I visited the bustling, hectic Anarkali Bazaar in the old town of Lahore, Pakistan.
There were two items that I wanted to buy in the market. First was a Jinnah cap, also known as a Karakul. It's a very distinctive type of hat that was popularised by the founding father of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
The second was a cricket shirt, for the local team, Lahore Qalandars.
I started exploring the bazaar, that's spilt into sections. In each section there's dozens of shops, all selling the same type of goods. This is good for the customer as you have a wide selection of the type of item you are looking to purchase. You also get a low price because the shops are having to compete with each other.
I started off my market adventure in a section where every shop was selling celebration items. Not what I was looking for but it was interesting to see.
I roamed around, asking people where the best place to buy a Jinnah hat was. I hoped to find a section where there were many shops selling hats. One man told me I must go to the Rang Mahal area.
On my way to the Rang Mahal I saw a crowd of men buying some sort of street food. Whatever it was, it seemed to be very popular. I asked a local gentleman, who told me it was pakora.
Pakora is type of fritter that's popular in India and Pakistan. It's also very popular in Scotland, at Indian restaurants, so I was aware of what it was.
Apparently the shop, Butt Pakora, is very famous in that area of Lahore, and popular, hence the huge crowd.
Whenever you see a massive crowd of local people excited to buy food, you really must try it because it's sure to be good.
I asked what the system was to order. Do I ask for how many pieces I want? Or for 1 portion, or what? I was informed that the pakora is priced based on weight, at 600 rupees per KG, but if I just give them some money, like 100 rupees, they will give me whatever weight in pakora that works out to be.
I handed over 100 rupees and asked for the vegetable pakora that I saw was being made fresh by the boss man, Mr Butt. He was mixing onion, spinach and red chili into a chickpea flour batter then throwing handfuls of it into the boiling oil.
I was given 50 rupees back by the staff, as they knew that I was trying to buy one portion for myself. A 50 rupee portion would be the correct size. And it sure was. I never through I'd get such a big bag of pakora for just $0.27 USD
The pakora was tasty. The batter was crispy with a lovely seasoning, but it wasn't fried for long, so the onion and spinach beneath the batter still tasted fresh.
With a belly full of pakora I continued my hunt for a Jinnah topi. Some friendly locals pointed me in the direction of where I should go, and a guy, who I though was one of them, started leading me. So I followed him.
After 10 minutes of him walking through the streets, pointing at things, I figured out that he was just some random guy that was trying to take me on a tour and earn some money from me.
It took me a while to realise that because the guy was deaf and mute. When I did realise, I gave him some money and gestured that I didn't need him anymore.
I feel like he tricked me into this tour. Looking back at the video footage, when the guys in the shop were pointing with their arm the direction I should go, he was standing beside them also pointing. So it was a bit of a scam and I hate to hand money over to a scammer but by the time I figured out what was happening it was a bit late. If I had figured it out in the first minute or so I would have lost the guy pretty quickly.
After getting rid of my unwanted guide, I found one shop selling the Jinnah hats. I got an idea of the different qualities available and their price but I decided to shop around before comfiting to one. This was the only shop in the area selling hats and I wanted to find the actual section where every shop is selling hats, or maybe even where they are being made.
After a lot more exploring, a pitstop for some fresh grapefruit juice, and a bit of bargaining, I eventually got the hat I was looking for at a price of 1,500 PKR ($8 USD) and I was happy.
The next task was to find the cricket t-shirt, but that was another huge mission, so you can watch that adventure on the next video.
0:00 New Anarkali Bazaar
04:35 Butt Pakora
12:05 Unwanted Tour Guide
18:17 Hat Shop 1
26:22 Grapefruit Juice
33:17 Luke Damant Fan
35:15 Jinnah Cap Purchase
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