Public Toilets in other countries

johnnywalker · Joined: 12 Apr 2004 Posts: 8 Location: Sydney, Australia

Possibly the least considered aspect of any journey...public toilets.

In major Australian cities they are plentiful and almost all are free.
In parts of Europe there's a cost to going to the toilet

Two memories for me, though, are -

Hong Kong - At Stanley I needed to go and the only one available was dirty, had a door which didn't close properly and had a trough which ran under all three or four cubicles so that you knew what the guy further up was doing as it would pass you by in a few seconds.

Philippines - The airport toilet was very clean but I failed to realise the guy who ushered me toward one available cubicle, passed toilet paper under the door, turned the water on at the basin and provided me with a towel to wipe my hands wanted a tip. Don't I feel like a right old scrooge :oops:

David · Joined: 04 Apr 2004 Posts: 162

That was a funny post, johnnywalker.
I can imagine that finding a restroom in another country, as well as using one could be quite an adventure. :lol:

Jonathan · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 185

This actually brings up the issue that bringing a spare roll of TP with you, especially when day tripping to places off the beaten track, isn't a bad idea.

MadamSamba · Joined: 12 Apr 2004 Posts: 4

Hey, JW. I had similar experiences in Singapore and Malaysia where I either had to pay to step foot in the door or pay when I left or wanted toilet paper.

The funniest toilet experience I had, however, was during my first visit to North America. I walked into the toilet and saw that the water was three-quarters the way up the bowl, which, to me, meant the bowl was blocked. I walked into the next one and the next one and and the next, only to find they were all blocked. Feeling somewhat like a country hick, it finally dawned on me that that is the way Canadians and Americans have their toilets whereas in other places, like Australia, the bowl contains only a small amount of water that fills when flushed.

Eeek!

cocodrilo · Joined: 12 Apr 2004 Posts: 494 Location: Western Japan

I can officially say I have seen and experienced the most grotesque toilets in the world! Japan certainly has the stinkiest. India has toilet paper which is more like cardboard as does Africa(bring yer own!), China has restrooms with NO DOORS, but when ya gotta go, ya gotta go! The GROSSEST of gross toilet award goes to an experience my brother had in Uzbekistan- are you ready for this one? As there is apparently an absence of toilet paper in the guys' rooms(my brother didn't go to the ladies' room!), them men wiped with their fingers, then wiped this on the wall creating a very sickening wallpaper! GROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSS!

johnnywalker · Joined: 12 Apr 2004 Posts: 8 Location: Sydney, Australia

MadamSamba wrote: The funniest toilet experience I had, however, was during my first visit to North America. I walked into the toilet and saw that the water was three-quarters the way up the bowl, which, to me, meant the bowl was blocked. I walked into the next one and the next one and and the next, only to find they were all blocked. Feeling somewhat like a country hick, it finally dawned on me that that is the way Canadians and Americans have their toilets whereas in other places, like Australia, the bowl contains only a small amount of water that fills when flushed.

Eeek!

I know what you mean MadamSamba. I was very afraid of making a splash...if you know what I mean.
Cocodrilo, that really is a gross story. Although it does remind me of a time I went on a three dayhike and a friend of mine raced off behind a tree to take a dump (if I can put it as bluntly as that). He had no paper, yelled for some, we refused to pass any and eventually came out with a grin. When asked if he had used leaves he replied no and said he'd used large pebbles. He said the the leaves were too small and the pebbles were smooth anyway (he was in a dry creek bed).

dragon3085 · Joined: 13 Apr 2004 Posts: 2 Location: San Antonio

one traveler once remarked that the one good thing about Mcdonald's agressive empire building is that It has brought public bathrooms to the rest of the world. I agree, Mikki D's was a welcome respite in Ukraine when I needed a restroom. Of course this assumes you are in a major city, but hey if your out in the country, there is always a bush somewhere. :twisted:

Jonathan · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 185

dragon3085 wrote: one traveler once remarked that the one good thing about Mcdonald's agressive empire building is that It has brought public bathrooms to the rest of the world.
I've heard the same thing myself dragon, and on more than one occasion! :shock:

Not sure if it was actually a marketing gimmick, but I know that I've ended up at a McDs a couple of times when people I'm traveling with insist we eat there because of their restroom facilities. In general my thinking is that if I won't eat there when I'm at home, why would I want to eat there when I'm abroad... but I do understand the reasoning!

dragon3085 · Joined: 13 Apr 2004 Posts: 2 Location: San Antonio

Actually the Mcdonalds in Buenos Aires, off of 9 de julio has some the best burgers. Totally different from the ones here in the U.S. :-)

Jonathan · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 185

Seeing as I'm a vegetarian, I don't think that's going to sway my thinking... :lol:

PharCyDe · Joined: 10 Apr 2004 Posts: 64 Location: Tennessee, USA

My worst bathroom experience ever lol....

I was on vacation in mexico and got a little lost along the way. I had to go to the bathroom soooo bad so I stopped at a small bar. I went in and saw 4 doors. Two womens and two mens. I asked the bartender which bathroom i should use. He said "The ones on the left are free but we never clean them, the ones on the right are free of filth but a dollar per use". Having to go as bad as I did I paid the man for the cleaner bathroom (which wasnt so clean). After I was done I began looking for the toilet paper. The toilet paper was in a little disposal type device that cost a dollar to open it. I was a little mad but stuck some cash in and opened it. Once I got it open I found that there was no toilet paper at all...just some newspaper. This was horrible!! Thinking about it still makes me cringe lol.

Laura · Joined: 16 May 2004 Posts: 446 Location: San Francisco

"Squat" toliets are very popular in South East Asia. These are very low to the ground, or even level with the ground, and you squat over them to go. Many of them have no flush facilities, but there's a bucket of water with a scoop in in nearby. When you're done, you use the scoop to pour water down the bowl so it will flush, and you also rinse your hands and anything that's splattered that way. So, if you walk into a toilet and everything is wet but it smells normal, it's just water everywhere from the previous person rinseing.

I like to pack those travel-sized packets of baby wipes. They're good for cleaning up yourself, your surroundings, etc etc. I keep them with a small ziplock bag in m pack -- if there's no place to throw out a used wipe, I just fold it up and put it in the ziplock until I can get somewhere to throw it out.

Travel-sized packs of tissues come in handy for both runny noses and situations where there is no toilet paper -- the toilet paper is unberably scratchy. I went to the public tourist toilet at Windsor Castle in England once, and the toilet paper was the consistency of waxed paper and had something like "Property of the British Government" stamped on each sheet!

cocodrilo · Joined: 12 Apr 2004 Posts: 494 Location: Western Japan

There IS no toilet paper to speak of in a lot of Asia, and when there is, like in India, it is usually the equivalent of a fine sandpaper. YOWCH if you happen to have 'roids, if ya know what I mean...People in Asia ALWAYS carry something to wipe and in Japan, handkerchiefs as well. Restaurants do not offer napkins and washrooms don't have paper towels.
In a lot of cities in Mexico, there is not toilet paper, nor are there seats on any of the toilets(paper gets stolen, as do seats!)...

Yeah, everytime I go to Stanley(HK) that trough of sewage floating under me is quite a turnoff, but when you gotta go, you gotta GO! :wink: