From a 2p bus ride to a 30p kebab: YouTuber reveals how far £1 goes in the world’s cheapest country

How far can £1 get you in the world’s cheapest country?

YouTuber Josh Larkin answer that question in a new video showing that he spends 400 Pakistani rupees – the equivalent of £1 – over the course of a day in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city.

According to the world of statisticsPakistan is ranked as the cheapest country in the world to live in based on the cost of living plus rent index.

The video, which has received over 2.4 million views on YouTube to date, shows Josh trying super cheap street food, buying a snake charm show and riding a camel for less than £1. A warning: the video contains foul language.

His verdict at the end of the day? “We did so much for so little,” reveals Josh, who is half Pakistani.

Josh’s video shows him spending 400 rupees – the equivalent of £1 – in one day in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city (stock photo)

A few rules are applied before the day begins – Josh – whose YouTube account ‘The Burnt Chip’ has over 1.65 million subscribers – notes that he doesn’t factor in tips as part of his day-to-day expenses.

He also has a guide, Auz, who drives him around town, so it’s not always necessary to pay for transportation.

The video maker starts the day by trying a traditional iced drink from a street vendor. Josh reveals that the drink, which was made by “mixing milk sugar and ice cream in a blender with cream soda,” earned him 30 rupees, which works out to about seven pence.

Next on the agenda? Josh says in the clip, “With about 93 pence in my pocket and a bit of an empty stomach, I started looking for cheap snacks.”

Auz takes him to a street stall to try some salty snacks that “taste like potato chips.” They cost a total of 25 rupees, the equivalent of five pence, Josh reveals.

At one point, Josh points to the apartments along the streets of Karachi and asks his guide how much it would cost to live there. Auz reveals the rent could be as little as £50 a month.

Their next destination is a 1.5 km (just under a mile) journey, so they get in a tuk-tuk to take them there.

Josh spends 25 rupees, the equivalent of five pence, on street snacks (stock photo)

It will cost them around 10 pence, with Josh commenting: ‘The same distance in a London Uber costs around £8, which is over 50 times more expensive.’

After the ride, they tour a local clothing market in “hoping to find something unique and inexpensive.” Josh says he struck ‘gold’ with his purchases – a cap from McDonald’s (15p) and a pair of socks for his girlfriend (10p).

A friendly stranger offers to buy him a snack on the street – though Josh declines his generous offer – and a friendly street vendor offers him a free cup of hot tea. ‘The people here are so nice! You wouldn’t get this in London, I swear,” says Josh.

He then boards a bus for about 10 rupees, “that’s about two pence,” he reveals.

After spending another two pence on some fruit at a local market, he stops for lunch at a small restaurant, where he eats a plate of chicken, potato and rice biryani and a Pepsi for only 25 pence. He says, ‘I can’t lie, this biryani was actually really tasty.’

He then enjoys a massage from a street masseur, after which he says, “The massage was great, but the man wouldn’t take our money…we tipped him anyway, but it doesn’t count against our budget.”

While at 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 show, which works out to about five pence.

Josh then takes a camel ride – which he says is free – and spends the rest of the afternoon hanging out with the locals, watching men horseback riding on the beach and participating in a game of cricket, which is considered as the most popular sports in Pakistan.

When it’s dinner time, he wastes his remaining budget on a kebab that costs 30 pence.

They end the evening 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 impressed Josh, but rather the interactions he had with the local community.

He admits, “Filming this video was a really eye-opening experience for me. At first glance, there was a stark contrast between our daily lives…but if you looked beyond that, it was clear that we are not so different after all.’

For more videos from TheBurntChip, visit youtube.com/@TheBurntChipHD.