I am a Punjab girl through and through, and for some reason I had never been to Karachi until last winter. Everyone had an opinion — too big, too chaotic, too far. I went anyway, and it turned out to be one of the most memorable city trips I have taken inside Pakistan.

Getting there

I flew from Lahore, about an hour and a half, and landed into a completely different Pakistan: warm air in December, palm trees, and the smell of the sea. After a winter of cold northern plains, that alone felt like a holiday.

What surprised me most

• The sea. I had seen beaches in photos, but standing at Seaview at sunset, with families, camels and chai everywhere, was genuinely emotional for someone who grew up landlocked.
• The food diversity. In Punjab our food is wonderful but more uniform. In Karachi I ate Memon, Bohra, Sindhi and Hyderabadi dishes in a few days. The biryani really is on another level.
• The warmth. People warned me Karachi would be cold and impersonal. Instead, strangers helped me with directions, shopkeepers chatted, and my hosts treated me like family.

Where I stayed and what I saw

I based myself in Clifton, near the seafront, in a mid-range hotel for around PKR 18,000 a night. From there it was easy to reach Mohatta Palace, Mazar-e-Quaid and the old colonial quarter around Frere Hall. I used ride-hailing apps for everything, which is honestly the only sane way to get around such a spread-out city.

The honest bits

Karachi is big and the traffic is heavy. A trip across town can take an hour, so I learned to cluster my plans by area and not over-schedule. I also stuck to known, busier areas and kept my phone tucked away in crowded markets, which is just sensible in any large city.

What it cost

Excluding flights, four days of hotel, food, ride-hailing and entry tickets came to around PKR 85,000. For the amount I ate and saw, I thought that was fair.

My advice for fellow up-country visitors

• Go in winter; the weather is glorious and the heat elsewhere is brutal.
• Stay in Clifton or DHA for easy access to the sea and restaurants.
• Use ride-hailing apps and budget plenty of travel time.
• Come hungry — and try cuisines you cannot get back home.

If you have been avoiding Karachi because of its reputation, I get it — I did too. But the city won me over completely. Give it a few days and an open mind, and it just might win you over too.