicked everyone out.

A very nice way to end the visit to this city.

It was my last day here so I had to run back to pack.

I’ll have some final comments about this place tomorrow but man, there’s truly nowhere else in the world like this place.

China is in another level.

Hz

P.S. TRIP SCORE: (28 days)

Hours slept total: 166.

Times phone died: 10.

Times lost/taking the wrong train: 28.

Strangers met and talked to: 39.

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