How much cash should I bring? Should I bring medication…? if so what kind? is the food really that bad…?
Thanks in advance
P.S I don’t know how whoever works at the Pakistani consulate got hired, but he was very rude and barely spoke English… Would you know if this is normal?
Re: Help! What to pack for Karachi (from Aus)
cash depends what your daily expenses would be and what you plan to buy from there to bring home.
in Indian and Pakistani consulates, rude behavior is the norm. they don't leave their bad ethics home when to come abroad. these people will dance around if a white person walks in...zehnii Ghulaamii kaa shikaar haiN yeh sab log. [mental slavery]
you must bring your prescription drugs for sure and keep them in your carry-on bag, OTC meds include Tylenol for fever, body aches; anti-diarrhea meds like Imodium; antihistamines, some mosquito repellants.
don't forget to get immunized against typhoid and hepatitis A and/or B and start taking malaria tablets 2 weeks before you leave.
general instructions:
never use tap water. be careful when you buy bottled water. always buy from a big and reputed shops. don't even rinse your mouth or brush your teeth with tap water...always use quality bottled water.
always eat ONLY freshly cooked HOT food outside your home. don't drink lassi or sharbat [they have tap water in them]. never eat any veggies without peeling. remember one rule:
if you can't peel it, you can't eat it.
be careful when you cash large amounts of money. never take out large amount of money to pay for things.
will add later.
Re: Help! What to pack for Karachi (from Aus)
cash depends what your daily expenses would be and what you plan to buy from there to bring home.
in Indian and Pakistani consulates, rude behavior is the norm. they don't leave their bad ethics home when to come abroad. these people will dance around if a white person walks in...zehnii Ghulaamii kaa shikaar haiN yeh sab log. [mental slavery]
you must bring your prescription drugs for sure and keep them in your carry-on bag, OTC meds include Tylenol for fever, body aches; anti-diarrhea meds like Imodium; antihistamines, some mosquito repellants.
don't forget to get immunized against typhoid and hepatitis A and/or B and start taking malaria tablets 2 weeks before you leave.
general instructions:
never use tap water. be careful when you buy bottled water. always buy from a big and reputed shops. don't even rinse your mouth or brush your teeth with tap water...always use quality bottled water.
always eat ONLY freshly cooked HOT food outside your home. don't drink lassi or sharbat [they have tap water in them]. never eat any veggies without peeling. remember one rule:
if you can't peel it, you can't eat it.
be careful when you cash large amounts of money. never take out large amount of money to pay for things.
will add later.
Thanks for replying!
I’m leaving on Tuesday and haven’t really gotten those immunizations recently... Do they expire? I think I got them while I was living in South Asia most of my life, but not really sure.
That’s terrible (regarding the consulates) I could not for the life of me understand the guy and because I guess I look a bit East Asian he was being very patronizing. (Even though I was the one talking coherently and he was not) What was more annoying is that my Visa wasn’t ready and I had to email them to know what the hell was going on! My partner has reassured me that this is not normal in Pakistan and that everyone can speak English… but this happened in a consulate. I feel like I should have been a Pakistani man at that point.
I don’t think I’ll be walking out much, but I’ll make sure to buy those medications here. They aren’t available in Pakistan? Okay, I won’t be drinking any drinks outside the house I guess.
Re: Help! What to pack for Karachi (from Aus)
How long are you going for? Are you going for a casual visit, or to attend weddings?
Basic things you should take with you:
Most importantly, have your vaccinations done. Ideally you should have your shots 2 weeks before you travel. Hep A + B and malaria, typhoid as well.
As for food, I hate not being able to eat things from outside. That's half the fun of going to Pakistan. Be careful though. I mean don't eat out at a place where there are tons of bugs/dirt/dust. But you can still eat. That's why you're taking anti-diarrhea medications with you. Drink only boiled or bottled water.
That's all I can think of right now. I'll add other things if I remember them.
Re: Help! What to pack for Karachi (from Aus)
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Re: Help! What to pack for Karachi (from Aus)
How much cash should I bring? Should I bring medication...? if so what kind? is the food really that bad...? Thanks in advance P.S I don't know how whoever works at the Pakistani consulate got hired, but he was very rude and barely spoke English... Would you know if this is normal?
I've never experienced an ill mannered employee of a Pakistani consulate. Yours is a unique experience.
Re: Help! What to pack for Karachi (from Aus)
I've never experienced an ill mannered employee of a Pakistani consulate. Yours is a unique experience.
i'll rather say that your experience is unique. isn't it?
Re: Help! What to pack for Karachi (from Aus)
It depends on how educated and caring the person is. Usually the front staff is "locally hired" whereas the officers are from Pakistan.
It really also depends on the officer, whether s/he has education and knows how to provide good service. If they're hired on political basis or other quotas, you get rude and inefficient staff and officers (many of whom don't deserve to be in foreign service).
Experience can be very different depending on whom you meet.
Treat it as any country, use normal precautions
Re: Help! What to pack for Karachi (from Aus)
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lol yes, don't forget to bring a comma to your travels too :P
Re: Help! What to pack for Karachi (from Aus)
oh yeah…comma is very important… for eg. AP ‘Crash Lands’ Headline: Associated Press Publishes Muddled Tweet, Causes Panic
Re: Help! What to pack for Karachi (from Aus)
Well ti's a little late for OP since you're already there but I do have a suggestion for anyone else travelling.
I know this'll sound really weird, but IF you're really particular and picky about your tissue paper lol, bring it with you if you have the space in your luggage (and again....only if you really care about these things). You could find certain brands/quality here but I find em more expensive than back home. again, apni apni marzi so...
Re: Help! What to pack for Karachi (from Aus)
i'll rather say that your experience is unique. isn't it?
I was being sarcastic. Obviously her experience is everything but unique. Thats the treatment you get at every office, associated in any way, with Pakistan.
Over here the Pakistani embassy is known as "zalalat khana", and for good reasons.
Re: Help! What to pack for Karachi (from Aus)
It's illegal to travel with too much cash ... I think the limit is $10,000 but may be less for Pakistan ... I would carry minimal cash and transfer some amount in Western Union before you go or take your bank card for ATM transactions ... Standard Chartered bank main branch should allow foreign cards to be used.