Karachi’s best kept secrets – Part 6
Finally there’s something decent opening on the other side of the bridge as well. Finally, finally the business savy people with their fancy MBA degrees from their fancy Ivy League or Ivy League wannabe schools are realizing that majority of Karachi’s population lives outside DHA and Clifton cantonments. So they have taken a bold step and invested in “The Arenaâ€. It’s located between the Bahria Auditorium and the PNS Museum at Karsaz.
The first thing that hits you is the bucket loads of parking space both within and outside the premises, finally no going around looking for a place to park, something which is a rarity in Karachi. Oh and the view from the car park, of the museum gardens are just awesome. They should make an entrance in between the two, because this place will be used by a lot of people out on dates and the gardens next door gives a really romantic look at night especially during this season.
Once inside, you’ll have to go thru usual Karachi security check where go thru a metal detector which is gonna beep cuz no one asks you to take anything out of the pockets. I guess this is done so that the guard can have an excuse to use the handheld metal detector, which again beeps on each pocket and the guard makes assumptions that the first pocket must have the cell phone and the second one must have the keys, and if the back pocket beeps then surely it’s the wallet. It’s a good thing they stop at that and don’t ask you to spread em while they do a full body search.
For ladies they scan the purse without opening it, make sure the handheld detector is working by going beep beep beep and then go back to their seats lazily. What the hell is the purpose of this security check anyway? It’s the same when you go someplace where the checking of cars is mandatory, they’ll make you open the hood and the trunk of the car, look under the car thru their inverted mirrors but never ever look inside the car.
Anyway back to the topic, once you go thru the lame security check, you will have to go down a couple of levels where you’ll pay the mandatory entry fee, Rs 300 per person, kinda steep but it makes sure that only those who are interested in playing will come in. You can use this amount at any facility once inside. The facilities include a 16 lane bowling alley, ice skating rink, gaming zone, pool tables, rock climbing wall, paint ball and a gymnasium. For kids there are some small kiddy rides and a couple of lanes of virtual bowling. The rock climb and paint ball aren’t open yet but you can use the rest of the facilities.
The bowling alley is top notch and since not many people know about this place you can always go and start bowling immediately, there are no waiting lines like there are at Area 51.
Ice rink is kinda small but then again, something is better than nothing. And I doubt people are going to take up ice hockey here so this is gonna be more than enough for now. There’s also an ice deck for those who don’t wanna risk getting their butts bruised but wanna enjoy seeing others whiz by while they have their hot chocolates or Mocha Latte.
Oh and if someone from the management is reading this, kindly install more air hockey machines in the gaming zone.
There was also a dining area where you can dine in. But since I was there after a big dinner I didn’t felt like it. But we did try their Blue margarita and Cold Coffee and both of them were up to mark.
The only bad thing I can say about this place is that there were too many bowling balls with fingers holes so small that they were almost useless for guys. Please, please drill some bigger holes for us guys (and put a lid on your dirty thoughts right now 
)
Karachi’s best kept secrets – Part 5
Karachi’s best kept secrets – Part 4
Karachi’s best kept secrets – Part 3
Karachi’s best kept secrets – Part 2
Karachi’s best kept secrets – Part 1
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there were some decorative security guys outside Pace in Lahore too where I went in and the metal detector beeped but no one came to check!
Oh no, you just reminded me , I missed out on paint ball in Lahore . AAAAH!
with my looks, security ppl normally get suspicious…saales. khair…yes, they are slack in whatever they do.
will def try this place next time i come down. btw zaggi….one of ur masterpiece shots, the one with the row of street lights curving into a ‘C’ – cant recall the title to that…is being used by Fast Cables ‘enlightening the future’ hoardings
i pass on 60×90 size on my way to work and back. did u know about this?
O_O Exactly! What is the point of this seurity??!!! Seriously!
Sounds like a cool place overall.
lol! And i see U listed out links to your other Best kept secrets as well. Not getting enough web traffic?
Visited your blog for the first time.. Was trying to figure out what “The Arena” was.. A very nicely written critical review on the place .. Will definitely check it out after having read the above ..
..
Btw, the entire best kept secret posts were great too ..
Now if only you could do a restaurant review type thing with average cost of food *i’m not hinting*
[...] After my last entry in the best kept secret, The Arena management changed their logo from a Roman Gladiator feeling to a more carnival type logo, and advertised in Dawn. Since then I passed the place twice over the weekend and saw its parking lot packed with cars. When I went there on a Saturday night, it almost deserted with only a handful of cars there. I guess it’s not a secret anymore. [...]
Hani: Don’t worry, you can come back and play it in Karachi. Just give the bill to your dad and add the airline ticket to misc expenses
Psyched: With your looks???? ummmm explain plz
Do you mean your ‘forain’ looks or do you mean that your looks make the security ppl think you are hiding something underneath your………. ummmmmmmmm…… *zag is wondering whether to finish the sentence or not* 
SK: Shukki mizaj aurat, i listed it to help those who are reading it for the first time as i don’t have a seperate category for it…. and as you can see it helped Kiran below
Kiran: Welcome, and glad you liked the series. Do let me know how your experience was after you visit it. As for your hint, i don’t think that such a resturant will be a secret, hence its no use, but i did talked about some resturants in one of my earlier posts. It wasn’t under any series just some resturants that i think were great and not so expensive…. for instance “Bovi Chick” near IBA’s university campus. I don’t know whether you have been there or not.
PsycheD: Oh i did find out about the stolen pic, and you read it in the subsequent post…. but thanks for letting me know anyway.
I’ll definitely let you know how the experience was ..
.. I was trying to look for a critical restaurant review which includes the average cost that will be incurred .. nothing secret just an idea on how good it is and how much money to carry in my pocket :p .. I managed to find a website (karachisnob) which has a very good directory but no review or cost indicators ..
.. Loved it ..
I am actually one of those people who love to search for obscure pieces of information on the web
And I used to study in IBA .. So Bovi Chic was one of my favourite hang outs not forgetting the KU Dhabba’s of course
Spam protection: Sum of 1 + 3? *lmao* anything but 4 would make me a spammer :/
Funny how the only information about “the arena” over the web came from you, considering its oversized investment. I am bookmarking u under Undiscovered Karachi oh great wise one.
awaiting more revelations…
Kiran: I just checked out karachisnob, wierd name but excellent directory and upto date as well. Never been to the KU dhabba so really don’t know but if it’s anything like Bovi, then i am sure it must be great.
Eddjusted: Go ahead and laugh but when you get hundreds of spam comments a day it’s no laughing matter believe me
As for the web marketing, i guess ppl here still haven’t caught on the fact that it can play an integral part to promote their businesses.
@Zag: The food isn’t exactly Bovi .. they are basically canteens offering the standard rolls and kabab’s .. but they are a notch above the rest .. affordable freshly cooked food for students especially the Re. 1 samosa’s .. there’s even a chaat place where u get free refills all for Rs. 15 !! I really need to go there again
..
Wait a min, Rs15 chaat with free refills?????????? How the hell does this place stays in business???? And it’s a good thing I didn’t knew about this place warna meri tummy ka Allah hi hafiz
[...] Karachi’s best kept secrets – Part 6 Karachi’s best kept secrets – Part 5 Karachi’s best kept secrets – Part 4 Karachi’s best kept secrets – Part 3 Karachi’s best kept secrets – Part 2 Karachi’s best kept secrets – Part 1 [...]
I went to KU the other day .. Apparently its Rs. 10 :p .. And the refills are actually all the extras that u can add to the basic chaat he makes .. Customization
..
.. Be prepared !! ..
U really should visit KU .. this chaat place is just the tip of the iceberg .. there is the Re. 1 samosa’s !! ..
But having such food without being used to it is really going to play havoc on ur stomach
I was just researching ice skating in pakistan and came across this, admittedly i am surprised that it is recognized there.
does anyone ice skate professionally over there?
any idea how many rinks are in the country besides this one..information appreciated thanks.
Asma: I don’t think anyone ice skates professionally…. yet
as for others, this is the only one in Karachi, I don’t know whether there are others in Lahore or Isb.
[...] new facilities at Arena (Miniature Golf, Paintball, Rock Climbing and Gymnasium) which were supposed to open beginning of [...]
Nicely reviewed! I occasionally pass by it when I take the Karsaz road, and always wondered what must Arena be all about. Now I know! I’ll surely visit it … hopefully I will find some time in the coming weeks.
Oh and let me give you a heads-up on another best kept secret (so far), a web portal, that is set to launch soon: Yello (www.yello.pk). There you can not only find your fav places on a map, but also review your fav restaurants and other places too.
Sawant: Thanks for the appreciation. Looking forward for the launch of Yello.