Better life|| visit to PAF museum karachi
Assalamualaikum steemians!
Hope you all are doing well
Recently visited the PAF Museum situated at Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi and loved every moment of it. It is a very organized, secure and enjoyable place to visit. The fact that it is strictly "families-only" means that you can expect the kind of visitors who are more likely to behave themselves.
The parking area is quite vast with capacity for thousands of vehicles. The car parking charges are Rs. 50. Those coming in on motorcycles will be required to pay Rs. 30 for parking, while large groups arriving in coasters will be charged a parking fee of Rs. 300.
Ticket price is Rs. 100 for adults, Rs. 50 for
children (3-12 years), Rs. 50 for students with ID Card and Rs. 50 for defence personnel & their families. Considering the variety of activities you can indulge in at the PAF museum (explained in detail below), I found the tickets to be reasonably priced.
The museum offers an outdoor as well as indoor experience. The outdoor area covers nearly 90% of the space because it houses much more than just museum artifacts.
The outdoor exhibits include dozens of fighter, transport & cargo aircrafts used in Pakistan Air Force, different kinds of missles, radar systems, etc. Plenty to learn and celebrate.
The indoor museum showcases various aircrafts including Viking (officially used by Quaid e Azam), photos & paintings related to PAF, tons of memorabilia, along with designated areas in honor of our martyrs including Rashid Minhas, Maryam Mukhtiar, Nur Khan and other prestigious names who served the PAF including MM Alam, etc. Also on display are different archives and educational materials, aeronautical engineering equipment, artifacts depicting the evolution of the Pakistan Air Force, awards and medals, uniforms used in the PAF since it's inception, and a whole lot more. To see all these things was a matter of immense pleasure as a Pakistani, but what I found truly gratifying was the sight of our war trophies including Gnat, an Indian aircraft captured by Pakistan during the 1965 war and remains of the MiG-21 that was flown by Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman and shot down by the PAF in an aerial dogfight when it crossed into Pakistani airspace on February 27, 2019. Looking at pieces of this ripped Indian aircraft reminded me of the golden words "The tea was fantastic" ☕🤣
Aside from the museum experience, there are tons of other things that the place offers. There's a play area for kids with plenty of fun activities. The rides are relatively less expensive than other places. For people interested in trying more extreme rides, there's a separate area as well. Those who seek "play land-like" fun, you won't be disappointed.
The food options are in abundance. You will find multiple stalls offering different forms of tasty and hygienic delicacies. There's also a food court called "Eagle's nest" with an elaborate range of eatables. People can even be found having picnic in different grassy spots located in the museum premises, enjoying food they have brought from home.
There's an outdoor big screen installed on-site as well, where they screened a live PSL match at night. The audio was pretty good too. As a cricket lover who was keen to know the match position at the time, I was delighted to see the live telecast of the game. This part of the visit was exactly what u call "icing on the cake".
There are ample green patches with gazebos to give you a garden-like feel. You will come across plenty of plants and flowers that are well taken care of. The housekeeping guys ensure any litter that the public leaves behind (which unfortunately is a common behavior among our citizens) is immediately disposed of.
Here, I particularly want to appreciate the general administrative competency of the people working at the PAF Museum. The staff is super-courteous and performs their duty with immense dedication. Thorough professionals indeed.
How time flew at the place was beyond belief. I stayed at the museum for the best part of 8 hours but didn't feel bored one moment. Around 9:15 pm I decided to make my move back home.
The Gift and Souvenir shops on your way out of the Museum are worth checking out for sure. These shops can be found close to the main entrance/exit gates. They offer a number of gift items like hand bags, as well as souvenirs like caps, mugs, keychains, wall clocks, air force decoration items, miniature versions of aircrafts, etc. The rates are nominal too.
To sum up, if you love Pakistan, aviation and concepts revolving around general public amusement, this is a place you can count on for an awesome day out. Very few places in Karachi are spatially so vast, clean and secure. Not only will you come back home a prouder Pakistani, but also with great memories that you make with the family during your visit. 🙂
For those planning a visit, here are the museum timings:
Monday to Thursday - 9 am to 9 pm
Friday - 3 pm to 9:30 pm
Saturday & Sunday - 9 am to 9:30 pm