Karachi, Pakistan

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We finally went to Karachi after 4 years. It was very hard for all of us going back because for the first time in our lives, we went there without my mom who passed away in January 2012. But at the same time we were so grateful to spend time with my grandma who reminds me a lot of my mom. My sister held her nikkah ceremony there, so we needed to do all the shopping. We also had to furnish our new house and attend my cousin's wedding.

The first month, we spent most of our time with family and shopped. We went to Nandos there and the food was good but the caesar salad was a little dry. We had peshawari ice cream that night as well and I just love peshawari ice cream. It's so good!

We were also there during Eid-Al-Adha but we got food poisoning because of this faluda we ate on Chaand Raat (night before Eid). Sadly, we spent our first Eid day in bed. After Eid, my dad and brother came and time flew... 

October 29th 2013 - Nikkah Day

Nikkah day finally arrived...

My aunt, sister and I went to Sabs Salon for hair, make up and nails. The receptionist wasn't too friendly but the rest of the staff was nice and helpful. We were a little nervous about getting our make up done in Karachi because we heard that they tend to put foundation that's much lighter than your skin and/or put too much make up. However, we told our make up artists to make it look more natural and we were very satisfied with our our make up. As for the hair, we brought in our headpieces, which they incorporated into our hairstyles. We told them what we wanted and they did it accordingly. We were very pleased of the end results. Most of their make up was by Mac and nail polish was by Essie. Overall, it was a nice salon but eventually, it got crowded with brides. That was the only downside. 

After spending almost 4 hours in salon, we were stuck in traffic for over an hour. Then, we went home and took some pictures with the family before heading to the hall. 

Once we reached the hall, my uncle and I were running around ensuring everything was ready before the groom comes in. 

The cake also arrived on time. We ordered it from Sam's Cake Factory. We loved the cake and they were very professional. We will definitely order from them again.

The ceremony went well and everyone had a great time. Everything was well organized. But most importantly, we officially gained a new member in the family! 

October 30th 2013 - Port Grand

Two of my cousins told us about Port Grand and we decided to check it out with them along with my brother-in-law. We had a great time there. It reminded me a lot of Old Port of Montreal. We had dinner at one of the restaurants there called "Pizza Pie." Our table was on the terrace and the weather was simply beautiful that night. We had a great time and the food was delicious (sadly some of us got sick the next day). Also, we tried kashmiri chai from another place there and it wasn't good (we had to throw it away). Port Grand itself is a very nice place but I'm not too sure about the food.. There is a boat there but we couldn't get on it because it was late. Oh well, maybe next year!

November 2nd 2013 - Dolmen Mall Clifton

When we found out they opened a new mall, we had to check it out an I'm glad we did! Dolmen Mall Clifton has a variety of Pakistani and International brands. I was surprised to see Nine West and Mango there. I haven't seen those stores there before. We explored around and then went to Gloria Jean's Coffees, where we got iced coffees and cake. The iced coffee wasn't sweet at all but I liked the cake. Later on, we decided to have dinner at Gun Smoke Steakhouse and I really enjoyed my meal. I got steak (well done) with mashed potatoes. I loved it!!! I can't wait to go back there! After dinner, we did our groceries at Hyperstar, which is a supermarket. I really liked this mall. I got a chance to go there only once unfortunately but I will go back on my next trip to Karachi. 

November 7th 2013 - Kolachi 

Before leaving Karachi, we wanted to spend a night out altogether. We found a perfect place to do so: Kolachi. We had an amazing view of the sea, where we saw few boats passing by. The food tasted great but their kashmiri chai was just amazing! I immediately fell in love with it! They also had shisha. We took one and few of us smoked (including myself). Also, the service was very good. The waiters were nice and helpful. We got our food fast. It had a really nice ambience. Most importantly, we got to enjoy it with the people we love especially. It can't get any more beautiful than this. I truly thank God for it.