Newspapers
Many of Pakistan’s daily newspapers have presence on the web. Visit these sites
to see what is happening in Pakistan and get a sense of the mood of the
nation. Daily Dawn is a well respected English
language daily newspaper. Some English language newspaper are:
Business Recorder
Daily Pakistan News
Daily Dawn
Frontier Post
Hi Pakistan
The News
Jang-Group of Newspapers
The Nation
Pakistan Today
Pakistan’s government owned television, PTV also
has a web presence.
Photo Galleries
There are quite a few web sites with Pictures of Pakistan and Pakistani
people on the web.
A Pakistani student’s university Home
Page boasts a good collection too.
Lonely Planet publishers produce travel books on various countries.
Their Pakistan
Photo gallery has some good pictures.
Another personal photo
gallery has good pictures.
Shopping
Pakistan offers a large range of both local and foreign goods. Handicrafts
and souvenirs are the most sought after merchandise by tourists. The trade
in the small towns is done on cash payment while the larger city shops
accept credit cards like Visa and MasterCard. Prices of same good usually
vary across a very broad spectrum so checking up the price from various
shops. Bargaining is very common especially for handicrafts and souvenirs.
Make sure you bargain but pay a fair price.
Pakistan has few online
stores right now though they are multiplying rapidly.
How Much to Spend...
A common question for anyone visiting a new country is how much to spend for a product or a
service. The universal "CocaCola spending index" holds true for Pakistan too. This
index states that a price for compareble product is same around the world if paid in bottles
of Coke. e.g. if a hotel room costs $50 in the US (approximately 66 cans of coke), a comparable
hotel in Pakistan will cost about 66 x Rs. 8 (cost of a bottle of Coke) = Rs. 528. If this
math is too complicated, this translates to roughly Rs 10. for one US dollar. If you spend
one dollar for a product or service in the US, you should expect to pay Rs. 10 for similar product in
Pakistan (apologies to people from other countries - please convert your currency to US dollars
to find out equivalent rate).
This is of course a very rough guide and your budget and common sense should determine how much
to pay. This index may not be valid for several manual services which might be lot cheaper
or imported products for which you might have to pay a premium.
Tipping in restaurants is recommended. A ten percent tip should be enough to make your
waiter happy.
Food
Pakistani
Cuisine is very spicy by continental standards (though less than that
of India). In restaurants meat is popular item with very few vegetarian
dishes. All food that is cooked is safe to eat. However consuming uncooked
food like salads is not advisable for tourists. Besides local food, which
varies depending upon the geographical location of a region, most main
cities including Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad have good hotels and restaurants
serving continental and Chinese food. Karachi and Lahore have branches
of chain fast foods like McDonald’s and KFC.
The city of Lahore is very well known for its food. There are a lot
of food alternatives in Lahore.
General Advice Regarding Food:
-
General rule: If it’s not hot and freshly cooked, don't eat it (no salads
or anything rinsed in tap water).
-
Wash hands before meals.
-
Chai (sweet tea with milk) is generally safe, as well as bottled soda (make
sure cap fizzes when removed).
-
A water purifier for hotel tap water saves money on bottled water.
General Information about Pakistan
A lot of general information about Pakistan is available at the following
sites:
A site maintained by an MIT student contains everything from Pakistan’s
history to Music and information on major cities.
http://www.mit.edu/people/anajam/pakistan.html
An online book prepared by the Federal Research Division of the Library
of Congress under the Country Studies/Area Handbook Program sponsored by
the Department of the Army. Covers the Social, Economic and security issues
of the country
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/pktoc.html
An interactive map along with information about the major cities of
the country is available at Pakmall.
http://www.pakmall.com/welcome_please_wait_and_thank_you_for_visiting_pakmall.com_enjoy!/
A very good source of travel
advicefor tourists coming to Pakistan.
A few of the important Pakistani portals on the web are:
www.quickpakistan.com
http://pakpowerpage.com
http://www.pak.org
View the map
of Pakistan.
Weather Forecasts
CNN’s weather forecast for Islamabad
and Karachi
is available on the web.
Telephone Area Codes for All Cities
Obtain the telephone
codes for inter-city dialing in Pakistan.
English - Urdu Dictionary
A web based English-Urdu
dictionary is a handy tool for translation.
Personal Travelogues of Pakistan
A Worcester Polytechnique Institution student narrates her
experience
of Pakistan and its culture. She describes, in detail, a wedding ceremony
as well.
This site lists personal
travelogues of various travelers who’ve been to Pakistan.
Ancient Art in Pakistan
This personal web page has a little information about the ancient
art in Pakistan.
Travel Books and Online Guides
View a listing
of some of the available travel books about Pakistan.
Some of the online resources are:
Lonely Planet
- Destination: Pakistan
Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation.
Pakistan Govt.’s official tourism site.
While in Pakistan following are must Do's and Don'ts :
| Do’s |
Don’ts |
Do be aware that the bottled water
you buy may not always be pure. One of Pakistan’s cottage industries is
filling empty mineral water bottles from the tap and selling them to unwary
retailers or travelers.
Do take the time to examine the miniature paintings you come across
at various galleries, mosques or historic sites. They’re not miniature
in the sense of being extremely small, but they contain quite a bit of
detail on a fairly small canvas and are striking.
Do accept invitations to a meal or tea from Pakistani business acquaintances
or friends; to refuse is quite rude. Expect most conversation to take place
before food is served. Leave shortly after you’ve finished eating.
Do be discreet about taking photographs, particularly of women and holy
places (it’s always best to ask permission first).
Do remove your shoes before going into a mosque or holy place.
Do be punctual in meetings with Pakistanis, but don’t expect them to
be on time.
Do book a hotel room prior to arrival. Tourists are advised to book
at least their first night's accommodation before arrival in Pakistan.
Those without somewhere to stay can fall prey to rogue taxi and rickshaw
drivers who offer to take them to a hotel. Unwitting victims have been
attacked and robbed.
Foreign currency regulations are strict. Only change money at banks
or legal foreign exchange dealers. Do keep and look after your transaction
receipts as you may be required to provide proof that you obtained your
rupees legally.
Many foreigners fall victim to the heat, which may be extreme, and to
dysentery and diarrhoea caused by eating and drinking contaminated food
and drink. Do eat only recently prepared food that has been thoroughly
cooked, and Do take sufficient liquids in the form of water that has been
boiled, or bottled drinks, to prevent dehydration.
Do make sure that you have comprehensive medical insurance to include
private treatment and hospitalisation as well as medical evacuation since
the State medical services are not generally so good. DO keep your policy
document with you.
Do leave ample time for travel. Connection flights can be subject to
unforeseen delay. You should allow extra funds to cover this contingency. |
Don’t
be surprised if a Pakistani, especially in the Northwest Frontier, offers
you opium; poppy fields cover much of the Afghan land bordering Pakistan
Don’t eat, smoke or drink in public
during the month-long religious Ramadan observance (its dates vary from
year to year).
Don’t expect to find alcoholic beverages
in this Islamic country. The bar at the Pearl Hotel in Peshawar is the
only one we found open to the public; forms must be signed in triplicate
before the first drink is served, but the camaraderie among the guests
is close.
Don’t go swimming in Karachi June-August.
The surf is high, the undertow is powerful, and jellyfish abound.
Don’t exchange your money anywhere
other than in hotels and banks (and keep your receipts).
Don’t trek alone, as the local people
may be suspicious of your intentions. Instead, join an organized group.
Don’t even joke about working as a
spy for the Indian government.
Dress modestly, especially if you’re
a woman. Don’t wear shorts to any public place. Women will be more comfortable
and treated with greater respect if they dress conservatively (and blonde
women should be prepared to be stared at—they are a rare sight in Pakistan).
Western women who travel outside the cities should never go alone.
Don’t overstay the (visa) time-limit
on your stay in Pakistan or you could go to jail.
Don’t get involved with drugs. The
penalties for smuggling, possession and use are severe (10 - 20 years jail
plus fine) and detention of up to two years awaiting trial. Second offenders
can receive the DEATH SENTENCE.
Don’t venture into restricted areas
without a permit.
Don’t photograph military installations.
Photography at some civil airports is also forbidden as they are shared
with the Pakistani Air Force.
|
|
