Blogs from Karachi, Pakistan, Asia
February 14th 2011
Attending Hadi's Wedding with Chris and Seb.... including Trip to Lahore and Islamabad... read more
August 5th 2010
Day 24 Esfahan to Tehran (Tues 27thJuly) Up early for a 0800 start today. Heading back to Tehran for one night - our last in Iran. Since we have already travelled this leg, there were no real stops this time and the day went by rather quickly, with only 6.5 hours spend on the coach. We made it to the hotel (the same 4 star hotel we stayed in just a few days ago) by 1500. However, despite the fact that we were in so early, we found that by the time we settled and ate, we were just too weary to go out anywhere. Tehran is not the friendliest feeling city in the world though so we weren’t really feeling any great desire to go out anyway. We do know that tomorrow will be a ... read more
March 10th 2010
Pakistan An early leave is required and we were due to take the bus at 5am. At 4:56am I decide to Wake up and blind panic takes hold!! I rush to get my bits n bobs together and make it to the hotel lobby just in time (well, 5mins late to be precise). Good job I’d packed the night before!! Karachi We get through the airport without delay and fly onto Karachi. Apon arrival we are met by our guide Amjad, who greets us enthusiastically and welcomes us to his country. Despite the concerns from family and friends and from what we’ve read or heard in the media regarding terrorism and bombs etc etc Amjad immediately puts us at ease and tells us that the people of Pakistan are welcoming and very hospitable. Lets hope so, ... read more
November 13th 2009
It was wonderful spending almost 2 weeks with Mary, Joe, and little Samuel!! We hung out at home, went to restaurants, Pakistan National Museum, a day at the beach wıth a British famıly, had street food (mmmm), went to the community to see Mary's work, Waldo saw a bit of another NGO. Compared wıth the cıtıes ın India, Karachi seemed a bit more organized, clean, and generally less chaotic. Waldo and I managed to get around on rıckshaws, goıng to the Cathedral, shoppıng areas, and the Masoleum (where the foundıng father of Pakıstan ıs burıed). Whenever I took a rıckshaw by myself though, I seemed to get a drıver who SAID he knew where he was goıng but he DEFINITELY dıd not. We had to stop multıple tımes to fınd someone who spoke englısh so I ... read more
November 3rd 2009
There are only 2 ways to cross the India-Pakistan border: walk across in the north at the Wagha border or take the train across the south. We heard about the Thar Express (train that crosses border once a week) from a CSer but could not find hardly any information on it online or at train stations in India. Finally, in Jodhpur (where the train departs from) we found the nearly abandoned station that is only in use for the special Thar express. From the time we arrived at the train station in Jodhpur at 10 pm to the time we arrived at the station in Karachi about 5 am, we'd spent nearly 31 hours waiting, going through security checkpoints, sleeping, chatting, eating local food and our mangled peanut butter sandwiches, trying to sleep more - it ... read more
October 17th 2009
Apart from being the prime city of Pakistan and Jinnah's final resting haven, Karachi is driving the economy of the homeland on the smooth sail since its independence. Not only its dwellers enjoy beating the heat by heading towards the beaches it also holds a rich cultural and historical importance. Coronologically, 700 years back Mohammad bin Qasim, a young muslim warrior entered through the famous Gharo Creek or Bhambore City to conqure the whole of Sindh province and spread the religion Islam. Bhambore now situated at the northern outskirts of Karachi. On his way back he threw some of the date seeds which to this day stand tall as only landmark left of his arrival. Story of tragic love affair of Marvi also happens to originate in Bhambore. It is believed that she ran away with ... read more
November 21st 2007
Pakistan solo When I left Quetta, I was determent to leave a part of my life - and Ann - behind. Before I could go though, we had to finalize a few things that had cropped up at the last moment: proof of life for the SVB (my pension) and permission to drive the car, which is in Ann’s name, out of the country. That done though, after the usual hold-ups and misunderstandings, I was finally free to leave. A last picture, a fare-well and off I was, promptly going in the wrong direction. That was soon corrected though, and I hit the road to Kalat. It was still light when I stopped at an all night filling station with restaurant, an establishment where hot meals were dispensed out of large pots and one could choose ... read more
April 30th 2007
Salam everyone! My 1st official day in Pakistan and I just had lunch, so my driver suggested me to use the internet for an hour before we head off to the open air Air Force Museum. It's blistering hot out there, and fortunately, I do not have to don long sleeved here in Karachi! Would have suffocated from the heat! The roads are sooo dusty and the streets are very dirty. In a way, Karachi is like no other cities I have been to. I was quite shocked to see the state of the roads and the condition of the buildings here. There are lots of rubble lying everywhere, as well as piles of rubbish congregated on roadside corners. A combination of Yangon(which isn't as dusty), Mandalay(which is dirty but also not as dusty), Phnom Penh(the ... read more
February 28th 2007
Apologies - currently unable to restore. If you have a backup please edit this entry and save/publish. There is a small possibility that this entry will be restored - only small. ... read more
November 6th 2006
Yes I have arrived in Pakistan and I have heard and read more about bomb blasts and death in the different Pakistani cities than I ever did in Kabul... The day before I arrived in Peshawar a bomb killed a dozen people not far from my hotel and a few days after I left several more bombs went of in Peshawar... So I don't know which is safer, Afghanistan or Pakistan... Peshawar is a nice city with a great atmosphere... I visited the smugglers bazaar which I didn't find that impressive... Sure you can buy your hashish and what not there, and they have a few small arms for sale... Of course a picture had to be taken of me with an AK-47... They also offered me cocaine, which I politely refused... But if you are ... read more
