Leisurely Traveler with Check-in System

The humid, hot wind wrapped in exhaust rushes toward me.

Li Younan looks down from the airplane window and suddenly recalls the engine sounds outside Los Santos Airport in Grand Theft Auto V.

The buses weaving through the real world seem even more crowded than those in the game.

Seeing this, Li Younan feels like the game has come to life.

The operational logic at most airports around the world is essentially the same, so there’s not much that leaves people puzzled.

The slightly regrettable part is that Li Younan came alone this time.

Originally, he wanted to bring Tuantuan and Xuanhuan along, but unfortunately, the United States has strict quarantine regulations.

If it’s a pet cat or dog, it’s more convenient, but bringing over flying bird pets like crows or owls requires a month-long immunity isolation, which becomes very troublesome.

He entrusted Tuantuan and Xuanhuan to Sister Long and his junior.

After arriving in the United States, the first thing to do is to resolve the phone communication issue.

There are actually many ways to solve this problem: one can choose the international roaming service from domestic operators, or simply purchase a local SIM card in the United States.

But only a child would make such a choice.

Li Younan chose to activate the international roaming service while also purchasing a local SIM card in the United States.

The purchase location is at the arrivals hall of Los Angeles International Airport, where there are dedicated service counters.

In fact, Li Younan prepared two phones for himself upon arriving in the United States; one is the latest Apple model where he can also activate an eSIM card.

With triple communication assurance, he no longer has to worry about losing contact.

Li Younan quickly solved the phone communication issue.

Next up is resolving the commuting issue.

A major difference between the United States and China is the mode of transportation; China has a very well-developed public transportation system, whereas in the United States, if you don’t have a car, you almost don’t want to go anywhere.

So many Chinese people new to the United States would choose to get a car.

Los Angeles is a mega-metropolis, vast in area but with a population far less than that of China’s super cities, which also leads to lower building density here.

Before arriving in the United States, Li Younan had already contacted a car rental company in advance.

After resolving the phone communication issue, he immediately contacted the car rental company.

Of course, Li Younan didn’t forget to take out his phone to shoot videos, at this moment feeling quite excited, saying to the camera: ”Hey friends, I’ve arrived in Los Angeles. Let me tell you about today’s itinerary; first, we need to get a car. Not having a car in the United States is quite troublesome.”

Los Angeles lacks dense skyscrapers; in the distance are low tarmacs and clusters of palm trees, with petrol and grassy scents in the air.

Li Younan walks a few minutes along the signs and finds the free bus stop, curiously looking around while lining up.

While lining up, Li Younan hears someone nearby conversing in Chinese.

There are many Chinese traveling in the United States.

Of course, most people are dragging suitcases and speaking quickly, local people.

In this modest-sized airport, there’s a coming and going presence of different ethnic groups: whites, blacks, Latinos, and Asians, including Chinese.

After a while, the free shuttle bus slowly arrives, its body printed with various car rental company logos.

The ride isn’t long, at most about ten to twenty minutes.

Li Younan sits on the seat and looks through the window at the expanses of parking lots and scattered warehouses, feeling like the urban outskirts industrial zone.

Indeed, Los Angeles’s car rental center is basically concentrated in exclusive areas outside the airport.

Soon reaching the rental center lobby, Li Younan starts recording with the sports camera on his chest, explaining: ”I booked a Tesla Cybertruck online, this car isn’t sold in China, so to be honest, I’m quite curious about the experience of driving it.”

Must say, Li Younan is now somewhat short on money.

After all, there’s a yacht, a money-guzzler staying back in China.

This trip to the United States, not even to mention the spending on visas and flight tickets, just the rental car cost alone is quite a significant expenditure.

Cybertruck counts as a high-end model in the United States; daily rental is 230 dollars but because Li Younan chose long-term rental, directly renting it for 10 days, he got a discount, lowering the rental to 200 dollars.

For the time being, Li Younan isn’t sure how long he’ll stay in Los Angeles, but calculating this way, just the car rental would cost 6000 dollars a month, equivalent to several tens of thousands of yuan.

Must say, if you don’t have money, traveling abroad isn’t really an optimistic affair.

Fortunately, Li Younan has never been troubled by money issues, when he’s out of money, he’ll just earn more. To be honest, if all my money isn’t spent, there’s no motivation to earn.

In the car rental company lobby.

Services in capitalist countries are pretty decent; staff members have smiles on their faces, asking Li Younan for related materials, mainly documentation.

In the United States, the way to drive a car is the same as in China, with left-hand drive, thereby the driving experience isn’t much different from that back home. Having a local driving license and a valid translation is sufficient to drive directly.

Li Younan submits the prepared passport, credit card, and driving license to complete related procedures.

Before long, the staff has processed the related procedures, and after signing the contract, kindly reminds: ”Be sure to park in legal parking spaces, roadside illegal parking fines start at 60 dollars, and might even be towed.”