We went to Karachi to visit a very good friend of ours. On any kind of scale, Copenhagen and Karachi must be pretty much at opposite ends! In other words, we had a bit of a culture shock ;-D
First of all it was hot – hot and super humid! Our “light” danish summer clothes were of no use. We had to follow the local customs or we would have melted away. But Marco was not too keen on the local men’s fashion…. Finally he found just what he was looking for, super smart and comfortable orange striped pants! Only problem was that for the eyes of any Pakistani they were obviously for women so we got plenty of attention for the next 3 weeks!
The people of Pakistan are super friendly and helpful and very happy to see foreign tourists visiting their country. Karachi was no exception – on the very first day as we stepped out onto one of the busy streets in central Karachi, Malene was greeted by an enthusiastic rickshaw driver with a “Hello! How are you! I love you!” including a big smile. This also helps to illustrate why it is relatively easy to travel in Pakistan: Almost everyone speaks some English 🙂
For the fresh arrival from Copenhagen, Karachi is first of all just full of traffic of any kind, it is a cacophony of sounds, and there is people everywhere! There are also some really cool people:
Karachi is also full of beautiful but worn down British colonial architecture.
Compare to an old photo of the same street, Karachi 1940’s (from nativepakistan.com):
The colonial era buildings provide a historic backdrop to the busy Karachi life. Here it is the Empress Market.
Marco made friends with half of the market. The wife was more skeptical…..
Meanwhile on the street, anything fits in a rickshaw.
Fresh river fish.
All that you dream about on a hot Karachi day…
At the historic Katrak Swimming Bath building at the Karachi Parsi Institute.
Inside the Parsi Institute with the cricket ground and grazing goats in the background.
Karachi fashionistas. Suffering in the heat – but with style!
Respect………at the Quaid-i-Azam Maousoleum.
Last but absolutely not least…. If you are lucky to have a friend in Karachi, you can end your hot and sweaty touristy day with a hot and super delicious home cooked meal!
Go to Necropolis of Makli and Shah Jahan Mosque
Go to our drive from Islamabad to Gilgit
Hikes to Rakaposhi Base Camp and Rakaposhi View Point
Day-trip to Khunjerab Pass & Pakistan-Chinese Border
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