A tuk-tuk trip 50 times cheaper than a London Uber, a 2p bus ride and a 30p kebab: YouTuber reveals how far £1 goes in the world’s cheapest country
- Josh Larkin, who is half Pakistani, films himself spending a day in Karachi
- His budget of 400 Pakistani Rupees allows him to do ‘so much for so little’
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In a recent video, YouTuber Josh Larkin (above) sets out to see how far £1 can take you in the world’s cheapest country
How far can £1 take you in the world’s cheapest country?
YouTuber Josh Larkin answers that question in a new video that shows him spending 400 Pakistani Rupees – the equivalent to £1 – over the course of one day in Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan.
According to the World of Statistics, Pakistan has been ranked as the cheapest country globally to live in, based on the cost of living plus rent index.
The video, which has racked up more than 2.4million views on YouTube to date, sees Josh trying uber-cheap street food, purchasing a snake charm performance and riding a camel for under £1. A word of warning – the video does feature some bad language.
His verdict at the end of the day? ‘We have done so much for so little,’ Josh, who is half Pakistani, reveals.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=hxC1NBfCECM%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US
Josh’s video shows him spending 400 rupees – the equivalent to £1 – over the course of one day in Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan (stock photo)
A few rules are applied before the day begins – Josh – whose YouTube account ‘TheBurntChip’ has more than 1.65million subscribers – notes that he’s not taking tipping into account as part of his daily spend.
He also has a guide, Auz, driving him around the city, so it’s not always necessary to pay for transport.
The video-maker begins the day by trying a traditional iced beverage from a street vendor. Josh reveals the drink, which is made by ‘mixing milk sugar and ice in a blender with cream soda’, has set him back 30 rupees, which works out as around seven pence.
Next on the agenda? Josh says in the clip: ‘With roughly 93 pence in my pocket and a bit of an empty stomach, I hunted down some cheap snacks.’
Auz takes him to a street food stall to try some salty snacks that taste ‘like crisps’. They cost a total of 25 ruppees, the equivalent to five pence, Josh reveals.
At one point, Josh points to the apartments that line the streets of Karachi and asks his guide how much it would cost to live there. Auz reveals that the rent could be as little as £50 per month.
Their next destination is a 1.5km (just under a mile) journey away, so they hop in a tuk-tuk to take them there.
Josh spends 25ruppees, the equivalent to five pence, on street snacks (stock photo)
HOW JOSH SPENT HIS £1
- Iced drink – £0.07
- Snacks on the street – £0.05
- Tuk-tuk – £0.10
- McDonald’s cap – £0.15
- Socks – £0.10
- Bus ticket – £0.02
- Fruit – £0.02
- Biryani and Pepsi – £0.25
- Snake charm performance – £0.05
- Kebabs – £0.30
It sets them back around 10 pence, with Josh noting: ‘The same distance in a London Uber costs around £8, which is over 50 times more expensive.’
After the ride, they tour around a local clothes market in ‘the hope of finding something unique and cheap’. Josh says that he has struck ‘gold’ with his purchases – a McDonald’s cap (15 pence) and a pair of socks for his girlfriend (10 pence).
A kind stranger offers to buy him a snack on the street – though Josh refuses his generous offer – and a friendly street vendor offers him a free cup of hot tea. ‘People are so nice here! You wouldn’t get this in London, I swear,’ Josh says.
Next, he hops on a bus for around 10 rupees, ‘which is about two pence’, he reveals.
After spending another two pence on some fruit in a local market, he makes a stop for lunch in a small restaurant, where he tucks into a plate of chicken, potato and rice biryani and a Pepsi for just 25 pence. He says: ‘I can’t lie, this biryani was actually really nice.’
He then enjoys a massage from a street masseuse, after which he says: ‘The massage was amazing but the guy wouldn’t take our money… we gave him a tip anyway but that doesn’t count towards our budget.’
While on the beach in Karachi, Josh takes a camel ride – which he says is free (stock photo)
The next stop is the beach, where he encountered the snake charmer. It costs them 25 rupees to watch a snake performance, which works out to around five pence.
Next, Josh takes a camel ride – which he says is free – and spends the rest of the afternoon hanging out with locals, watching men riding horses on the beach and taking part in a game of cricket, which is considered to be the most popular sport in Pakistan.
When dinner time calls, he blows his remaining budget on a kebab that’s priced at 30p.
They end the night on Burns Road – a historic strip known for its street food – where they watch a clown perform for a crowd of locals.
All things considered, it wasn’t the low prices in Karachi that made an impression on Josh, but rather the interactions he had with the local community.
He admits: ‘Filming this video, it really was an eye-opening experience for me. On the surface, there was a stark contrast between our day-to-day lives… but looking past that, it was clear to see that we’re not so different after all.’
To see more videos from TheBurntChip, go to youtube.com/@TheBurntChipHD.
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