Bathrooms Around the World
(H)ave there not for most of us been moments (in a strange town) when the sight of the word GENTLEMEN over a door has roused a joy almost worthy of celebration in verse? ... C. S. Lewis
All of you probably can remember a time when you were desperate for one! And you know the first rule of travel is what we were taught by our mothers when we were small children. "Just try." And if you have had experience with kidney infections, as one of us did, or other problems that lead to urgency, then you can imagine how vital this topic could be.
Besides, we have found the whole topic to be fascinating. Over the years we have traded observations, frustrations and humor about our experiences with each other and with others as we traveled or talked about our travels. We didn't begin to think about writing about it until this most recent trip. Partly it was because of the special problems we had this time, and partly is that we had some particularly interesting encounters with toilets as we traveled.
Prior to our round-the-world travels we had had experiences in Europe, Vietnam, China, Thailand, Japan, Australia, India, and other countries. In some third world countries the conditions were rather primitive and that is to be expected. It wasn't unusual to have to use a bucket to flush out the toilet or have toilets that were not much more than the privy that Marie had to use growing up on the farm. That is okay and, besides, we are used to that from camping.
There were some notable experiences. In China we found the worst sanitary conditions where toilet facilities are concerned. Somehow it is difficult to erase the visual image of one toilet in a an airport there that was particularly rank. We have since read that China does indeed have the worst toilets in the world and that one of its goals is to improve them. Another interesting observation from China is that little boys have slits in their pants instead of wearing diapers or underwear, so that when they have to defecate, they simply do it on the street. A parent then scoops it up and deposits it in the trash can. We saw that more than once while in China. However, even China has western style toilets in hotels in more modern places and that we have found, is pretty much true wherever we have traveled.
In India, toilets are fine in good hotels and restaurants and popular tourist attractions. Outside of those places conditions decline dramatically. Squat toilets are the rule and they are very often unpleasant and dirty. There is no toilet paper. A small cup and water are usually present so that you can clean yourself. In addition, toilets can be few and far between. Tom was with a group of Fulbright Fellows and their bus simply stopped by the road so that everyone could relieve themselves. But keep in mind that this is a country where most people, particularly in rural areas, simply go into the fields to heed nature's call.
In fact, we have found all over Asia that it is not unusual for men to relieve themselves in public places. They simply turn their backs to the passers-by and proceed with their business. In addition, in Japan it is also not uncommon for cleaning women to walk into the men's urinals and go about cleaning the toilet with no concern that men are lined up at the urinals.
Before going any further, we want to say that a general rule of thumb when traveling is to look for a McDonald's where toilets should be clean, well-maintained and free. We have found that to be true most of the time but have also found some exceptions to the rule, since the filthiest restroom we found in Rome was in a McDonald's on one of the main streets. In fact, it was the handicapped toilet so that made it even more appalling.
Let's back up a minute. We are not certain when we got the idea for this page. It might have been when the German man who was waiting in line with us to use the toilets in Rome was talking about the inequities of the waiting time for men vs. women. He told us of an experiment in Germany of woman standing up to use the urinals to speed up their time. Or it might have been in Spain where it seemed that women entered the men's room just as frequently as the men did. In particular, one man loudly complained that men went into the men's room even though his wife was in there, and the men coming out mentioned that a woman was in there taking her time adjusting her make-up in the mirror while they were taking care of their needs at the urinals! Or it may have been the time that we flooded that floor at the elegant villa in Japan because we could not figure out how to flush the toilet.
Whatever it was, we thought we would make our small contribution to enlighten others as they travel so they don't have the same ignorance that we have had. Maybe we could help others to be a little better prepared.
Also, whenever it was we didn't start to take pictures in earnest until we reached Japan so we can't give you a photo image of Europe but will try to provide an image with words, instead.
We knew before traveling to Europe that we might have to pay for the use of toilets. We were lucky this trip and did not have that problem, as we have been told is common in France, and as we found previously in London. However, we did have tissues with us in case there was no toilet paper, which happened fairly often, and we carried HandiWipes in case there was no sanitary way to wash our hands. Some toilets had no running water, some had no hot water and many had no way of drying hands, especially in Rome. When we traveled throughout Spain we found that conditions were generally better, with more hot water and the hot air dryers were generally very effective. Also we did not have to pay any attendants for toilet paper as we did in Rome. We were surprised to actually find some squat toilets in Rome (more about those later.)
The feature we liked the most about bathrooms in hotels in Europe were that the bathtubs were long and very deep. It was wonderful to take a long hot bath and stretch out and relax. When we arrived in Spain after our tour of Rome, Marie actually fell asleep in the bathtub -- a first time event. We sure wish we could have one of those at home!
When we arrived in Korea, we discovered that the toilets were about half squat toilets similar to that pictured on the left, although this photo was actually taken at one of the cleaner public toilet facilities in Japan. Sometimes it was a challenge to figure out how to flush them. This one has a place that you step on in front of it. Others have a handle to push down. Still others are in the wall.
But, of course, the flushing hardware may be difficult to find for some toilets in the Western world also. And when our Australian guest stayed with us for a month she found it compelling that the faucets were so varied in public bathrooms. Sometimes it was puzzling for her to try to figure out whether to just stick your hands under the faucet (the automatic kind) or where the control might be. We became aware, through her observations, that things here might be very confusing for visitors, also.
In Korea, western toilets were in hotels, and some in other public areas. However, at bus stops they only had squat toilets and sometimes they were unisex, with urinals and women's stalls in the same enclosed room, with men and women sharing them. There was usually no toilet paper, often no soap or towels, and almost no hot water -- just like in Japan. We needed lots of HandiWipes and we found that sanitation varied considerably.
Tom noticed an interesting phenomenon when he was in the men's rooms in Korea which had western toilets. He would see black marks on either side of the toilet seat. After seeing this several times, he decided that it must be from men using the western toilet as a squat toilet, by standing on the seat. We don't know if that is an accurate assessment but couldn't come up with a better idea.
We know that some people consider western style toilets to be unsanitary and squat toilets to be more hygienic. However, from our vantage point and considering our personal experience, the opposite seems to be true, without going into any of the scatological details!
JAPAN
We thought we had a good idea of what to expect when we arrived in Japan. We knew that we would have to contend with squat toilets in some areas but that many places would have more modern facilities. We knew to look for a sign like that on the right if we wanted a western toilet. This would be true in most public areas such as schools, train stations, trains, airports, etc, although most modern department stores often have only western toilets. And many of them even have hot water for washing hands, with a few actually having air dryers. Soap was still pretty non-existent.
We were familiar with the heated toilet seats that are so popular in homes in Japan and the western style toilets that have faucets that flow when the toilet is flushed. We think it is for washing one's hands since the commode is often in a separate room from the sink. However, usually no soap is available nor anything for drying one's hands. We thought this to be a little bewildering in a country where people pride themselves on cleanliness. Often men and women simply use their handkerchiefs to dry their hands. They use the same handkerchiefs as dinner napkins and to blow their noses as far as we can tell.
We also knew that the whole ritual of bathing is quite different from the western way. In this country bathing is ritualistic as many other activities are. The picture at the right shows a typical bathing area of a home or Japanese style hotel (ryokan). One sits on the little plastic stool, uses the plastic basin to rinse oneself and the supplies in the carrier to wash every inch of the body, turning off the water in between steps. Only after a person is completely clean does one get into the very hot bath to soak. The bathtub in this picture is atypical, however, as the normal Japanese bath is very deep and smaller around. Thus, a person can sit up to ones chest in very hot water, relaxing and meditating, with your knees bent to your chest. Recently one of our Japanese friends said that the one thing they missed the most about living in America was the Japanese bathtub. It is one of our better memories of living in Japan to soak in a tub and relax the muscles after a stressful day. We considered putting one in our bathroom that we added to our home, but it just wasn't feasible given our allotted space.
What we weren't prepared for was the gadgetry that has developed since our last visit, four years earlier. We found it in friend's homes, hotels, and public restrooms around the country. And we were to learn the hard way how to work it!
More and more homes seemed to be equipped with high tech toilets not seen anywhere else in the world. Heated seats, a spray (with adjustments for regulating the temperature of the water) for cleaning oneself and a bidet were all part of the new technology toilets.
They present an array of instructions -- always in Japanese, but sometimes illustrated with pictures. Sometimes the instructions are on the side of the commode such as that to the left and sometimes they are on the wall beside the toilet. The instructions have a picture of each kind of spray which begins when you press it, water temperature control and an "off" button to stop the spray. But a lot of this we learned in hindsight!! That is not intended as a play on words! If you strain your eyes you may be able to make out some of the pictures on the control panel to the right.
The first time we encountered this multiple range of choices when we were staying in a very elegant, marble and glass villa in a resort area of Japan that had original works of art on the walls. Our room overlooked Japanese gardens and a waterfall outside the window. After using the toilet we realized that the instructions were all in Japanese (no pictures!) and we hadn't brushed up on our kanji. We couldn't find the flushing device and we were reminded of our friend who had told us about the time she used a toilet in a guest's home and couldn't figure out how to flush the commode. Later she realized that it had a remote flush.
We pushed one button and the water came up out of the toilet under the seat and onto the floor. We knew that was the wrong choice so we tried another button. Even more water sprayed up and onto the floor. After a few abortive attempts we finally found the correct mechanism. It took awhile to mop up the water on the floor with toilet paper. Our faces were red. But it definitely was a crash course in the new modern toilet technology in Japan!! We never made the same mistake again and we were lucky to have pictures to help us in in all our other encounters with high tech toilets.
AUSTRALIA
When we arrived in Australia we were to learn even more about possibilities with toilets. There were three things that we were particularly intrigued with. One is the needle receptacles like that shown in this picture. We saw this one in a public restroom in the Royal Botanical Gardens in Melbourne but apparently they are common around the country. We thought it was a good idea and wondered what it would take to have something similar in the US.
Another interesting thing is the advertisements that we saw in toilets around the city. They were very creative and original -- and gave us food for thought. In one men's room Tom saw the sign, "Do you think urinating 4 times a night is normal?" With it was information regarding prostrate cancer. In one ladies' room Marie read a attention-getting sign, "Don't just sit there!" It was an ad for Imodium A-D. That was quite clever and also good advice, as that is one thing that we think it is vital to pack for any trip. (Having a serious intestinal problem while on a long bus ride in remote Thailand underscored the need to keep it with us and not packed away where it is inaccessible.) Another ad in the same stall was for Carefree Panty Liners for keeping fresh while traveling. Also good advice. It can cut down significantly on the amount of hand washing that must often be done in hotel room sinks. And they do help a great deal with staying fresher longer. Anyway, we thought the ads were pretty clever and uniquely Australian in their humor and directness and we bet that they were highly successful campaigns.
By far the most fascinating bathroom experience we had was in the Hotel Sofitel. Shortly after arriving Emma said we really must see the bathrooms. So Marie followed her to the ladies' room while Tom checked out the men's room. There in each of the gorgeously decorated bathrooms, (check out the marble floor and see the art on the walls), was a solid wall of glass overlooking the whole city of Melbourne. What a view! We were more than 30 stories up and no other buildings came close to that height, so no one could look in, unless they were in a helicopter.
But it was a bit strange to use the bathroom with the thought of the whole city being able to see in, while our view looking over the city filled with night lights was truly spectacular. Having the urinals in the men's room within plain view was a bit more startling than the ladies room with its enclosed stalls. Sure wish we could have captured that on film. (Thanks for the photos, Emma.)
TURKEY
In Turkey, to make certain that tourists didn't get confused there was usually a sign that let us know which was which - "bay" for men and "bayan" for women.
We had no idea what to expect and were not disappointed -- a whole range of experiences from the very modern to very primitive. In the western part of the country most of the public toilets offered both eastern and western facilities. However, the further we traveled into the interior of the country, the fewer western style toilets were available.
In most cases there was someone outside of the toilet collecting money. The fee ranged from 100,000 to 300,000 Turkish lira (about 7 to 20 cents). This fee seemed to be to pay the person who cleaned the toilets and for the use of toilet paper used to dry one's hands with upon leaving. Occasionally we would also be given lemon-scented oil for perfuming the hands.
We did learn to keep tissues with us just in case there would be no toilet paper available inside - a fairly common occurrence. However, we often needed to fill a small bucket with water for flushing (as shown in the picture). It was unpleasant to discover that used toilet tissue was supposed to be deposited in a trash can rather than being flushed. At least there was usually running water for washing our hands.
We were surprised by the opulence in some of the toilets. In addition to tile work and marble in some of the toilets, there were sometimes lovely planted areas.
It was in Ephesus where we found this latrine from the 2nd Century A.D. -- it is ancient, but not the oldest in all of Turkey. Our guide told us that the oldest modern bathroom in the world is at Cavus Tepe, in eastern Turkey, and dates back to the 8th Century B.C.
BULGARIA
On our trip to Bulgaria we visited a 16th century home that was complete with two "indoor" toilets. We couldn't resist taking a picture since it was like none other that we had seen.
So much for our toilet experiences for now. Feel free to write to tell us about your experiences or suggestions so that we can add them to this page if you wish. Whatever, we do believe that there is no such thing as too much forewarning in this area.
An experience was recently shared with us:
Thank-you for such an original and interesting website! I have a short story
to share with you about the facilities at a Baja Mexico campground... In the
campground owner's desire to attract visiting American tourists he
installed, and advertised on a roadside billboard, flush toilets. And there
were in fact a row of white porcelain commonplaces in the concrete bath
house. However, there is no running water anywhere on that stretch of remote
Cortez coastline. After a person used the loo, he or she had to walk to the
groundskeepers hut, tell him they had done their business, and the very old
man would painfully claw his way up a rusty ladder to the nearby elevated
rainwater reservoir (and how much rainwater is there in Baja?!). On the
tower were a series of valves and hoses by which the old man could fill the
flush tanks in each of the bathrooms, and the appropriate toilet would
indeed flush. I did not want to speculate on where it was flushing to. We
saved much time and effort the next time by doing as the locals do.
Thanks again
Claudia Lorenz
Meanwhile... don't forget to pack your Imodium A-D and Metamucil wafers. And just for your information, we have found that paper underwear is available in China and in Australia.
Happy travels. May you find clean toilets when and where you need them! If you need assistance with that you might want to go to The Bathroom Diaries.
