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Money
Matters
Currency:
Pakistani Rupee
- Meals
- Budget:
US$2-3
- Mid-range:
US$3-8
- Top-end:
US$8-10
Lodging
- Budget:
US$4-10
- Mid-range:
US$10-20
- Top-end:
US$30 and upwards
By
staying in hostels or dorms and eating like
a local you can get by on as little as US$10-15
a day. If, however, you were looking for a
moderate touch of luxury you could spend as
much as $30-40 a day which could get you accommodation
that included a satellite TV, a desk, a balcony
and a spotlessly clean bathroom. As in any
place you can spend as much as you like to
live in the lap of luxury and stay in swanky
hotels. It's worth noting that rooms and food
are cheaper in the north than in the south.
Both
travellers' cheques and cash are easy to change
throughout the country, but commissions on
cheques can be high. Apart from top-end hotels,
most places won't accept credit cards as payment
although you can often use them for cash advances
at western banks. Facilities for validation
seem better for Visa then MasterCard. Occasionally
a tattered note will be firmly refused as
legal tender, and often in the smaller towns
the appearance of a 1000 or 500 rupee note
will cause consternation and an inability
to provide change, so make sure you get some
smaller notes when buying your rupees.
Baksheesh
isn't so much a bribe as a way of life in
Pakistan. It can apply to any situation and
is capable of opening all sorts of doors,
both literal and metaphorical. Anything from
a signature on a document to fixing a leaking
tap can be acquired through the magic of baksheesh.
Most top-end hotels will automatically add
a 5-10% service charge to your bill, so any
extra tipping is entirely up to you. Taxi
drivers routinely expect 10% of the fare,
and railway porters charge an officially-set
Rs 7. The only time that a gratuity might
not be welcome is in the rural areas where
it runs counter to Islamic obligation to be
hospitable.
If
baksheesh is a way of life, bargaining
is a matter of style, particularly in the
many Pakistani bazaars. Unlike the western
hesitancy for bargaining, shopkeepers in Pakistani
love to bargain as long as it's done with
style and panache. Bargaining usually begins
with an invitation to step inside for a cup
of tea followed by a little bit of small talk,
a casually expressed interest by yourself
in a particular item, a way-too-high price
mentioned by the seller, a way-too-low counter
offer by yourself and eventually, after much
comic rolling of eyes, a handshake and mutual
satisfaction for both parties. Bargaining
should always be accompanied by smiles, good
humour and an ability not to get fixated on
driving the price into the ground.
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