Driving in LA

For a month, my friend and I planned to go to Los Angeles to visit Chinatown, as well as Koreatown. However, things did not go according to plan... Instead of my friend's cousin being the driver, I had to drive. Considering her consistently irresponsible nature, I am NOT surprised she did not tell him that he would be driver until that morning. His parents were using his car that day and as last resort, I had to drive.

Basically, he and his girlfriend opened the door of my car under the impression that I was driving. Then, my friend turned to me with a pleading expression and I sighed.

Having lived in a small city full of old people and little to no traffic, I was extremely overwhelmed to deal with so many aggressive drivers in Los Angeles. Although they did compensate me with money for gas, I still feel frustrated and find the situation unfair.

To give you a visual example, here are a couple of pictures.

Believe me when I say that driving there is FAR from fun. Cars are weaving in and out of lanes at a fast speed and motorcycles speed between the lanes of traffic, frighteningly close to the cars. The cars behind me nested in my blind spot and multiple cars (tried to) cut me off because the driver simply cannot wait in the long line of cars. Along with that, the traffic extends for a long while and the freeway splits, so changing lanes was quite a pain. That being said, avoiding the freeway/highway can be preferable.

Having gone to Chinatown many times, I know the places with low traffic density. As for Koreatown, that was another story. Inside Koreatown itself, never have I dealt with so many hostile Korean people! Along with that, the streets are full of potholes, so I had to be extra careful. Swarms of cars refuse to yield and when trying to make an unprotected left turn, I have to wait for a long line of cars. By the end of it all, I am in the middle of the road and have to turn on a red light! I yielded to old Korean people crossing the street before turning and in response, angry drivers behind me abused the honking feature of their car. Considering their road etiquette and disregard for traffic law, I am not surprised that they nearly ran over pedestrians...

I already hated driving before this and thanks to my encounter with LA drivers, I hate driving even more...