10 Things I Love/Hate About Karachi

10 things I love about Karachi

1. The food. Oh the food. Best food in the world!

2. The people's love and affection.

3. The hustle and bustle - the city never sleeps and makes me feel alive.

4. The warmth. It's good to give my body and muscles a break from tensing in Holland/London's chill.

5. The immediacy of labour. A shoe needs mending? Done. A pipe's burst and needs replacing? Done. The TV's conked out and needs fixing? Done. All within hours and no appointments needed. Oh, and I'm still richer than the guy fixing my stuff. It's just not fair that the dude with unwashed hair, minimal education and a hairy asscrack earns more than I do.

6. Karachi has a culture of giving and sharing. Just as well. Sharing that rich chocolate cake with chocolate mousse on top and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side amongst 5 last night was a fair distribution of fat I'd say.

7. The help. Anybody lower middle class and above can afford a driver, a cleaner, a cook, a gardener, a security guard, a nanny etc.

8. Air conditioning. Ah the cooling amazingness of walking into an air conditioned room after being in 40-degree heat.

9. Discovering new restaurants. Every time I visit there are a handful of brand new restaurants serving ridiculously priced heavenly cuisine and desserts.

10. VCD's - DVD's at special rates;)

10 things I dislike (I try to avoid using the word 'hate')

1. Food poisoning and an upset stomach on every single trip.

2. The people's mentality when it comes to different rules for men and women.

3. The constant honking of cars. A car cannot move any further at a red light no matter how many times you honk, IDIOT.

4. The heat. I'd like to not melt away and sweat like a pig while drying myself off after a shower please.

5. I can't be myself 100%. Nodding 'ji' (yes) constantly as a sign of respect is very exhausting. I can't swear. I can't be silly. I can't share complete details of my choices because of the hypocritical and judgemental culture that surrounds me.

6. Guests can show up at any time and stay as long as they please. Enough said.

7. Religious lectures by aunties and uncles. The other day I actually heard 'If a man's not Muslim he's nothing'. This notion pretty much disqualifies 90% of my friends and .. closer friends;)

8. The obsession with brands and clothes. Lets talk about our jobs, ambitions and travels shall we?

9. Limited independence. I can't just hop onto a bus and take off. I can't refuse a dinner invitation from a family member's colleague's wife's sister without insulting them beyond repair.

10. I dislike that I'm not attracted to my own kind though some are in fact tall, handsome, successful, family oriented, fun etc. Maybe one day?

Karachi - Home before Home

It's great to be visiting my home before home once again. Imagine this - dry heat, constant noise of honking buses, the familiar music of an ice cream truck (it's been the same since 20 years), policemen pulling over and fining helpless motorists to fulfil their own greed, handicapped beggers, impressive shopping malls and restaurants replicating the West, an uncessary public investment called Port Fountain off Karachi Harbour and an unexplainable obsession with high-end clothes. As an Englishman recently described Karachi, it was the only city he'd been to that made NO SENSE.

For example, just a few days before I landed there was a politically inspired strike in the city which typically means burning buses, some dealths (I deliberately write 'some' as numbers are insignificant unless of course these casualties occur in the United States), political unrest and the city shutting down. Luckily I arrived in the calm after the storm. It was as if nothing ever happened. As they say, life goes on. My trip in November 2010 has made me slighly paranoid but then again, a bomb blast tends to shake up the best of us.

On a brighter note, it's such a refreshing and much needed break in a country where people 'care'. The level of interest people have shown in my job, my living arrangements, my parents, my sister's kids, my health - it's SO nice. And I'm taken aback by the collectivism of it all. When you visit someone in Paksitan, the entire family will walk you to the door to say goodbye, from the elders to the servants. You will never be left stranded. There is always someone who will pick/drop you. An hour is never too long to travel. It's not even considered an effort. In London God forbid if you're not living in the same zone you can forget about having a social life. Any excuse is valid from congestion charges to high petrol costs and tube strikes. People will sooner advise you to 'move' so that they can see you than get on a bloody tube and hawl their ass to you. Ok getting sidetracked - this will be a whole other blog.

Karachi reflections TBC. Back to the tea which was served to me and the delicious sandwich that was made from me. I'm not spoiled here, really;)