Los Angeles: Living Inside a GTA Server

I always had one simple goal:
See the West. See the East.

Japan and America.

America came first — not because it was more important, but because life pushed me there.

The €250 Decision

For years I planned. Prepared. Overprepared.
And as always — preparation never ends.

Then one random day I saw it:
€250 round-trip to Los Angeles.

From Europe. From Vilnius.

Two days before departure.

I had never been outside Europe. Travel was never my priority. I always had “more important” things to do at home. Work. Projects. Discipline. Structure.

But something in me said:

“This year. No excuses.”

So I bought the ticket.

No plan.
No research.
Ten days.
Zero idea what I was doing.

And suddenly it became real.

First 10 Meters in America

Flight: Vilnius → Copenhagen → Los Angeles.

At Copenhagen Airport I saw an American family near my gate.
A little kid looked at the screen and said:

“No way you can go to Los Angeles from here!”

His parents started laughing.

That sentence stuck with me.

Because I was literally doing exactly that.

Downtown Reality Check

I booked a hotel in Downtown Los Angeles.
6th Street.

I didn’t know anything about the area.

No research about Skid Row.
No idea about fentanyl.
No idea about what people mean when they say “Downtown is different.”

I left my luggage.
Put on sunglasses (best decision — nobody sees where you’re looking).
Walked maybe… 10 meters.

And boom.

A woman screaming under a blanket, swinging back and forth.

Another 10 meters — a man lying on the sidewalk yelling:

“Let me sleep, motherf***ers!”

Then I entered a small shop.

A guy walks up to me:

“Yo man, you want mushrooms?”

That was minute one.

That’s when I understood:

I just entered Los Santos.

This wasn’t “America from movies.”
This was GTA 5 lobby energy.

Cash Is Not King

I don’t know why, but before the trip I believed the phrase:

“Cash is king.”

So I brought €2,500 in cash.

Physical. In my hand.

In the Uber from the airport, the driver noticed it and said:

“Yo man, be careful. That’s a lot of money. You can get robbed.”

That was my second lesson of the day.

America runs on cards.
Not on stacks of bills in your pocket.

Santa Monica: The Matrix Glitch

When I reached the Santa Monica Pier, something strange happened.

I stood there looking at the bridge, the parking lot, the beach, the amusement park.

And my brain glitched.

I had seen this exact scene hundreds of times.

Not in real life.

In GTA 5.

It was copy-paste.

And then the real “Matrix moment” happened.

A 70-year-old homeless man who looked Japanese walks up to me and says:

“Yo man… why Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor?”

Out of nowhere.

So I’m standing in Santa Monica explaining World War II geopolitics to a random stranger.

I start talking about Germany, alliances, blockades, colonial resources.

Mid-explanation I think:

“Why am I doing this?”

Then I ask him about Ikigai.

He replies:

“Ichigai? Good restaurant.”

Turns out he wasn’t Japanese.
He was from South America.

That moment felt like a side quest written by Rockstar Games.

Venice Beach: Weed, T-Shirts, and Bodybuilders

At Venice Beach, the vibe completely shifted.

Chill.
Creative.
Weed everywhere.

Every shop:

“Yo man, you want some weed?”

Custom T-shirt shop?

“Yo man, very good weed.”

Another shop?

“I know a good guy.”

The air literally smelled like it.

I bought two custom T-shirts.
No weed.

Then I visited the legendary outdoor gym at Muscle Beach — the place associated with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Bodybuilders were lining up to pose like it was a ritual site.

It felt like a pilgrimage.

The Street Crosswalk Scene

One moment that stuck with me:

I was standing at a crosswalk.

Red light.

Just observing.

To my left —
A G-Wagon blasting rap music, tinted windows, gold chains, tires squealing.

Shift 30 degrees.

An old man walking through red light, screaming at traffic.

Shift another 30 degrees.

A supermodel-level Asian woman with a random unattractive guy.

And in the background — homeless people pushing trash bags.

Luxury.
Chaos.
Madness.
Beauty.

All in one frame.

That was America.

Extreme contrast compressed into one intersection.

Hollywood Sign and the Small World Effect

I hiked toward the Hollywood Sign.

Stopped at Griffith Observatory — free entry, sun livestream, planetarium, space photos.

Cool.

But I wanted the mountain.
The raw view.
The wind.

I climbed higher.

Later, during the Paris Olympics closing ceremony, I saw Tom Cruise landing near that same Hollywood area in a stunt transition from Paris to LA.

And I thought:

“I’ve stood somewhere right there.”

The world is massive.

But sometimes it feels incredibly small.

The Lithuanian Test

On the hike I met a random guy. Let’s call him Dave.

Most Americans don’t know Lithuania.
Some think I’m Russian.
Some ask if it’s in Europe.

Dave?

He knew.

Basketball country.
Independence in the 90s.

That moment hit differently.

He also explained California real estate laws and why prices are insane because of expansion limits.

Did I need that information?

No.

But America constantly throws random knowledge at you.

It expands your mental map.

Hollywood Walk of Fame: The CD “Scam”

At the Hollywood Walk of Fame near the TCL Chinese Theatre, I encountered the famous CD sellers.

“Yo man, take my music. It’s free.”

We both knew it wasn’t free.

But here’s the thing:

It wasn’t a scam to me.

It was street theatre.

Two guys ping-ponging lines, trying to entertain me.

They tried to convince me they knew Lithuania.
One guy started inventing Lithuanian names.

Then one looked at me and said:

“You military, right?”

He guessed correctly.

We ended up laughing, watching videos of me at a shooting range.
They were jumping around like it was a celebration.

I only had $20 bills.

So I gave $20.

They reacted like I saved their lives.

Maybe it was exaggeration.

Maybe not.

They gave me two signed CDs.

I still have them.

Once a year, I play one track — just to remember that moment.

Because that CD isn’t music.

It’s proof.

Proof that sometimes you should pay for the experience, not the product.

Final Reflection

Los Angeles isn’t clean.
It isn’t logical.
It isn’t stable.

It’s chaotic.

It’s theatrical.

It’s uncomfortable.

It’s inspiring.

It feels like:

• A video game server
• A movie set
• A social experiment
• A spiritual test
• A business masterclass
• And a comedy show

All running at the same time.

I went there without preparation.

And maybe that was perfect.

Because I didn’t visit Los Angeles.

I entered it.

Like logging into a different world.

And for ten days —
I played the game.