All right, nobody likes to come out and ask, but at some point everyone wants to know what the bathrooms are like when I travel. It is something that is near and dear to everyone. A good bathroom can turn a bad hotel around, and a bad one can keep you from being...comfortable on the road.
As a woman, this topic is obviously more layered. For one thing, no matter what, your bare buttocks will be exposed to whatever is lurking in that bush, that squat toilet or that hole in the ground. It's just a fact. Also, women around the world traditionally have more clothes, bags, children, and headscarves to juggle while performing this most necessary of human behaviors. And we are expected to perform it gracefully, without dropping cell phone, camera or child into said hole.
On my first overseas trip to China in 1996, I managed, through sheer force of will, to never use a squat style toilet. I. Just. Wouldn't.
When I was going to Iran, I knew I would have to bite the bullet. Now a woman with knee problems takes this project seriously. I was factoring in the fact that I would be wearing long shirts (must cover the bottom), and a hijab, and carrying my bag. Most squat toilets I've encountered have no handrails, no bag hooks, and you never, ever, want anything to touch the floor. So it is a delicate balancing act (literally!) best done quickly and efficiently.
Setting aside the whole toilet specific topic, there is the general problem of any hotel bathroom outside of the United States. You just never know. There was the bathroom in Granada that had the only plug in the room. I balanced my lap top and camera on the tiny sink and just hoped it wouldn't go flying. There was the one in Reykjavik which was probably two feet by three feet. There was another in Amsterdam with no shower door (intentionally), so the bathroom was flooded every time someone took a shower. Another Paris area one had a beautiful bathroom, with a toilet in a closet that the owner said could "maybe take a little bit of paper." Luckily there a was a sturdier throne in the hall closet that was more useful. America really has the situation covered the best. Go USA!
I've never had a bathroom that I thought could cause me bodily harm, though.
Until now.
I've had to make a concerted effort to not fall off the toilet, step into oblivion when getting out of the shower, or worry about literally knocking myself unconscious. Or spraining an ankle. This step is about eight inches high and perfectly positioned to trip me up. Every time I go in there, I am careful. I'm very respectful of this bathroom. I have acknowledged that it is a dangerous being and I don't make direct eye contact with it. Act submissive and it won't hurt you. Maybe.
As a woman, this topic is obviously more layered. For one thing, no matter what, your bare buttocks will be exposed to whatever is lurking in that bush, that squat toilet or that hole in the ground. It's just a fact. Also, women around the world traditionally have more clothes, bags, children, and headscarves to juggle while performing this most necessary of human behaviors. And we are expected to perform it gracefully, without dropping cell phone, camera or child into said hole.
On my first overseas trip to China in 1996, I managed, through sheer force of will, to never use a squat style toilet. I. Just. Wouldn't.
When I was going to Iran, I knew I would have to bite the bullet. Now a woman with knee problems takes this project seriously. I was factoring in the fact that I would be wearing long shirts (must cover the bottom), and a hijab, and carrying my bag. Most squat toilets I've encountered have no handrails, no bag hooks, and you never, ever, want anything to touch the floor. So it is a delicate balancing act (literally!) best done quickly and efficiently.
Setting aside the whole toilet specific topic, there is the general problem of any hotel bathroom outside of the United States. You just never know. There was the bathroom in Granada that had the only plug in the room. I balanced my lap top and camera on the tiny sink and just hoped it wouldn't go flying. There was the one in Reykjavik which was probably two feet by three feet. There was another in Amsterdam with no shower door (intentionally), so the bathroom was flooded every time someone took a shower. Another Paris area one had a beautiful bathroom, with a toilet in a closet that the owner said could "maybe take a little bit of paper." Luckily there a was a sturdier throne in the hall closet that was more useful. America really has the situation covered the best. Go USA!
I've never had a bathroom that I thought could cause me bodily harm, though.
Until now.
I've had to make a concerted effort to not fall off the toilet, step into oblivion when getting out of the shower, or worry about literally knocking myself unconscious. Or spraining an ankle. This step is about eight inches high and perfectly positioned to trip me up. Every time I go in there, I am careful. I'm very respectful of this bathroom. I have acknowledged that it is a dangerous being and I don't make direct eye contact with it. Act submissive and it won't hurt you. Maybe.
I have not considered the issues that come with looking for a proper facility while traveling. It's one of those things I think we take for granted until faced with a dirt hole or a shower with a steep plunge! Funny what things become most important... I'd trade a soft warm bed for a clean sitting-style toilet any day!
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