The squat toilet is quite popular in Asia. Unlike a conventional “Western” toilet, you poop while squatting into a ceramic “hole”. There’s no toilet paper either. Just you, your hand, and a mug of water. (Supposed to be more hygienic, but whatever.) Most modern homes are equipped with the Western toilet, but there are still many places which only offer the squatting kind. (Like in my late grandmother’s place.)
I once had the misfortune of having to “go” at a restaurant which only had the squat toilet (no enclosures – just you doing your business in full view), and I swear, by all that is holy, I will never, ever do it again.
God bless the Western toilet. We’ve got it good over here, folks.
-Krishna
P.S. Apparently the British are about to get their first taste of the Indian style loo.
That’s just… barbaric.
The school where I taught in Japan only had these subtle sinister monstrosities. Took me half a year to figure out how to use the thing… :} You were wholly justified in this situation! Solidarity!
Thanks, Chris. My biggest fear in using the squat toilet is accidentally slipping and falling in.
In Japan many train stations and other public works buildings only offer squat toilets. No toilet paper either. But in the train station and other areas, folks will hand out little packs of tissues with advertising on them. They know you’ll keep them and use them because there’s no toilet paper in the building you’re walking into.
Thankfully all the ones I used in Japan were enclosed in stalls. Never out in the open, but then I’m a girl and maybe it’s different in the ladies rooms.
The first time I was confronted with the squat toilet I actually ran out of the restroom laughing. But over time, I became comfortable with them. But not so comfortable that I wouldn’t choose a western style toilet over it any day.
Did it at least flush? While I was in Cambodia they had these as well but in some places in order to *ahem* clear it, you had to keep dumping buckets of water until it was ‘clear’.
Squat toilets aren’t so bad… My apartment now in India has four western-style toilets and one squat one in the servants’ bathroom.
When I first got to India ten years ago and went looking for an apartment I was in for a surprise. The flat owner showed me around the one he had for rent, showed me the shower (just a 1/2 litre water heater with a thin hose coming out the bottom…) and it never occurred to me that there wouldn’t be a western-style toilet. I paid the first month rent and ten months security deposit, moved my suitcases up and went to use the bathroom…
Something was missing!
In the year and a half I lived there I got accustomed to the squat toilet. Enough that when the landlord wanted me to leave I took the next apartment, still on the same street, knowing it didn’t have a western-style toilet.
Of course, ten years later there’s still lots of water shortages, even during the monsoon season, so it’s not uncommon for us to flush our western-style toilets by dumping buckets of water down them. We keep enough buckets filled up in the apartment to take care of those situations, and to heat up with an immersion rod so we can bath with the bucket water, too (just use a cup to pour it over your head, etc….)
Squat toilets are also common in China, including Hong Kong. Although, I could never get over the ones that were labeled, in blue-purple on the white glazed porcelain, “American Standard”.
All I could think to myself when I encountered that was “No, they freakin’ ARE NOT!!!”
(For the non-Yanks in the audience: American Standard is a major manufacturer of bathroom fixtures in the USA. In the USA, you WILL NOT encounter a squat toilet. It makes me wonder if the ones I encountered in HK were counterfeit branded.)
Actually, I encountered one here in the U.S. I was helping a friend of mine move into his new home. He showed me around the house. Down stairs the previous owners had installed their own squat toilet and shower combo. It was scary.