Getting adjusted

Essentials and mausoleum

Flying in from opposite directions, Marie and I had expected us to have different sleep patterns and wakeup times. I woke around 0800 (much later than expected) due to making up for last night’s sleep deprivation. I called her a few times and made a bit of noise in getting ready but she was dead to the world. So I went down for breakfast in the restaurant … it was a potato curry, semolina halwa, egg, puris and bread.

I managed to wake her after my breakfast and we got ready leisurely then headed out to Chundrigar Road where the international ATMs were located. My Maestro worked straight off at the Faysal Bank but not her Plus card (even though it should have). We then tried a Citibank and that worked.  With that absolute essential complete, we  now seem set up for a few days, hopefully.

We then went to Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s mausoleum on the edge of Saddar. It was around 1pm when we were done so we didn’t go to his house (as it would be closed for lunch). Instead we walked around the Empress market. The various trips by auto-rickshaw helped us orientate and get used to the feel of Karachi. I think I’m now adjusted and settled in.

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Next, we attended to the next essential, a SIM card.  I had an unsuccessful time getting one yesterday. I had the wild goose chase again but after some persistence I managed to get one. The retailer couldn’t register me as a foreigner and sent me to a franchisee which meant another rickshaw ride. The franchisee couldn’t do it either and I was told to go to Clifton where the telco was located. We decided it was too much for now so went home for a rest.

After a rest and a wash, we made it to Clifton where they activated my SIM and registered me, but activation takes 6 working hours which meant it would be ready midday tomorrow. I’m used to preactivated SIM packs which have become the norm in most countries. With that out of the way, we rickshawed to Clifton Beach.

Clifton Beach

We were dropped at the Clifton Beach Park, which was a paid park. This paid park is relatively nice but rather empty. We wanted to experience the free beach where we expected a hive of activity so we could people-watch. We walked a while and eventually found the busier part.  It turned out to be one of my best people-watching experiences.

Marie enjoyed a camel ride and we paid for a couple of chairs so we could enjoy watching a whole cross section of Karachi at play. We then overate at nearby resto called BBQ Tonight. Beautiful meats, breads, rice and vegetables.

It was a relatively productive day and a good introduction to Karachi. It isn’t a city full of stunning monuments to behold but it is a city to experience, eg.  the simple things like the traffic, chaos, pollution, colourful buses and colourful people.