Karachi, Pakistan
Province: Sindh
Division: Karachi Division
Population: 14,910,352 (City)
Did you know? I didn’t… Pakistan is the 5th most populous country after China, India, USA and Indonesia.
Purpose: Installation of the first batch of Virteasy Dental V2 / VR simulators (https://www.virteasy.com)
Diary
Dates: 13-26 November 2021
Purpose: Installation of the first batch of Virteasy Dental V2 / VR simulators (https://www.virteasy.com) at Ziauddin University
Visa Process: The Visa process that I did with the Business Visa in Your Inbox. Initially, I was under the impression this would be like previous ETA forms that I’ve filled out and I could do it a couple of days before flying. Thankfully, I started the process early, as there are a few hoops to jump through. I had to fill out a business e-invite letter on another platform, that required documents from the client to confirm my visit, and then fill out the e-visa platform. Both forms required a payment to complete them and finished with an email saying I had authorisation to travel and would pick up the visa at the airport in Karachi.
Pre-arrival: A few days before traveling, a friend contacted me on Facebook to let me know she had a friend who lives in Karachi and kindly put me in contact with him. This was a good start and helped relieve some of the apprehension I had for the journey. The apprehension wasn’t helped by news about conflict between France and Pakistan, where I had just received my carte de sejour hours before getting the train for the airport.
Visa process take-two: It appears the E-VISA process is quite new and infrequently used for business. There was only two of us in the line at the airport and both of us got held for screening. Even though we had an email saying we were authorised to travel to Pakistan we were told the government hadn’t authorised us to ENTER Pakistan. So, we waited. The border guys were friendly (a lot more friendly to me, than my American equivalent in the same position) and after checking out the company I work for decided my dental training skills didn’t pose too much risk and let me through.
Arrival
I didn’t know what to expect with Pakistan. A lot of horror stories from other people – including a Pakistani who I randomly met on a train in France, telling me to watch out for terrorism and it’d be better if I could have some armed guards accompany me around town.
Thankfully, to alleviate my arrival fears I had a car waiting for me from the hotel that the university had arranged. Usually I’d turn these sort of things down to give me a chance to explore local transport, attempt to fumble my way through and feel like I was getting out of my comfort zone. This time I was happy to take the service.
The traffic was chaotic, the tuk-tuks reminded me of India (where I almost had one of my only bad experiences traveling, when the driver held me hostage to get a $5 ‘tourist tax’) but right in the heart of down-town I was staying in a really lovely hotel that, again, the university had kindly arranged.
Getting to Work
For work, our delivery had been delayed so I was a few days ahead of schedule. I don’t usually have this sort of downtime with the universities and staff just to socialise, so it was really nice for a change of pace. I’ve never met such a welcoming group of people, either. Really keen for me to have a good experience both with the university and in their country.
The first few days we visited some other universities to talk about the simulators and see prospective future customers. Strangely enough, all the food we had in the first few days was international: Chinese, burgers and the like. I had a feeling that everyone was trying to guard me from food that might be too hot for me to handle.
The Food
Ahhhh, amazing! I had so much fun trying all the food. The people I met were amazing. Multiple times I went to this tiny little restaurant near my hotel and the old chap was so happy to see me. The first time, the spices were amazing but there wasn’t much heat to the meal. Everyone had warned me about the heat, so I was a little surprised but it was tasty. “The waiter saw you. All white. He put no heat. You like? (wink)”. And thus, each visit I asked for a little more heat until we hit my limit (which was on day three). I tried “brain keema” and all sorts that I don’t know how they’re spelt, or what they are to be perfectly honest. They don’t look like much, but my god they’re tasty.
The People
Some of the most loveliest, accommodating, hospitable people I’ve ever met in any country. If you hadn’t noticed, I’ve been to a fair few countries, too. I became a bit of a local celebrity. No-one asked for my picture (which was a little damaging to my fragile ego) but everyday I met someone who had spotted me the day before. Which made Bumble dates a little more interesting as I walked into the university to sly, knowing, smiles the next day.
This one lovely lady even bought me some books with some personalised notes written on the inside cover (I know, ‘awwww’). I can’t wait to see all these people again.
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