It's canals like this one that led to Karachi's being known as the Venice of Asia. Just kidding, it's canals like this one that helped give Karachi it's distictive stench. One day I saw workmen digging in the canal and admired the heavy black rubber boots and gloves they got in addition to their spades. On closer inspection, I realized that it wasn't black rubber at all. The fragrance that wafted in through the bus windows clinched it - this isn't a canal, it's an open sewer.

---