Tyler Sharp
All nighter in Karachi
To say the least, my first night in Pakistan has been a very interesting one. It started with our flight being delayed from Dubai on Pakistan International Airlines, because 4 passengers had checked into the flight, checked 4 pieces of luggage, and then disappeared. So we spent the next 45 minutes watching the “ground crew” topple luggage off of a giant pyramid of bags, one by one, onto the concrete. As Brady and I watched, we laughed at how the crew couldn’t care less about the delicacy of the 4 mysterious bags, and whether or not they might be explosive. After all of the luggage was sufficiently abused, we took off toward Karachi, where we were treated to a buffet style Pakistani dinner on the plane, and a really amusing Bollywood variety show on the TV. The concert was complete with bad choreography, dry ice, and lots of lazers, enough to make even Liberacci blush.
Upon arrival in Pakistan, our guide Zirgham was there to pick us up, where Brady immediately quizzed him on the band members of Pantera. Zirgham is 21, has never left Pakistan, but loves Norwegian black metal. We spent the next 3 or so hours driving around Karachi, trying to kill time before the rest of our expedition arrived, and to see what kind of world we could find at 2 AM.
We saw the oldest train station in Pakistan, the President’s house, the Port of Karachi, and even took our shoes off and sank our feet into the Arabian Sea for the first time. It was a strange feeling to be standing in the Arabian Sea at 3 AM in Karachi, Pakistan, but was eerily beautiful with all of the shipyard lights reflecting off of the damp and shiny sandbars. It was a moment that I never would have imagined myself to be in, and that thought permeated the surreality of the moment.
The highlight of the evening/morning by far was the Karachi Gardens. It is 130 acres of beautiful stone paths and archways, lush grass, and local Pakistani flowers, all in bloom for the Hindu Festival. We arrived at the tail end of this 3 day festival, so we were barred from entry into the temple. But the pungent smell of incense and gunpowder from fireworks still clung to the damp and misty air. A sporadic fog blew in from the sea, making for some really unique photos, but left as quickly as it came (quote AK.)
Out of hospitality, 3 guards escorted us around the gardens to show us the best places, and to make sure that there wasn’t any funny business. So far, every person I have met has been very eager to share their culture with us, as they want to show us the good side of the country that they know and love. There is most definitely a good side in the ancient beauty of the city, but fails to explain why at McDonald’s and the 5 star hotel we had to stop at a barbed wire barricade so that police could check under the hood for bombs.
And if I could sum up the driving situation in Pakistan, it would be daytona meets demolition derby, add a little ice cream truck sound in, flashy metallic sticker graphics, and then short circuit all of the working stop lights in the city, and you might come close to what it was like riding around in a van at 3 AM in Karachi. I can’t wait to see what road adventures a busy day of traffic tomorrow will bring.
