Karachi

Understand

Located in the south of Pakistan, Karachi is a multi-ethnic, multilingual, multicultural and multi-religious city and since the 1970s, capital of Sindh province. One of the world's most rapidly growing cities, Karachi is Pakistan's wealthiest and an important financial and industrial centre and handles most of the overseas trade of Pakistan, and it accounts for a lion's share of the GDP of the country. According to some sources, it is also amongst the world's least expensive cities to live in. Despite its troubled nature which gives it a bad reputation, it continues to be the nerve centre of the country's economy and financial powerhouse of Pakistan. The city is notable for its architecture, music scene, media links, financial and commercial output, social impact, and transport connections. Today it is ranked as a beta world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.

Get around

Once you get the hang of travelling in Karachi, it becomes a very entertaining experience. You meet new people and get to see unexpected things. It's not very hard to find a mode of transportation and if you know what you are doing, it is very easy to get around. Getting around Karachi is not difficult and transportation is not expensive as compared to other mega cities of the world and you only have to follow proper directions to save your valuable time and money. Most of Karachi's inhabitants rely on public transport to and from their workplace and do ride in a taxi and auto-rickshaw at least once in the city. If you are not used to Pakistani roads, an auto-rickshaw ride can be a heart-stopping, death-defying, laws-of-physics-bending. Feel real adventure in a vehicle that feels like it might fall apart at a speed over 30 km/h with a driver who thinks he's Schumacher. Karachi's public transport system is ranked as one of the worst in the world, and even though Karachi is trying to modernise its public transport system, Karachi public transport remains very bad.

Travelling inside the city at peak times (08:00-10:00 and 17:30-19:00) takes a lot of time, with frequent road blocks and traffic congestion but still there are side roads and crossroads which can be useful to avoid traffic blocks.

See

There is a lot to see in Karachi, but the typical "tourist" sights are concentrated in the downtown district of Saddar which is fairly spread out and where there's a collection of buildings and structures of varied architectural styles. The British built a variety of private and public buildings during the British Raj from 1858 to 1947 in Karachi, many of which colonial buildings and landmarks still remain today. Saddar is a chaotic tumble of goods, people, and vehicles and getting lost in Saddar can make for a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon. According to some reports, the city possesses over 600 protected buildings dating largely to the British period. Few fine examples colonial buildings still remain today but unfortunately they are not well preserved and most of them have deteriorated over time due to lack of preservation.

Do

Karachi offers a wide scope of activities; however, don't expect too much even though it's one of the world's biggest cities. Due to being on the shoreline, Karachi offers plenty of opportunities for water babies.

thumb|Boat harbour in Kemari Boating You can hire a boat for a 15–20min ride at Kemari boating harbour, which will take you to Manora Island (though not really an island) or tour you around the Karachi harbour. At the southeastern end of Manora island is the tallest lighthouse (28 m high) in Pakistan, which was erected by the British after they captured Karachi's Talpur rulers. The access to lighthouse is unfortunately restricted due to its presence inside the military protected area. Private boats can be hired for around Rs 500-3,000 per hour according to size of boat. If you are also interested in eating fish or crabs, ask the boat owner to arrange some and have a cookout on the boat while you travel. Please avoid taking photographs as it is prohibited when you're touring near the harbour due to its proximity to a Naval base, and other sensitive installations around. Even the boats crew will discourage you to take photos. Aside from the wooden trawlers, ferries are also available. Some captains of boats and ferry offers sea fishing, or even just crabbing but within the harbour. You can spend a romantic evening crabbing in Karachi's coastline beginning at sunset and ending with a delightful crab and seafood feast under the stars in evening. There are also two…

Buy

Karachi is the shopping capital of the country and Karachiites are avid shoppers. As such, Karachi boasts an incredible diversity in terms of shopping, accommodating anyone's preferences and budget. Products that shoppers can buy in Karachi come from a vast variety of sources, from one of the many local cottage industries to authentic brand wear by renowned international designers. Whether it is simple trinkets, a nice handicraft or high fashion boutiques that turn you on, Karachi is a shopper's paradise and anything can be found in Karachi if you just ask. A huge range of very affordable products are offered to the point where shopping can overwhelm a visit if you allow it to! Western-style malls and shopping emporiums are popping up across the city but don't expect a traditional or uniquely Pakistani shopping experience in the malls. The city has many modern, high-end shopping malls such as Park Towers, The Forum and Dolmen Mall, in addition to local traditional bazaars and a gamut of streetside vendors. You can shop to your heart's content, in the massive range of markets and bazaars that dot the city, or you can shop and enjoy one of the many modern shopping malls that are found across the city's more affluent sectors, namely Defence and Clifton. And don't worry too much about your budget; Karachi is an inexpensive city for expatriates.

There are many shopping places in Karachi, ranging from the traditional bazaar to the modern shopping malls. A first-time visitor should…

Eat

Karachi has a large number of restaurants from fast food, fast casual, casual dining to fine dining as well several fantastic upmarket restaurants, which serve a huge and wide variety of both local and international cuisines such as (Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Arab, Korean, South Indian, etc.). The cuisine of Karachi is strongly influenced by the city's Muhajir population, who have traditionally been based in Karachi, hence the city being known for Muhajir tastes in its cuisine, however cuisines varies from one neighborhood to another, given the diverse nature of ethnic origins that exist in this giant metropolitan. Biryani is arguably the most popular food among Karachiites, with numerous variants. The beauty of the food in Karachi is that you will probably find a cuisine for every taste. Whereas the dining experience at an upscale restaurant in Karachi is more or less the same as anywhere else in the world. If you search hard enough, you will find cuisine from practically every part of the world represented in the city. But to get a real flavour of what's unique to Karachi, you will have to go a little lower down the scale and experience the street food. Few upper-end restaurants are located in major splurge hotels in the city (the Sheraton, the Pearl Continental, Mövenpick Hotel and Avari Towers). It is a huge task for a visitor to find the "right place" to eat in Karachi largely because, as in any big city, there are literally thousands of venues from which to choose, ra…

Drink

Obtaining alcohol is easier than in the rest of the Pakistan but still, drinking alcohol in public areas including restaurants is banned and strongly discouraged, and only legal wine shops are allowed to sell alcohol. The signs of wine shops are usually marked with blue and red stripes (which indicates they're legalised), have no area to sit and drink, mostly sell locally produced brand such as Murree Brewery and are usually closed on Fridays. And even though Karachi has the largest number of wine shops but still finding one can be hassle for a newcomer since most of the taxi and rickshaw drivers simply deny knowing their locations, due to cultural taboos.

Coffee shops, cigar lounges, juice and ice cream parlours are all plentiful and scattered throughout the city, mostly in Defence and Clifton areas. Nightlife in Karachi is livelier than in other Pakistani cities although nightclubs can't be found easily (except a few that have popped up across the city but are very private), there are some fantastic restaurants that offer musical and theatrical performances on a daily basis.

Sleep

Karachi has a glut of hotels. Prices range from Rs 1,500 to Rs 95,000 (USD15-1,000). As in any other destination, you get what you pay for! The majority of hotels of interest to visitors from outwith Pakistan are located in the Saddar where both the business district and the heavily touristed areas are.

There are hundreds of budget hotels and dormitories to sleep in, scattered throughout Saddar, most dotted around Dr Daud Pota Road, south of Empress Market. For USD30 per night you can get a very decent room, with private bathroom, cable TV and air conditioning. Please remember that the cheaper budget hotels often don’t have their own electric generators – a real problem in the oppressive heat of summer during one of Karachi’s many power cuts. Even within the same budget hotel there will often be a range of rooms with varying facilities and prices, but breakfast is not usually provided. Room amenities such as bed linen, soap and even toilet paper may only be provided on request. Budget hotels here are generally male dominated and solo women or couples may feel uncomfortable staying at them. Some places won't even accept women travelling without men at all and it is particularly important for women and couples to personally inspect accommodation first, to make sure it meets their needs.

Connect

The area code for Karachi is 21. (International code +92 if calling from outside Pakistan). Karachi phone numbers are eight digits long. Public Call Offices (PCO), can be found all over the city although they're not so popular nowadays as they once used to be because of vast use of mobile phones now but still you can find a PCO in general or convenience stores; there is usually someone who operates the phone and fax unlike coin operated telephone booths. Rates are usually cheap and will be charged according to the time spent, and you will pay when you have finished your call. Often it is difficult to find one that is open early in the morning or late at night. Cell phone coverage in the city is excellent.

Cybercafes, locally known as "Internet cafes" can be found on virtually every street corner and the rates at around Rs 50 per hr. They usually don't have a very fast operating system nor good internet speed so don't be too impatient. Don't be surprised if you are stuck with a small monitor, Windows XP, and Internet Explorer 5.0. Also data security could be an issue. As a caution, change your password after you use it at a cybercafe or do private/incognito browsing. Most of the cafes in downtown area have a decent speed internet connection with good operating systems.

Internet Access, can be obtained easily on notebook computers with the help of GRPS/3G enabled mobile connections, supported by almost all of the 5 mobile operators. The standard cost of GPRS/EDGE/3G usage is …

Go next

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