Pakistan
 

I just returned from three wonderful weeks in Pakistan. The most important thing I want to share is how shocked I was to find Pakistan totally different than the messages we are constantly given about this country.

Pakistan is safe, modern, clean, and friendly.

When I landed in Karachi and got into a taxi, I immediately locked all 4 doors of the taxi because I was certain someone would open them and kidnap and kill me. lol lol

Three weeks later when I returned by taxi to the Karachi airport, I had the windows down and the doors all unlocked. I saw for myself the reality and did not have to depend on what is truly propaganda. Pakistan is exotic, safe, clean, and offers wonderful rich experiences for travellers. I prefer it over India now.

Also, I never got sick during my travel, despite drinking tap water from the hotel. I did stay at 5 star hotels and they do filter the tap water, but I would never dare do that in India.

I also never had a single person try to hussle me into their hotel or rickshaw or taxi or shop. They only smiled and welcomed me to their country. I visited Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, and Peshawar. Peshawar was the most exotic.

Okay, I will end it here.

You were only just getting started! You haven't even told us where you went (properly), what you did, where you stayed, how you got around etc.

I don't think we've had a TR about Pakistan on here before, so it would be wonderful to find out some more about your trip. You are right though - it does appear a somewhat "closed" country from the outside. :)

Can i second that, Pakistan is not a country ive really considered and a trip report from you could be the inspiration that i and probably many others need to make a visit.

Please give it a go, it will be appreciated by many of us.

I've been to Pakistan twice. We have friends who live in Pakistan, both nationals and expats. We've been in homes with bodyguards stationed outside. We've driven through affluent neighborhoods and had the places pointed out where shots have been fired. We've worshiped at a church in Karachi, now closed, whose sister church in Islamabad was fired upon with a number of people killed. Most expats have left Karachi because of the danger. Our friends, among a handful of people left, had police protection forced upon them for several weeks surrounding Bush's visit to Pakistan in January of last year.

Did I love my sightseeing in Pakistan? Absolutely. I've been to Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, and the Swat Valley. Hospitality is extraordinary. Do I feel safe in returning? Honestly, no.

Sums it up perfectly I think. ^

Another vote for more info please. I assume Lahore is safer than Karachi?

Okay, fair enough.

Give me a day or two to put my thoughts together and I will add to my rather brief trip report.

I can't help reading this TR and thinking 'governmental tourism propaganda'. However, I do look forward to reading a more complete TR when it is posted!

Okay, here it is:

I flew from Dubai on Emirates Business class. The flight was delayed over one hour which is normal for Emirates Air on all of their flights anywhere in the world. I know, I have flown them dozens of times. Even the flight crew agrees.

I landed in Karachi and took a taxi to the Marriott Hotel. My impressions in the taxi of Karachi were disappointing as I wanted it to be more exotic and strange. It was strangely neither. Maybe I have travelled too much in the world, or maybe Karachi is a bit too Western. Of course, there were things that I don't see in the USA, but nothing that made my mouth fall open.

I arrived at the hotel and was given a nice room. Soon after my arrival, a tray of tea and cookies arrived to greet me. That was a very nice touch. That night I went to BBQ Tonight, which is a popular restaurant in the Cliffton district of Karachi, at the recommendation of the conceierge. What I saw at the restaurant were high class people, no different than I would see in New York or Paris. Women had their hair totally uncovered and would fling it back in the same seductive way women do in other parts of the world. Actually, throughout Karachi, it was almost 50/50 regarding the amount of women who had some sort of head cover. I never saw any woman in Karachi who had her face totally covered. The restaurant was very family oriented. Large family groups continued to pour in throughout my meal. I could have been anywhere in the world. The food was quite good. After the meal I walked around the area and went into several stores. I saw the same items I see on NYC stores shelves on the Karachi shelves. I am talking about books, laundry soap, vidoes, dvd's, over the counter medications, cake mixes, beauty products, etc etc etc. Was I really in Karachi? I wanted to wake up and find the strange Karachi I imagined. But, I didn't. It was real. Every store sign and every street sign was in English. Karachi was Western and modern. I called the taxi and went back to the hotel. Actually, a bit disappointed.

The next day I went back to Clifton area to see the beach. Clifton is the high class area of Karachi. On the beach were horses and camels that one could ride for a small fee. There were few sunbathers as it was winter. But, along the beach area were miles of high class apt complexes that in a way resemebled Miami Beach. NO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

more later............

Interesting so far... can't wait to hear more. It's certainly not how I imagined it!

Did you have a guide? How did you know which areas were high class? I have heard Karachi is very metropolitan, but am looking forward to hearing on your experiences in other cities in Pakistan. I am planning on a trip by next year.

Thanks

I have a friend who told me that Karachi is a disaster. However apparently Lahore / Kyber Pass area is nice. If one asks Daniel Pearl of his opinion I think he would probably tell us that Pakistan is a pretty dangerous place; same applies to the French engineers who were blown up a few years ago.

In response to the above, I had 2 female friends who both had their sons murdered in New York City over a cell phone, coincidentally on the same night. I live in NY and read the papers daily. They are filled with horrible violence happening in NYC. Should people avoid NYC? Maybe they should. That is up to them.

Karachi has random violence as do most world capital cities. However, my propagandized impression of Pakistan was that violence was as common as drinking a glass of water. That simply did not pan out to be true. As a matter of fact, when I was in Pakistan, the Minister of Tourism had an op-ed piece in the English language newspaper that was delivered to my hotel room daily. She stated that there has never been one tourist hurt in Pakistan in the history of the country. I have no idea if that is true, but from my experience, I would not be surprised if she were accurate. However, if a tourist walks down any foreign street in any city at 2 am, they are asking for problems and might find them. That could happen in Pakistan, also. One has to be prudent and thoughtful.

Daniel Pearl and the others you mentioned were not tourists. They were living and working there and got caught up in political violence. Sadly, that is happening in too many countries around the world. I am not sure why the world knows of Daniel Pearl, but the world does not know the name of one innocent Muslim killed by American or Israeli brutality, be it governement sponsored or random political violence at the hands of American or Israeli citizens. Seems slanted and unjust. I felt infinately safer being a White American in Pakistan than I would being an Arab in American controlled Iraq or Palestine. If you don't believe me, go to the source and ask them. You will hear untold stories that will curl your hair.

I told everyone I met in Pakistan that I was American and those words were met with handshakes and smiles. They seem to be able to distinguish the individual from his government's foreign policy and not hold the individual responsible for the acts of his government.

I don't want to engage in a political debate on a trip report forum, but others who reply seem bent on challenging my experiences and sticking to the script that Pakistan is something it is not.

This will conclude up my trip report, because, let's face it, a 5-star hotel is a 5-star hotel most anywhere in the world. I want to share something new with people and that is my experience of Pakistan as a country on the map, and not about its hotels or restaurants. I will leave that for the next person to do.

Thanks for reading...

thanks for the report. I personally have (thankfully) never experienced too much violence in Karachi but it definately exists. I know at least half a dozen people who have been followed home from the airport and then held up and robbed at gunpoint. :(

Lahore is much safer than Karachi, but most people whom have also gone to Karachi have not experienced any crime themselves there. It's usually stories that happen to others .... which do happen.

Here's the government tourism website: http://www.tourism.gov.pk/Index.html

Note the flags at the top includes Norway's flag -- OSL is one of the few places in Europe where I was at first surprised to see a PIA flight to some place besides KHI.