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Karachi
Karachi [1](Urdu: كراچى, Sindhi: ڪراچي) capital of the province of Sindh, is the Financial capital and the largest city of Pakistan,with a metropolitan population usually ranked among the top 5 cities in the world.
Karachi is located on the coast of the Arabian Sea, north-west of the Indus River Delta and has a mild climate. The city is the financial and commercial centre as well as the largest port of the country. spread over 3,530 square kilometers. The city credits its growth to the mixed populations of economic and political migrants and refugees from different national, provincial, linguistic and religious origins who have largely come to settle here permanently. It is locally termed as the City of Lights (روشنیوں کا شہر) for its liveliness and the City of The Quaid (شہرِ قائد), for not only being both the birth and death place of Muhammad Ali Jinnah the founder of Pakistan but also his home after 1947.
Residents and those born in the city are called "Karachiites".
Travel to Karachi, visa requirements
Jinnah International Airport (IATA: KHI), [2], is Karachi's largest international and domestic airport. Built by a French company and opened in 1993, it's one of the best airports in South Asia. Facilities include a McDonald's outlet, a Citibank ATM (in Arrivals), hotels and a duty free shop that doesn't sell alcohol. Spotty lighting is a downside. Previously, immigration was a lengthy process, but after rearrangement of counters and the introduction of a green channel in 2006, this is no longer the case.
Get around
The main ways of getting around in Karachi is through buses, and it is used by the majority of the Karachi population. However, outsiders might be put off by the cramped conditions in the buses, and might prefer traveling in taxis. There are three kinds of taxis in Karachi, Metro, Yellow and Black. The yellow ones are generally thought to be better than the black ones. Although they do charge a greater mark up. The Metros are chains of taxis operated by different private sector companies (i.e. private version of NY's TLC). As in any nation, elements can overcharge "foreigners". Most of the Black and Yellow taxis don't have any meter, so you should first fix the charge and the location with the driver before getting in. The official per kilometer rate is around 7 Rupees but expect to pay around double of that.
There is also the so called "Radio/White Cab" service, which is air conditioned and can be called in at the airport or anywhere in the city. Typical cost for a full day (8 hours, 150 KM) is $25 (USD). White Cab Tel No. 00-92-111-789-786 or within Karachi 111-789-786. Per kilometer rate is 15 Rupees plus Rs. 50 calling charges.
A new company, "Metro Cabs" is considered highly efficient, their taxis are usually easily available from the airport, rates are very reasonable. Metro Cab Tel. No. 00-92-21-111-222-787 or within Karachi 111-222-787.
Once you get the hang of traveling in Karachi, it becomes a very entertaining experience. You meet new people and get to see really unexpected things. It's not very hard to find a mode of transportation and if you know what you are doing, very easy to get around.
Karachi attractions and sightseeing
- Mazar-e-Quaid (Mausoleum of the founder of Pakistan- Muhammad Ali Jinnah)
- Bin Qasim Park & Lady Lloyd pier (Old Clifton)
- Water Jet fountain
- Koocha-e-Saqafat (National Arts Council)
- Mohatta Palace
- Frere Hall
- Zamzama Commercial Area (famous for its designer outlets)
- Aga Khan University hospital (for its modernist Islamic Architecture)
- Masjid e Tooba(Largest single-domed mosque in the world)
- St Patrick's Cathedral
- II Chundrigar Road (Karachi's Wall Street)
- Karsaz Road (Karachi's pride)
- Kemari Bridge
Beaches and Waterfront
- Clifton Sea View seafront - The Clifton beach in Karachi is one of the longest city beaches in the world. Although it suffered a recent oil spill disaster, the beach has been cleaned and has floodlights installed for night-time visitors. There are also a lot of other excellent beaches near the city such as Sandspit, Hawke's Bay, the French Beach, Russian beach and Paradise Point (a sandstone rock promontory with a natural arch) that are frequented by flocks of visitors every day. Camel rides are available at Clifton Beach. Two people can ride one camel, and kids love it.
- Hawkesbay Beach(breeding ground for endangered turtles)
- Paradise Point (a rock promontory in the sea with a natural arch)
- Sandspit Beach
- French Beach
- Creek Marina Club (offers boating in the creek areas)
- Harbor Cruise
- Clifton Aquarium
- Defence Golf Club
- Go-Carting at National Highway
- Area 51 bowling alley
- Park Towers Shopping Mall
- World Wildlife Centre
- Wetland Centre at Sandspit
- Three Swords Monument
Museums
- Mazar-e-Quaid Museum (closed on Mondays!)
- Pakistan Air Force Museum
- Karachi Stock Exchange Building
- Pakistan Maritime Museum
- National Museum of Pakistan
- The Mohatta Palace Museum of Karachi and regional history
- Karachi Expo Centre
Colonial Buildings
- Mereweather Tower
- Frere Hall
- Governor's House
- St. Patrick's Cathedral
- St. Anthony's Church
- Trinity Church
- Sindh High Court
- Former Victoria Museum (later used by the Supreme Court)
- Karachi Gymkhana
- Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Building
- Hindu Gymkhana (now NAPA)
- Empress Market
- D.J. College
Islands
- Clifton Oyster Rocks
- Manora Island
- Bundle Island
- Bhit Shah
- Shah Bandar
- Churna Island (Naval gunnery site, as well as Pakistan's only coral reefs)
Amusement Parks
- Go Aish Adventure Park [3]
- Bin Qasim Park (Old Clifton)
- Safari Park (University Road)
- Aladdin Park (Rashid Minhas Road)
- Sindbad
- PIA Planetarium
- Karachi Zoological Gardens (Gandhi Garden)
- Beach Park (Sea View)
- Askari Park (University Road)
- Hill Park (Tariq Road)
- Nisar Shaheed Park (Defance P5)
- Zam Zam Park (ZamZama)
- Polo Ground (PIDC)
- Cosy Water Park (super highway)
- Samzu Park (super highway)
- Fiesta park (super highway)
- Sun Way Lagon (near nooriabad)
- Cheekoo water park (super highway)
City tours
There is much to do in Karachi, a city of 18 million people is unlikely to be short on activities!
One can shop to one's hearts content, in the massive range of markets and bazaars that dot the city, or one can shop at one of the many modern shopping malls that are found across the city's more affluent sectors, namely Defence and Clifton.
From a historical perspective, Karachi has a fine collection of Anglo-Indian architecture, a legacy of the British Raj, which can keep History buffs engaged. As well as a fine history in its own right, with ancient pre Islamic and later Muslim rulers leaving there mark on this enchanted area around which the modern city has formed.
On the sports front, one is spoilt for choice. Cricket can be found at every conceivable corner; in the lush grounds of the more wealthy professional clubs or elite schools, to the side streets of the working class Sadar City district of Karachi. There are several fine Golf courses-which host international tournaments such as the Pakistan Open on the Asian circuit, a bustling race track, and a wide range of water sports are accessible due to the City's Arabian Sea coast.
Culture vultures will find a city with 10 Art Galleries, displaying broad works from Asia, and some New Age works from aspiring Pakistani artists.
Walks along the beaches, under clear skies, at night are an experience worth the travel alone, as visitors can gaze towards the heavans with the Arabian sea cascading over there sandalled feet. Joyous memories are assured!
Simply let yourselves be overwhelmed by this city, its size and scope, its heart breaking disparity between rich and poor, and its breath taking sights and sounds. Karachi isn't a city, it is a world unto itself.
Shopping, Karachi souvenirs
There are a great number of shopping places in Karachi, ranging from the traditional bazaar to the modern shopping malls. A first-time visitor should try and visit the bazaars, The bazaars usually consist of many small vendors selling a variety of products from accessories to clothes to food and drink. In addition, there are larger stores which are more specific in their products. Also one would find that the bazaars are a more culturally enriching experience, and everything's so cheap!
Buying Pakistani Currency
Pakistani currency is Pakistani Rupees. It is usually advised to get your foreign currency converted in local currency before you buy stuff (off course thats only applicable if you're planning to buy with cash not credit card). A number of licensed Currency Exchange Companies operate their offices located in various parts of the cities that can be used for the exchange. A passport might be required as an identification document but the requirement is often ignored. Some good repute currency exchange companies are Khanani & Kalia, and Galaxy International.
Places to Buy
Some of the major shopping malls in Karachi are:
- The Forum
- Dolmen Mall (Located on Tariq Road)
- Millemium Mall (Located in Gulshan-e-Iqbal)
- ARY Cash 'n' Carry (Superstores chain)
- Park Towers (Located in Clifton)
- Dmart (Sea View)
- Jumeirah Mall (Located on Tariq Road)
- Naheed Super Market (Located near Tariq Road) (Superstores chain)
Some of the main bazaars in Karachi that deserve a visit:
- Tariq Road Bazaar
- Zamzama Boulevard (Located in the Clifton/DHA area, worthwhile visitng for various local/western designer clothes and various places to eat and hang out including Costa Coffee, Copper Kettle, Dejavu, Roasters, Arizona Grill,Okra etc.)
- Gulf Area Market(many traditional vendors and more upscale boutiques and designer shoes)
- Zainab Market(If you are are looking for branded clothing for half the real price!)
- Hyderi Bazaar (North Nazimabad)
These are just a few to mention. On the whole, shopping in Karachi is an interesting, exhilarating (because of the low prices!) and often tiring experience.
Good restaurants and cheap meals
Karachi has several fantastic upscale restaurants, which serve a huge variety of cuisines. Most of the upper-end restaurants are either located within one of the major hotels in the city (the Sheraton, the Pearl Continental and Avari Towers), or in the trendy shopping district of Zamzama in Defence. For example, the Peal Continental is known for its Thai (The Blue Elephant), Japanese (Sakura), and Chinese (Tai Pan) restaurants; the Avari is known for its Japanese (Fujiyama) and Chinese (Dynasty), and the Sheraton for its Pakistani (the Pakistani).
Zamzama, however, is where much of Karachi's trendier restaurants, such as Okra , Cafe Aylanto, Gunsmoke, Pompeii, Baan Thai, Chatterbox and Aqua Lounge are located. More commercial (and less trendy) eateries include the Copper Kettle restaurant. Coffee-shops are aplenty, with the most trendy being Espresso (it has another/larger branch in Defence) at Espresso they also serve a good breakfast and yummy desserts. Ciao and Costa are also popular for coffee, and new coffee places include The Avenue and Cafe Coffee Day. There are also several dozen different locations for international fast-food chains such as KFC, Pizza Hut and McDonalds in almost every Karachi locality. For people looking for a more central location would be well advised to try The Korean (near Schoen Circle, in Clifton), Cafe Flo (located in the Alliance Francaise, near the Three Swords), Thai Sea food (located at Old Sunset Boulevard), Kay Bees (located near Lal Qila Restaurant).
Four popular restaurants that give diners a chance to sample a variety of mostly Pakistani foods, buffet-style, are Lal Qila , Floating Kitchen, Revolving Restaurant and The Village. Built in the style of a 17th-century Moghul fort, Lal Qila offers barbecue, biryani, and a local beef-based delicacy, haleem, in its open brick courtyard. Beware long lines during the peak evening dining hours. The Village & Floating Kitchen is by the beach at Sea View (Clifton) and is very popular.
People with concerns about the spiciness and hygiene factor of the foods available, particularly those visiting from abroad, tend to find themselves at BBQ Tonight, which may well be one of Karachi's most popular restaurants. Spread over four stories of seating, the restaurant is almost always completely packed, but the turnover is high, so reservations aren't required. It is only open in the evenings. The rooftop at BBQ Tonite is recommended.
If anyone is looking for "chaat" (a local-fare of chickpeas mixed with other things) Chatkharay in Khadda Market (Defence) is good. There are lots of ice-cream and dessert parlours, these include Hot Spot, Gelato Affair, Movenpick etc.
For those on a more restricted budget (while Pakistani restaurants do not sell alcohol, most upscale ones will serve bottles if customers bring them; nonetheless, a full meal for two can be as expensive as US$50-100 at the top eateries, but not if you choose carefully), tourists and visitors are advised to try Karachi's Boat Basin, a central neighbourhood consisting of a mile-long strip of open-air street food/restaurants. Favourites tend to include Karachi Broast, Mr Burger, Qasr-Al-Nakheel, and Tandoori Hut. Boat Basin is where almost all of Karachi's late-partying citizens, regardless of social or economic standing, wind up since food is often available until 5:00 or 6:00 a.m., if not 24 hours. Many remain in their cars and are served by waiters there. Local style breakfast (such as halwa puri) is also served at Boat-Basin from 6-7am onwards. Visitors hoping to try more authentic cuisine are advised to try restaurants such as Bundoo Khan's, Student's Biryani or Sabri Nihari, all of which are located in the "old city" region of Karachi, known as Saddar. Bundoo Khan's also has other branches throughout the city. These places, and Burns Road (another street just full of local food cuisines) are immensely popular, but may not be a good idea for a foreigner's pallette.
Be warned that restaurants NOT located in either the hotels and/or Zamzama will usually tend to only accept cash payments, and not take any form of debit or credit card. It is a good idea to always carry enough cash to tide on over (at most of these locations, Rs. 1000-2000 [US$20-35 approx.] will be more than sufficient on a per head basis).
One can easily find a franchise of KFC, McDonald, Pizza Hut or Domino's across the street if you're in a good area. You can always ask a nearby shopkeeper in a shop or real estate officer about good places to eat.
Karachi nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs.
Drinking alcohol in public areas is nominally banned, and most of the top end hotels have their own bars.
Of the local drinks, Lassi is a classic yogurt drink that is served either plain or sweet, and is sometimes flavored or even fused with fresh fruit. Highly recommended!
Another favourite is Sugar Cane Juice. Extracted by mechanical force it is best when fresh. You can always get a fresh juice with froth on top for a nominal price. For someone who has never tasted this its a treat and something to remember. You would also love the Falouda and other fresh fruit juices, extracted right in front of you plus those common soft drinks including some like the local limca cola, which makes that "pop" sound when opened.
If you want to drink plain water, always prefer bottled water of a good brand, it just costs 40 cents (Rs. 25/ cold) for a 1.5 liter bottle of Nestle water.
Hotels, youth hostels, lodging
There are thousands of lesser hotels and dorms to sleep in. For $60 USD/night you can get a very decent place, with private bathroom, cable TV and air conditioning. As in any place, there is a correlation between comfort and cost.
- Hotels
- Airport Hotel
- Avari towers
- Beach luxury
- Best Western plaza
- Carlton hotel
- Creek-inn
- Days inn
- Faran hotel
- Grand Mercure
- Gulf hotel
- Hotel Bilal
- Hotel Bloom luxury
- Hotel De Paris
- Hotel Embassy
- Hotel hilltop
- Hotel Jabees
- Hotel Marriott
- Hotel Metropole
- Hotel Mona lisa
- Karachi Sheraton
- Mehran hotel
- Paradise hotel
- Pearl Continental
- Reagent plaza
- Regency hotel
- Sky towers
Contact
The area code for Karachi is 21. Prefix +92 If you are calling from outside Pakistan. Phone numbers are seven digits long. All mobile numbers, however are 11 digits long and begin with "03", and should not be dialed with the city prefix.
Public Call Offices can be found all over the city. You will find a PCO in nearly 50% of the general stores , there is usually someone who operates the phone. (Fees will be charged according to the time spent and a units runs to keep track of your time. You pay when you have finished your call.
Cybercafes will be seen in virtually every street corner and the rates are as low as Rs.15-20 per hour. They usually dont have a very fast operating system so dont get too surprised if you find yourself one of them. They usually use 14" monitors, Windows 2000, Windows 98, Windows XP are usally installed on these operating systems. Most of the cafes have a decent speed internet connection.
Internet Access can be obtained easily on notebook computers with the help of GRPS enabled mobile connections, supported by almost all of the 6 mobile operators. Mobilink provides EDGE based connection in very limited areas of Karachi, however Telenor's coverage of EDGE is more wider. Usually standard prices of GPRS/EDGE usage is Rs.15 - Rs18/MB data transfer, which indeed is expansive, however if you wish to download a lot more then you may want to use unlimited packages provided only by Mobilink and Telenor at this time.
Cell phone coverage in the city is pretty good. Cell phones were considered as a symbol of status a few years ago, But since 2002 the telecommunication took a boom in the country, Now you will hardly found a single person in the city not having a personal cell phone. More than 40% of the country's 160 million population have cell phones which increases to 65% to 70% in Karachi. There are various service providers offering a huge variety of plans. Among them are Mobilink, Warid Telecom, Telenor, Ufone, Instaphone & Paktel. Its not a bad idea to buy a cell phone and use one of those prepaid plans to get yourself connected while you are in the city. The mobile phones and the prepaid plans are very cheap. you will usually get a new cheap cell phone just for Rs. 2000 ($34) and a prepaid connection for Rs. 150 to 400 ($2.5-$7)
Stay safe
Street Crime in Karachi is at a rate you could expect from most mega cities of this size. Use common sense and avoid slums. Avoid going out alone, or in dark places. Never flash electronics or valuables in public. Street crimes occur much more frequently than robbing or purse snatching. Keep your cell phones,watches in a safe place. These things easily attract attention.
You should always keep the emergency telephone contact numbers of your country's foreign mission in Karachi.
The people of Karachi are very hospitable. They tend to welcome any foreigner very warmly but be at guard at all times. There are also con-men looking out for foreigners. Beware of men claiming to belong to the intelligence agencies. Beware of pickpockets when you are in any crowded areas.
There has been several violent incidents of civil unrest in Karachi in recent years, and subsequently there is a visible security presence in the city. You may also see paramilitary personel in the city - particularly if there is a 'security scare' such as just after the 2005 Nishtar Park bombings, or during the lead-up to an election. The best practice is to keep informed about the city with the help of Newspapers and TV. Just dial '15' from your cell if there is an emergency.
There should be no tangible danger to any tourist or local in the affluent parts of the city. Defence and Clifton are regarded as safe at all times, populated by the city's business and cultural elite. These districts offer the most "tourist friendly" experience of Karachi, given that there will be no language barrier (most Pakistanis can speak some English, many people in these districts will be completely fluent), and a large degree of cultural understanding and compatibility between the residents and western tourists.
Aga Khan Hospital is by far the best in the city and has world class medical care facility at an affordable cost. The public hospitals aren't up to par with what you may be used to in the west.
Traffic jams is a major hassle in Karachi. Although the city government has recently built dozens of under passes and fly overs to get rid of the over flow of the traffic, but It is recommended to keep on look for any rallies/protests and check out alternate routes while travelling in the city. Some information on traffic jams in Karachi is available at Chowrangi.com
Get out
It is apparently possible to take cargo ships from Karachi to a few ports around the Middle East like Oman.
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