Pakistan, Day Ten: End of Part One

Spent the morning looking around the guy mundi, or cattle market. Although it was still a bit too early to buy stock for the Eid festival in a couple of weeks, we decided to check it out anyway. Not really much to report, although some of the beasts were standing taller than I was. Scary stuff.

On the way to lunch we stopped off at the graveyard where a lot of my family, including my paternal grandmother, is buried. Nearby was the fresh plot from yesterday. Thankfully the place hadn't become more occupied than that since I last visited; I wonder if there'll be any new people to pay my respects to the next time I visit.

Spent the afternoon with my English cousin and her had-just-arrived parents. We went to see the crocodiles amongst other things at Mungo Pir, way in the ghettoish side of Karachi. The whole area was dedicated to a pir, or saint, the locals bathing in the waters they believed to be blessed. The journey home was interesting too, not least because I got to drive a good few kilometers of the journey. Yikes.

Dinner was had with my cousin and a local friend of hers – another example of how this trip was different since I almost never get to meet any new people here that I'm not related to. We headed to Zamzama, first checking out Gunsmoke. This was a disaster for many reasons and amusingly we ended up walking out without paying soon after the starters was served. We ended up at Arizona Grill which seemed a much better choice on many fronts.

The day ended relatively early with packing for the flight tomorrow. The first leg of our trip is now more or less over in what feels like the blink of an eye. It's been busy, eventful and totally fun; almost unlike anything I've ever experienced here. Hopefully the next stage of the holiday will be just as good.