Head Count: 65,897

The Skinny: Hetauda is located at the junction of the Tribhuvan Highway and the Mahendra Highway. It's a very pleasant and environmentally conscious town, which is a rare trait in these parts! The streets are lined with newly planted trees, garbage bins adorn every corner, and there is even an active recycling service. Hetauda feels like a very alive and up-and-coming city.

What Thar Be: To be totally honest, we didn't do much sightseeing in Hetauda. Our hotel was very comfortable (described later in this page) and we spent much of our time in the orchid-laden courtyard listening to music, writing, dyeing each other's hair, and generally relaxing after a few days of hard travel. Our excursions into town were limited to the main street on which we found a good restaurant (also described later) and a man selling fried egg sandwiches from a stall on the sidewalk.

Digs: Motel Avocado and Orchid Resort: We rolled into town looking for a good place to park the bikes, as always, and stumbled upon the Motel Avocado which is off the street about 100 meters with a gated driveway and large parking lot. Turns out the manager, Bhagirath Sharma, is not only a famous orchid grower and expert, but also an avid motorcycle enthusiast! We were offered a 30 percent discount on rooms just for pulling up on bikes. Good maps of the highways in Nepal are painted on the side of the restaurant (which was too pricey for us), and the guestbook is filled with stories of motor and pedal cyclists from around the world.

Vittles: The Garden Restaurant: on the main street running through town, with inside and outside seating. We opted for the outside, garden seating in little bamboo pagodas with curtains over the entryways and chairs and a table inside. The garden itself is beautifully tended, with bright flowers and many different kinds of plants. The food is tasty and well-priced ( 20-60R for an entree and 15 for a Coke.)

Hooch Factor: 65R for 22 oz beer from the liquor store, whiskey heretofore unknown.

Navigability: Very easy. Paved roads, many traffic police at the circles, and a reasonable amount of traffic.

Sliding In and Out: The east-west Mahendra Highway from Janakpur is paved and flat, with many Tata trucks but little foot traffic. Turning north, the Tribhuvan Highway is also in good condition, paved, uphill and windy. The Tribhuvan on the way out (turning north towards Kathmandu) started out a bit rocky for about 30 kilometres but improved and is in good shape all the steep way to Kathmandu.