Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Bathrooms In All Its Splendor and Glory


Traveling in Vietnam, I encountered several different bathroom situations. Most places were modernized enough to offer a toilet to sit on. Choosing to sit on it albeit was a different story altogether. Perhaps because I have this germ phobia from hearing all the horror stories of being abroad that depending on the cleanliness of the place and whether it offered a seat cover or paper to sit on top of made my decision. Then again the assessment process was also determined by whether or not they offered toilet paper and soap to wash your hands. It seemed like most places also had a spray nozzel to use as a replacement (I think) instead of paper.

And then there were the squatting toilets. There must be some sort of book out there that has technical advice for women who have to squat. I say that because it REALLY is a difficult situation and especially if you have not made it a regular habit. You can accidentally pee on yourself or miss the hole entirely. Add the choice of clothing you might be wearing and you literally could be screwing yourself over several times. My preference has been dresses or skirts just because you can hike them out of harm's way.

Some toilets were like this picture here, quite nice and clean. Others were horrific outcomes that made me fear for my shoes and nose. I actually had questioned whether or not it would have been cleaner to use the tree nearby than the room that was supposedly deemed acceptable or forego the process and accept that a bladder infection might arise because I chose to not partake in my daily urine movements.

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