Saturday, December 21, 2013

modern facilties.

An entire blogpost about toilets. Who would’ve thunk it? But it’s amazing the different options there are here. You get everything from a modern, recognizable sit-down flusher (with or without bum rinsing hose or toilet paper) to a floor squatter with a bucket of water and a ladle. There’s generally no soap, sometimes no sink and never, ever any paper towels. Every time you open the stall door it’s a surprise. You just never know what you’re going to get. But I’ve learned to take toilet paper and hand sanitizer with me everywhere I go and I’m going to have some killer thighs by the time all is said and done.

My favorite, though, are the little teeny tiny toilets they have for the kids at the school. Look how cute! We won’t talk about how they squirt each other (in the face!) with the little hoses or run around all pants-less (the boys sometimes squirting each other with other things in the process) or how they never, ever wash their hands when they’re done. Let’s just focus on how darling the miniscule plumbed facilities are.

this beauty was in a family's home, amazing to think this is day to day life for some people--you take the pink bucket on the left which is floating in a pool of water and pour water down the toilet which is the flushing technique...all kinds of awesome
same idea as the above but with a slightly more modern feel (and no, you can't put tp in the toilets so if there's any paper available--unlikely--there's usually an overflowing trash bin in the stall as well) this one was in a public sports auditorium
here's the cute school bathroom, one for all to share with no doors as you can tell, everyone just goes together and has a jolly old time
here's my foot next to it to give you a sense of the actual size...so tiny!
Confession-I have been known to squeal with joy when I've opened a door to find a sit-down flusher.  And soap? Well, the ecstasies that can bring are immeasurable. It's the little things, people.

2 comments:

  1. Oh man! I just read a bunch of your posts. First of all, sorry for not praying for you but I will start now....I'm praying for your safety. Second of all, I love reading your experiences and hearing the neat places and seeing beautiful pictures. But, after reading about the toilets, I LOVE AMERICA!

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  2. Ah, Asian toilets! My mom and I encountered the squat, flush-with-water variety all over Indonesia--quite an adjustment. I totally get the squealing with glee when you find a flush toilet, and going into raptures where there's soap and water to wash with later. For such a basic bodily function, there sure are a lot of ways to deal with it.

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