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<\/a>Young girls in the wedding hall dressed up to celebrate their cousin’s wedding<\/p><\/div>\n
Despite consistent rumors over the years (or is it the conventional wisdom of Karachi\u2019ites?) about Karachi\u2019s breakup into smaller pieces, Karachi is still a vibrant, thriving city of somewhere between 18 to 20 million, with all the headaches that go along any metropolis that continue to grow in a more unplanned than planned way.\u00a0 Bad traffic, frequent electrical outages, and an infrastructure that seems to have been thought out, but whose execution and maintenance is at the mercy of the current political party is in control.\u00a0 One could live with all this \u2013 after all over 20 million people do, but the lack of safety \u2013 frequent minor highway robberies of cell phones, cash and jewelry is what makes someone who is more familiar with the predictability of a western society think twice about visiting Karachi.\u00a0 But sometimes there are commitments to be kept that trump security concerns, such as the wedding of a niece.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Kids enjoying bumper carts inside the mall’s gaming area in Karachi<\/p><\/div>\n
When you go to Karachi, you go for the food, and for the shopping.\u00a0 In addition to the already tantalizing and taste bud enhancing Pakistani cuisine, the localized versions of American (McDonalds, KFC, steaks), Mexican and Chinese fares are all worth tasting.\u00a0 Everything is a little bit spicier, a little bit tastier and for Western tourists, dirt cheap, even in fancy restaurants.\u00a0 Places like BBQ Tonite, Habib\u2019s, Red Apple, and Kolachi not only give you a celebrity experience, they can also deliver everything right at your doorstep. \u00a0What more could you ask for?\u00a0 Try the beef Nihari, the chicken Biryani, the mutton Karahi, and you will find yourself licking your fingers, maybe even the plate, after your meal.\u00a0 If you dare, order the brain Masala, and you will not be disappointed.\u00a0 Craving some sweet or savory snacks?\u00a0 Try some at the upscale Butler\u2019s Chocolate Cafe, or the famous and long-established Nimco\u2019s, Sohni Sweets or United Bakery.\u00a0 The Chicken patties, ground beef rolls and cheese sticks (not mozzarella) melt in your mouth, and you just cannot have one.<\/p>\n
<\/a>From the second floor seating area, the Kalochi restaurant alive and sparkling at night along the ocean<\/p><\/div>\n
Add enough of the right spices to anything, and it will be transformed into a mouth-watering dish.\u00a0 If that does not work, deep-fry it.\u00a0 It would take a truly awful cook to create bad tasting food using these two techniques.\u00a0 I am glad to say I have not found one yet.<\/p>\n
Karachi is a study in contrasts.\u00a0 Visit the posh Defense area at the edge of the Indian Ocean, and you feel secure, things are more organized (on a relative scale), restaurants\u2019 decor and service are more refined, houses can stand on their own against any mansion in La Jolla and Beverly hills, and European and exotic cars can be seen. \u00a0You can go to the Dolmen Mall \u2013 the new one in Defense \u2013 and think you are in a US or European mall.\u00a0 Children found the newer malls in Karachi to be more fun and exciting than the ones in the US because they got the best of both worlds \u2013 the rules are much more lax, so playing a game of tag was ok, the games and rides on the arcades were very inexpensive, and winning in the games was somehow much easier.\u00a0 Oh, and they were much less crowded.\u00a0 Other meeting spots of the city\u2019s elite include the expensive grounds and world-class restaurants of the Karachi Golf Club, the Creek Club or the best of the best \u2013 the Gymkhana.\u00a0 At any of these exclusive locales, you are taken away from Karachi, without ever leaving Karachi.<\/p>\n