"Karachi ~ Over the edge!" a Karachi Travel Page by besal

Hearing that one is going to Karachi gives one a serious “karach-itch”, and brings in multitude of negative response from ones well wishers, and prayers for the journey. I saw an old Lonely Planet’s documentary (1998) on Pakistan, and the host had very few words: Entry point to Pakistan…cheap Kurta Shalwar…Zainab Market…and better to get out ASAP.

All the recent negative press on Pakistan, especially for Karachi, had resulted in reluctance on part of tourists to visit this cosmopolitan city. And even our tourism ministry ignores this beautiful city, by focusing mainly on northern area.

To bring some credence to the negative reports, yes, Karachi has had its fair share of problems. With city becoming the Capital after independence, it grew totally unplanned with economic as well as political migrants, and refugees coming in masses to permanently settle here. With rapid growth in its population, low government involvement in planning, shifting of Capital to Islamabad, and coupled with slow investment in collapsing infrastructure problems for Karachi over time increased. The 90’s and onward has been turbulent with ethnic strife, political parties’ selfish shenanigans, mafia-ization of various bodies, and the recent fall-out resulting from WOT.

With all its turmoil, we the Karachi wallas have survived, and Karachi is still a flourishing cosmopolitan city of Pakistan. It is still the major economical hub, and for a better life economic-migrants are still arriving daily.

That is all the historical perspective I will share with you, and if you are still interested in reading more about Karachi history, look up wikipedia.

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Karachi a place to avoid-syndrome:

It is claimed by most people living here or visiting, that Karachi has nothing to offer to its visitors (or residents as well) and is a recreation starved city, with negligible entertainment facilities. This psychological and physical notion of nothing around has put a lot of burden on the entertainment starved population, leaving majority to amuse themselves by going to various eateries, visiting relatives/friends, shopping, or going to the beach or other small outlets (parks, museums).

So the “generic” statement there is nothing to do in Karachi is predominantly uttered from one and all.

With my pages/tips (still in its infancy) I am going to prove this syndrome false. What it takes is an effort to explore and one can discover that Karachi is more than what is stated above.

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There are two ways to enjoy and view Karachi: Internally and externally.

Internally, tourists visiting Karachi experiences shopping at various malls, centers, shopping districts, eateries at fancy and road side restaurants, business meetings, visit to the Mazar or museums, visit the beach, visit family members, etc.

But if one just looks at the off the beaten path from Karachi, there are abundance of locations and sites that one can visit. But for this you may need your own transport (as renting/hiring may become a bit expensive). Over the edge, Karachi has experiences for all taste:

o) Eco-tourism: lakes, beaches, mangroves, mountain ranges, dams, dolphin/whale watching (this is still being developed by WWF).
o) History: Various archeological sites going towards Thatta, ancient temples, plus many old British style buildings and churches around the city.
o) Hiking/Off the Roading: Towards Kirtharr or Hingol ranges, one can enjoy off roading. Will need 4x4 for this as this activity will take you deep inside these ranges where you will discover mud volcanoes, various wildlife, rivers, unusually carved mountain ranges, etc.
o) Boating/Fishing: Off the cost the vast Arabian Sea provides opportunity for deep sea fishing, scuba diving, wind-surfing, crabbing, etc.

I hope that you enjoy my pages on Karachi and see it beyond what is projected. It is true that all mage-metropollis as well as small towns have issues/problems, but if we start focusing on the negativeity than one will never leave home.

I shall really appreciate that if you do go through my pages and tips, do give me a feedback on what you liked or what needs improvement.