Have you ever thought about it? How would it be to travel solo? I know some of you have and some of you love to travel solo. But have you ever thought of travelling solo in the parts of the world which is not reputed for it? Like going to Nepal but not for Himalayas, or going to Turkey but not for Turkish tea or medieval architecture or going to Europe not for it’s rich history but for a better hike.
I love travelling in a different way than people normally do. I love Himalayas. Mountains are my second home, but I always think of traveling to places where people don’t generally think of or that ain’t essentially it’s reputation. In that case, non-himalayan Nepal is not a quintessential choice of most travelers. But I say, if you love raw culture and love hanging out with people trying some of these places is definitely something solo travelers should try.
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Janakpur- for the magnificent architecture and beautiful cultural amalgamation at Janaki Mandir. This is the only magnificent beauty of architecture you see in plains of Nepal unlike wide spread of them in Kathmandu. Janaki Mandir is very different from the normal Pagoda style temple that we see very often in Nepal. It has a very opulent and grandiose architectural beauty which is extremely unique.
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Saptari- Basically for their pedas (sweet condensed milk cake). You don’t find it anywhere. Well, even though if you do it’s not just as in Saptari. More that interests me here is how a while village or a mile or long street can have nothing but sweets of same type. Typical sweet shops with steel showcase with different milk made sweets are very common all over Nepal. But Saptari is unique. This must be the only place where sweet shop makes only one type of sweet and they are in a hut or somebody’s home itself. There will be a showcase of big utensil which is used for making Pedas. And of course there is very typical quality of culture you see in the place which ain’t available anywhere else.
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Hetauda: I know people will argue for Hetauda for being in the list for it not being the actual plains, but Hetauda is the actual midpoint for the connection of hills and plains. There ain’t no place in Nepal which show the actual grey line between hilly region and plains. The cultural mix is amazing. I feel so different every time I be there. It doesn’t feel like any where as normal hills and neither as pure plains. The easier links to Birgunj the industrial hub makes it very accesible to a lot of items along with a it’s connection to hilly Makwanpur shows it’s link to hills, and moreover you can see that impact the demography of the place. I love it.
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Kanchanpur: For their fish from Rapti river. Mostly what people say is Mallekhu is where you ahould go for fish, my argument is always Kanchanpur for it’s raw image and less commercialized arena. You feel like you are eating delicious fresh fish at your own home in Kanchanpur. Moreover, try some restaurants ( don’t expect high ends, you wouldn’t find any) which are close to Rapti river and you can go for a view along with the dish.
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Mahendranagar/Butwal: This two would be of same ranking for me though they are totally different in themselves. Butwal/Bhairawaha or Mahendranagar both are border areas to India but have a different tinge with concoction of border influenced market or business culture but a typical and unlike culture and demography of the place. Like for Butwal/Bhairawaha, I always find Lumbini (Birthplace of Gautam buddha) so fascinating over there as most modern Buddhism I see is in the mountains. But the mix of buddhism and hinduism in Bhairawaha is phenomenal which you can’t find anywhere as it is fantastically typical. And in Mahendranagar, it’s the amazing jinx of Tharu culture and that unusually beautiful natural beauty along with a different sets of border influenced market.
If anybody has traveled or have thought of traveling Nepal, people will easily notice me missing CHITWAN here and might be offended. But I’m talking about non reputed or semi-reputed areas of non-himalayan Nepal. Chitwan is always the reputed plains of Nepal. It’s very beautiful and great place to visit. Just for the theme of the article I can’t include it in this article.
So, if anybody is thinking of going to plains of Nepal, the amazing TERAI, I say these places would definitely change the way you have thought about Nepal and the culture of the place. Plan your next visit away from the known alone. Try unknown, get unexpected.