 | Pakistan People Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 10 |  |
 | |  |  | People: Driving can drive you crazy. | Tip Rating:    |  |  | |  |
Driving conditions in Pakistan are no where close to what you have in the UK, Europe, the UAE or the USA. The honking cars and no adherence to traffic regulations reminds one of Egypt though. Although Islamabad, the capital is good traffic wise, old portion of Lahore and most of Karachi is a driver's nightmare. In Pakistan, cars, motorcycles, rickshaws, wagons, buses, camel, oxen and donkey driven carts also ply on the same roads, as does the normal traffic. To foreign tourists, I will not suggest driving a car. Rented out cars with a driver is the best bet. If the group is 6 to 10 strong, I would suggest hiring an airconditioned wagon / coaster. However, driving on national highways is strictly regulated. Another wise thing to do in Pakistan is to hire the services of professional tour operators of repute, who will be able to take care of all these details for you. Due to low value of Pak rupees vis-a-vis US$, the deal may turn out to be extremely economical. Again, the package may be negotiated / haggled, as is everything else in Pakistan. More on haggling under shopping tip. A guided tour can let one observe such off the beaten path marvels as the Kotri Barrage near Hyderabad, constructed by the British in the 19th Century. My elder brother from the USA (picture) took several hours to observe gigantic water distribution system on the upstream side of the barrage and the environmental degradation due water shortage in the estuaries on the downstream side. Leave a Comment
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| | | | People: Pakistan has a very volitile,... | Tip Rating: | | | | |
Pakistan has a very volitile, wild feel to it. There are many lawless parts and much corruption, violence etc. Guns are a normal sight on the streets and most people own them. It can be very intimidating for men and women, but worse for women. As a woman, I would not recommend you travel in Pakistan on your own. You will attract a lot of attention as generally, you see very few women out in the streets. As a western woman, you may be seen as someone with 'loose morals' and expect to be touched and grabbed. I stayed veiled in Pakistan, but still had unwanted attention. Just be careful, and never let anyone become over friendly with you. Pakistani people are very friendly though, and if you are with a 'partner', they will be very respectful and go out of their way to help you. Sorry to give you a horror story, but a friend of mine was befriended by a Pakistani man in islamabad, who showed him round the city all day, then drugged him through some tea and robbed him !! Please don't be put off Pakistan though, just be wary. Don't accept drinks from people on buses or trains, as this drugging thing has happened on them aswell !! Don't let anyone into your hotel room, they may try and plant drugs on you. The police are also corrupt and have tried in the past, to obtain money from travellers by planting drugs, this way you pay the 'backsheesh' (bribe) to get out of trouble (even though you didn't have drugs on you). If this does happen to you, pay the backsheesh and get out of there quickly, you don't want to even get as far as the police station. !! However, after all the negativity above don't get too paranoid, just be sensible and wary and you'll be fine, Pakistan really is a rewarding place to visit.
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