Karachi Travel Forum

Hello dear VTers :-)

I am travelling to Karachi with my fiance and 2 friends to attend a friend's wedding there. (26th - 29th December)

Anything we should consider? (weather, packing, events, etc.?)

I will soon be informed about the venue of the wedding celebrations, and would appreciate (once I have details) if any VTers can give me tips on good hotels...

Until then,
Take care!

Jess ('c',)

At Karachi, the three good hotels are sheraton, pearl continental and marriott. However there are other cheaper hotels like avari, regent plaza and carlton which are nice as well. Weather around that time is quite pleasant, not very cold (say around 20-25 Celcius or so), but do keep some warm jacket as it can become cold. Events are pretty colorful here, for main events Shaadi (the wedding day) and Valima (post wedding day) you can wear your formal suits (shirt/tie/trouser/jacket, not more formal than that). For the pre-wedding celebrations which are called Dhholkee and Mehndi, you can wear any casual clothing (jeans with a colorful shirt) or perhaps can buy a local dress from here. If you can spend some dough on buying local clothes, i strongly recommend that the girls should buy from here only for these wedding events.

sorry, bout that. the attire i mentioned is for men. i only lookied at ur profile after i had posted my comments.

No problem :-) Thanks a lot for the advice.

I will be buying a Sari here (plenty of Pakistanis live here so they are easy to find & very good quality). I will keep those hotel names in mind.

Regards from Dubai,
Jess ('c',)

hi jessica...
its nice to hear from you for Karachi-pakistan visit.i m familiar with ur VT page because when ever need to see guidline for dubai i always consult ur and other three persons pages like aamir, siddha etc etc....
anyway i am happy to hear ur visit plan and specially on some body wedding which is always very colorful in pakistan.....i lived in lahore but know about karachi as well so i tried to give info as much as possible,

-just little intro about karachi,
Karachi is the largest city of Pakistan the Population estimate is 13 Million. 80% of them are Muslims, rest belong to all different religions. Karachi is the commercial capital of the country. It has representation of mostly all International Banks. Most of the International airlines fly here. All renowned airlines have offices in Karachi The city is vast in area. You can expect to see a large variety of modern and Colonial architecture. Though there are very few tall buildings in Karachi but the modern architecture is matured and highly sophisticated. There are many beautiful mosques, Mausoleums, Churches and Libraries here. Bazaars of this city are the most attractive. There are typical oriental style of bazaars with colors and narrow streets and also are the modern shopping centers offering a vast variety of goods. One of the major tourist attraction is the busses and trucks of Karachi they are seen every where and present a whole art gallery of colors in them. The national museum of Pakistan is the most prestigious museums in Pakistan housing the artifacts from the old civilizations and the modern Pakistan movements relics.

-list of hotels,
Karachi Sheraton Hotel & Towers Karachi....top of list 5 star
Marriott Hotel Karachi Karachi.....2nd number 5 star
Pearl Continental Hotel Karachi Karachi....3rd number 5 star
Karachi Avari Towers Karachi
Regent Plaza Hotel & Convention Centre Karachi
Karachi Mehran Hotel Karachi
Beach Luxuty Hotel Karachi
Hilltop Hotel Karachi
Airport Hotel Karachi
Gulf Hotel Karachi
Hotel Jabees Karachi
Embassy Hotel Karachi
South City Hotel Karachi
Sindh Jargirdar Hotel Karachi
Hotel Ambassador Karachi
Hotel Regency Karachi
Hotel Sky Towers Karachi
Days Inn Karachi Karachi
Carlton Hotel Karachi
Hotel Sarawan Karachi
Hotel Metropole Karachi
if you want to visit through internet then only put the name in of hotel in google page to search and you will easilly got the addresses and also web pages if they have.

-little to see things,
Quid - e Azam (Founder of the Nation) Mausoleum,
Defense mosque ,
Clifton Beach and minora beach,
haux bay point on beach,
Bus painting yard,
Juna Market a bustling Oriental bazaar
paf (pakistan airforce) meuseum
Mango Pir mausoleum
Visit the mausoleum of Mangho Pir. a tradition pilgrimage point where devotes from nearby villages and city come to pray in front of the Mangho Pir. Also visit the Crocodile hot springs 8ft large crocodiles live in them. An old 17th century graveyard has a few Chaukundi type tombs ( Sandstone carved with ancient symbols and motifs.)

Half day Crabbing tour.
Transfer to board on a traditional sail boat cruise the outside the Karachi harbor. Catch crabs and have them cooked right there. Enjoy a fresh meal with soft drinks on board.

-little about weather,
Karachi has quite a stagnant weather but there are a few temperature Variations. From November to February temperature is From 10 to 26 Degrees With an average humidity of 65% From March to April Temperature remains between 25 - 38 Degrees and from May to October Temperature remains between 28 - 39 Degrees. There is very little rain fall but due to the monsoon From July to August casual rain showers are expected, which some times may be extended to September.

TO SEE LIVE WEATHER FORCAST AND PRESENT SITUATION IN PAKISTAN CITIES...
http://www.cybercity-online.net/yp/html/Weather_Report_for_Pakistan.htm

-little list of restaurents but remeber its not end there are many many more...
Bar BQ Tonight
5/1 Boat Basin, Block 5 Clifton......
I PERSONELLY HIGHLY RECOMEND THIS RESTAURENT IF YOU ARE BBQ LOVER AND RESERVE THE TABLE AT THE TOP ROOF OF RESTAURENT TO HAVE NICE VIEW AND LIGHT BREEZ.

Coper Kettle
Mall Square. Zamzama 1 Defence-5

Dolphin Restaurant
14E 26th street, Defence-5
Tel: 574715- 583-6015 Fax: 586-558

Koran Restaurant
Café Grand. Abdullah Haroon Road.
Opp. Hotel Metropole
Tel: 568-2402, 568-7607

Ming Court
16C Stadium Lane-1. Off Khy-e-Shamsheer
Near French Badery. Defence Housing Authority Tel: 584-1694

Pizza Hut (three location)
1)World Trade Centre.
2)10 Khy-e-Roomi Block 5
3)Clifton and Shaheed-e-Millat Road
Tel: 587-2081/2. 455-8574 Fax: 4526873

Summer Palace
Dhell Promenade. Block-3 Plot 2&3 Clifton

Yuan Tung Restaurant (Chinese)
173P. Block-2. PECHS
Opp. English Boolt House.
Tel: 454-8231, 454-6624

Kentucky Fried Chicken
4970018-9,8118476
(K.P.C) 8118479, 8118487

-thats nice to hear that you have a plan to wear sari because sari looks very attractive to tall and smart people and i think you fall in this cetegory. the only problem is that first you have to learn how to wear it and how to use the washroom while wearing sari....believe me i am not kidding, it is an art and female who are using first time they shoule be trained anough.....
anyway the local embriodered shalwar kameez for ladies, gharara kameez, sharara kameez, pajama kameez with embriodery and other different works looks very beutiful to ladies on wedings and is specially designed for the ladies for wedding......
its up to you for the selection of dress but my personel recomendation is to wear the local wedding dresses which looks more beautiful on this occasion and karachi is the hub of that dresses....you may also find in dubai in indian or pakistani shops but will be more costly as compared if you purchased from karachi.....take care to have a big bargain while having any shopping in karachi....
first event of wedding day is called,
-Dhollak day or Hina day or Mehindi day....this day (means night.its a night function) the people will put hina or mehindi on the hands of bride and groom both and the girls singing songs or the host arrange DJ music for dancing..... the dress code on this day normally females wear YELLOW color clothes ro Yellow color family clothes
-Barat Day... this day the groom with their guests comes to the bride home and they served with food....the dress code is suite or shairwani (the long embriodered upper) with shalwar for men and for female they wear the shalwar kameez or other embriodered clothes which looks very colorful and beautiful... mostly this fucntion is also in the night and at the end the groom bring the bride to his house to celebrate wedding night....
-Valima day....this day the bride parents and their guests come to groom house and served with food.....the dress code normally male wear suits and female again embriodered clothes......

this is all about long and short stories for the function... i hope it works for you.....please do let me know any further info if required....it will be my pleasure....my direct e-mail is "tabrez603@yahoo.com"......

DO YOU HAVE ANY PLAN TO VISIT LAHORE.....IF SO IT WILL BE PLEASURE TO HAVE A CHAT.....

Hello Muhammad,

thank you very much for all your info. It is truly appreciated.

I will come back to the forum once I have exact info on free time for sight-seeing, hotel-area, etc.


Regards from the desert,
Jess ('c',)

you are always welcome and my pleasure....i also describe at the end about the wedding info....hope you already through it..... take care....wish you remain the best....with love and respect from Lahore-pakistan

Hey Jess,

How are you doing today? I just read your question posted here on VT, and thought I would post a reply. By the way my name is Naveed, I am orignially from Karachi and have been living here in the USA for a long time now, but I am moving back to khi at the end of the month. I am actually moving back so I can turn my dads' house into a bed and breakfast/vacation house sort of deal, and obviously will be open for business no later than October. It is a gorgeous 5 bedroom 5 bathrrom house, with the beach only about 5 minutes walking distance. I will soon have pictures available as well. You will definately get a whole lot more than just a room and roomservice. If youre like me and want to travel thrift, then consider this offer. Most of the nice hotels are right by the Govt Circle/US Embassy, especially the Marriott, which is not a very safe place to be these days. I know this because I am a US Marine (reservist) who spent some time at the US Embassy a few yrs back, right when there was a blast.
Anyways, consider this, you get however many rooms (obviously upto 5), you get a personal cook, housekeeper, driver and car, so you wont even have to rent a car, the privacy of a house, you can have friends over as well if you know people in the area, and if you want, I will personally show you guys around the area. If you want to know more, please feel free to contact me either on VT or on torro_bravo78@hotmail.com
Take care,
Naveed.

Oh and you can visit my page on Orkut as well to learn more about me.

If you are into historical sites, and if time permits, you can also go off the beaten path and take a day trip to Thatta - 70km from Karachi. December weather in Karachi is the best for this trip, and you can cover several sites in between (Chaukandi, Bhanbore, Haliji lake, Makli, Thatta, Kalri lake).

Do also visit the Mohatta palace (in Clifton) which has been converted into a museum. They occasionally have excellent exhibitions going around.

Shopping: I believe a long list has been provided, but to keep it simple - If you want to buy:
1/good quality/branded stuff: Point, Forum, Doleman malls
2/ Local handicrafts: Zainab Market

Eateries: Some of the best and trendy restaurants are in ZamZama Clifton area. If you want to taste variety of local cuisine, dishes and BBQ, for the price of one – then go to Village at sea view.

As far as weather is concerned, its not too cold in december. Just shirt and trouser are enough. You may bring sweater with you. But there is no need of over coat, gloves etc.

You can bring any formal/casual dress of your choice. but being muslim country it is advice to wear clothes which properly cover your body. About wedding clothes someone already advised you.

Drink bottled water. You can try local food but in limit as it is more spicy.
Basel's tip for historical trip is reasonable if enough time.

First concentrate on Wedding events. After that Events in December are 25th Chrismas and 31st new year night which can be celebrated at sea view. Be careful and bring some local friend with you. But these events are not of the caliber of any christain country.
Can visit Street Theatre, Loke Mela at Arts Council every Sunday night.

Also bring some local out for shopping. It will help you for bargain.
Park Towers, Zainab Market and Tariq Road are good for shopping.

Thank you for your tips.
I live in a Muslim country, so I know what to wear :-)

I will probably be in Karachi from 26th - 30th December, so won't spend Xmas or New Year's Eve there.

I think all the bros. gave excellent and detailed information about karachi. except the most important thing, take extra caution of yourself and your health when having any food, water or travelling on the road. karachites are very warm and great people when it comes to hospitality but seems they are getting overnegligient when it comes to cleanliness and traffic dicipline.

Hi - Karachi

You have copied our page of Karachi http://www.travel-culture.com/pakistan/karachi.shtml on this forum please remove it our web site is copyrighted.

Jamal
http://www.travel-culture.com

Tabrez bhai its for you.