Travelocity

Today was the first day I experienced the heart and soul of Karachi. Up until this point, we had been shuttled back and forth between weddings and other related family funtions held in glamorous homes and decked out tents. I've felt completely at home since our arrival. Well, today made me realize just how far from home we really are.

Aliya's stepmother Rabia took Aliya, my siblings-in-law and myself to the family beach hut, located a stone's throw from the Arabian Sea. The drive to the hut from their house normally takes a good 50 minutes. Our trip took about an hour and a half due to heavy traffic (to say the least). As we prepared to enter Karachi's downtown area, close to the harbor, Rabia warned us to be ready for the "real" Karachi. I didn't know what she meant by that until we finally arrived at our destination over an hour later.

It was amazing to see so many people and different types of vehicles on the road at the same time. Having never experienced this type of environment before, my mind quickly attempted to associate my current surroundings with something I'd experienced before to eliminate my fear of the unkown. Here's what it came up with:

At first, I felt like we were heading to either a major sporting event or a concert during rush hour traffic since the streets were heavily lined with semis, cars and SUVs. Pedestrians were also crossing the road whenver they found a gap. Some gaps were bigger than others. It was a FRENZY. Every man was for themselves. Drivers were honking their horns and cutting other drivers off as if an announcement had been made that the parking lot at Miller Park would no longer except tailgaters in the next 10 minutes.

I became comfortable thinking of my surroundings in this light until, of course, a donkey shows up along side of our car. Ok, scratch the Brewer game idea. No wait, someone could easily rent a donkey to take to the game as a joke, right? This was beginning to work. Still, I was in awe seeing donkeys and camels next to semis and other vehicles on the HIGHWAY. This was Karachi. Comingling the old with the new. As you can see in the video, sometimes older is more efficient.

After 40 minutes of almost being sandwiched several times between large vehicles, we found open road along the seaside. It was a blessing we made it out alive. I'm sure it wasn't that dramatic to Rabia, who had driven us through that traffic jungle like a pro. Still, it was all overwhelming for someone who has never been to Karachi. We pulled up to the beach house and slowly removed our fingertips which were deeply embedded into the sides of our seat cusions. We made it just in time for sunset! It was worth it.