Karachi is Sunny but Cool

Today Hikam and I took a drive around town with a tour guide / taxicab driver. The idea was that we’d tell him what we needed to buy on a souvenir hunt and he’ll know the best places to take us.

Although we tried very hard, we couldn’t find a T-shirt that reads My Friend Went To Karachi and All He Got For Me Was This Lousy T-shirt. In fact very little T-shirts were sold at the souvenir stores. They mostly have leather and fur goods, onyx-carved trinkets, ornate metal-ware and beautiful cloth for traditional wear. Like Malaysia, there are lots of motorcycles on the streets but wearing helmets are voluntary.

Biking in Karachi, overseen by Sony Ericsson

Other unlikely vehicles found on the streets of Karachi is this human-powered banana-carrying cart and the donkey cart. We missed an opportunity to take a photo of a cart carrying metal drums (stacked at least 10 feet tall) drawn by a camel.

Going bananas at the Regent Plaza corner traffic lights

What an ass

A candid shot of me looking out the Karachi streets in the taxi.

Dust is ever-present and ubiquitous around here

Finally, we found a modern mall named the Forum but we bought nothing there though it did cause us to yell out, “This looks more like Kuala Lumpur!”

I wonder if they have discussions at The Forum

Beside the Forum was a market that sold nothing but cloth. All colours and all kinds. The booths look like cloth-sellers in Kelantan where there is a raised platform from which the storekeepers sit as they do business, and patrons sit on chairs during purchases.

Ain would have a field day here

Yes, but do we know what we’re buying in the first place?

We then went on for Hikam to hunt for spices. As he bought spices in a small supermarket, I chanced upon a poster ad for DSL across the street.

More life on the streets

Shopping centres along Clifton Street

I miss broadband

When we got back to the hotel, we ordered some room service before retiring for the night. Biriyani rice for me and fish & chips for Hikam.

Room service