Private surprises
(A typical public toilet. Note: I did not photograph the worst or best I’ve discovered, but from personal experience, this is about average)
-Apologies to anyone of a polite and squeamish disposition, I am not. I have chosen to highlight this as yet another exciting development in my knowledge and experience of China! One interesting cultural difference between Britain and China is the lavatory. In hotels, a western bowl toilet is generally provided, but elsewhere in many restaurants, malls, streets, tourist spots, etc. one would find these ‘squatting’ types. I have experienced a similar model in Italy, though only on one occasion.
Once I recovered from the initial surprise of the tall, seemingly empty cubicle and figured out which way to ‘squat’, I’ve found it to be quite adequate. Initially some issues hindered me; there is almost never any paper, so I now carry tissues with me everywhere. Inexplicably, there is never a hook for a bag so I find myself (again, apologies) hugging my bag on my knees whilst making use of this facility. It isn’t very acrobatic, but it requires some forethought and co-ordination, not my finest assets. In some cases, the cubicle is missing a door, and I’m afraid one must soldier on. I do carry my umbrella (as someone advised me) for such an eventuality, but I imagine the juggling of bag, umbrella and tissue is virtually impossible!
Perhaps, in general, the Chinese think that toilet naturally should be filthy, so they could not be bother to keep it clean. But I must say not all Chinese think so,
I was quite surprised to find the toilet at my grandpa’s house in a Chinese village is so clean, so as the toilet at my cousin’s flat.
while i was a tourist, i always paid attention to the toilet. every country has different management of their toilets. the British toilet is the best among them all. i came acrossed to toilet at a train station in Italy, it could be just as bad as the Chinese toilet if not worse.
I also came acrossed to a very clean toilet in a restaurant in Peking. There is a sign at its door: do not pass motion at this toilet. haha!
That’s hilarious! You just made me laugh out loud! I’ve seen that sort of message in Glasgow before too. I don’t actually dislike these toilets – they’re just different. Any toilet can be disgusting if it’s not looked after… or if people ‘pass motions’ in them.
So where would you pass a motion? saying that there was an artical in the Nursing Times I think that shows that squatting is the most efficint position to be in when passing a motion. this can be achived on a western toilet with the aid of a foot stall to raise the knees above the hips. not quite a true squatt I know but they did also prduce a poster that gave a step by step guide on correct way to squatt on a toilet before opening your bowls!