Pakistan - Nuts and Bolts

Pakistan is a land of hard extremes. The climate is generally arid and very hot (very, very hot), except in the northern mountains, where the summers are hot and winters are very cold (very, very cold). The best time to visit Pakistan is between October and April. Karachi and Lahore are pleasant; Islamabad can get cool. The average annual temperatures in the southern city of Karachi are between 55û F and 93û F. Summer brings the monsoon season, but rainfall is negligible at other times of the year. After April, the temperatures climb from mid-July through September during the monsoon season, which can dump up to 16 centimeters of rain. North of Islamabad is mountainous, with a temperate climate. Summers are cool, winters cold, and the average annual rainfall is 120 centimeters.

The currency is the rupee; about 32 rupees to the U.S. dollar. You can only bring up to 100 rupees into Pakistan but who would? The rupee is best purchased at a bank, not at your hotel. Many money changers will try to foist off the faded dirty notes, but don't take them. They will be tough to exchange back. You will need to carry around the paperwork you get when you swap dollars for rupees. Most folks change their money at the market. Credit cards are worthless outside the major cities, but good old AMEX has offices in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi. Don't expect much help from AMEX other than cashing a personal check up to $500 or replacing your card. The best exchange rates are on the black market. Merchants will give you a slightly better exchange rate if you pay in U.S. dollars. You will not get a receipt for the transaction, since the transaction is illegal.

Baksheesh is the Pakistani version of tipping. When people help you, it's normal and expected that you will drop a few rupees (about 10 percent) in their palm. Don't forget to haggle, haggle, haggle. Having a local guide do your haggling for you (shopping, bus, hotel, air fares, taxis, bribes, souvenirs) can easily save you his fee. You can bring in as much foreign currency as you want, but it must be declared upon arrival.

Electricity is 220V/50Hz. The electrical system can only be described as deadly, and shorts and blowouts are common. Be careful plugging in appliances around wet areas. Many water heaters are electric. Do not turn lights or appliances off with bare feet or in the shower.

If you hate crowds and crave danger, Pakistan provides excellent opportunities for winter sports, including mountaineering and hiking in the Himalayan hill stations. Folks who like to ski will be glad to know that there are absolutely no downhill ski facilities in this mountainous paradise. Pakistan features the longest continuous drops on the planet (heli-boarding anyone?) as well as breathtaking scenery. The AK-47s, pistols and 50-caliber machine guns are dirt-cheap in Peshawar but a bitch to bring home as hand luggage. Down below, where the Indus River makes the Punjab and Sind fertile, temperatures are more moderate, with an average of 60û F in January to an average of 95û F in the summer. Baluchistan consists of deserts and low bare hills. Here and in northern Sind, temperatures can climb over 120û F in the summer.

Normal office hours from Saturday to Wednesday are from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., with at least one hour for lunch. Offices close earlier on Thursdays, usually at lunchtime. Friday is the weekly Muslim holiday. Banks are open from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. from Saturday to Wednesday, and until 11 a.m. on Thursday. Urdu (the national language) and English are the official languages of Pakistan. Punjabi, Sindi, Pashtu, Baluchi, Seraiki and other languages and dialects are also spoken. Most children and older adults speak English.

Many people confuse Pakistani cuisine with Indian food. Kebabs, tikkas (spiced grilled meats) and curries are the staples; they're served with naan (flat bread). The most popular drinks are tea (black or green), lassi (a milk drink) and Western-style soft drinks, which are widely available.

Polo

One of Pakistan's most famous exports (besides drugs and terrorists) is polo. Afghans and Pakistanis love polo, a violent-spirited game that is as close to horse-mounted warfare as one can get. The British picked it up while stationed here and it quickly became the upper-class macho sport of Britain. You can still see polo games played by soldiers, cops and just regular folks in Chitral and Gilgit. Today, the best polo players in the world are from Argentina. The Argentinian gaucho put back a lot of the violence and death-defying elements of the game. Before polo, the Argentinians played puto, a tamer form of the Afghan game of buzkashi. Instead of a headless goat being manhandled around a huge field, the Argentinians would whack a duck with sticks. The most violent form of polo in Argentina is the Creole style. Ponies are ridden hard, bones are broken, and each seven-minute chukka, or period, is guaranteed to be full of action.

Useful Addresses

Associated Press of Pakistan (APP)

House 1, Street 56

F 6/3 POB 1258, Istanbul

Tel.: [51] (8) 26158

Fax: [51] (8) 13225

Canadian Embassy in Pakistan

Diplomatic Enclave, Sector G-5

P.O. Box 1042

Islamabad

Tel.: [92] (51) 211101

Pakistani Embassy in Canada

151 Slater Street, Suite 608

Ottawa, ONT. K1P 5H3

Tel.: (613) 238-7881

Fax: (613) 238-7296

Pakistan International Airlines Corp. (PIA)

Head Office Building, Quaid-i-Azam International Airport

Karachi

Tel.: (21) 4572011

Fax: (21) 4572754

Pakistani Embassy in United States

2315 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20008

Tel.: (202) 939-6200

Fax: (202) 387-0484

Pakistan Tourism Development Corp. Ltd.

House No. 2, Street 61, F-7/4

Islamabad

Tel.: 811001

UK Embassy

Diplomatic Enclave, Ramna 5

P.O. Box 1122

Islamabad

Tel.: 822131

Fax: 823439

U.S. Embassy in Pakistan

Diplomatic Enclave, Ramna 5

P.O. Box 1048

Islamabad

Tel.: [92] (51) 826161

Fax: [92] (51) 214222

Embassy Location

The Consular Section

Located separately in the USAID building

18 Sixth Avenue, Ramna 5

The Consulate General

8 Abdullah Haroon Road

Karachi

Tel.: 568-5170

The U.S. Consulate General

Sharah-E-Abdul Hamid Bin Badees

50 Empress Road

New Simla Hills

Lahore

Tel.: 636-5530

The U.S. Consulate

11 Hospital Road

Peshawar Cantonment

Peshawar

Tel.: 279-801, 279-802, 279-803

The U.S. Embassy

Diplomatic Enclave, Ramna 5

Islamabad

Tel.: 826 161

U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Thomas W. Simons, Jr.

P.O. Box 1048,

Unit 6220, APO AE 09812-2200

Tel.: 92-51-826161