BootsnAll Travel Community

Congrats Joey Re : "I just want to report with out shame that I ... for the first time, used the loo with out toilet paper in Asia."

I'll drink to that -
Just give me a bit of time to shake the hand though

I'll second that!


Have a nice day, Whistler.


If you can keep a sense of humour and see the funny side of life, you will never be old. SMC.

This little gizmo might come in handy for all you squat-neophytes.



http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/toto-travel-washlet-...er-you-go-253609.php

.....The mind boggles . The spoon,s bending!!!


Have a nice day, Whistler.


If you can keep a sense of humour and see the funny side of life, you will never be old. SMC.

Wow, the Japanese have come up with yet another weird gadget! Are they just fixated on potty stuff or are they really concerned about the environment?

I prefer squat toilets. It feels more natural than sitting on a bowl. I don't hover, just sit on my haunches, arms around my knees, and relax.

I make most of my own travel clothes. I made a pair of pants with a zipper that unzips all the way from front to back. That and a pair of thong underwear and you don't have to worry about your clothing getting in the way (pull the undies to the side). (I also make the ankles tight, so the bottoms won't get soaked).

One time the floor was all wet and I had a large and small backpack on, managed to get my business done with both packs still on - you can't do that on a sit toilet.

I heard in China you still have to do it in a line type of way! There is a small canal where you squat one in front of the other and drop your goodies!

If you are at the head of the canal it is good! But if you are in the line or last in line you will have a lot of surprises coming down towards you!

Just reading snippets of the thread had me recalling nasty memories of a toilet along a Mountain Province road (Philippines). Broken doors and of course no hooks, gravy floor with (filled-up) holes in it (blecchhh), sickening smell, no water, and no light!!! Dang! I almost died of asphyxiation. I was fortunate in that I only had to pee (HAD to, 'cause it was 5 hours before the next bus stop) but that was my worst experience EVER. Like a page out of Dante's inferno.

On the other side, the student center at the University of Hawai`i used to have signs asking students not to squat on the (western) toilets, as they break. It goes both ways, eh?

Now. I can squat fine, though sometimes I still cheat and lean my weight against the door or wall, or I hold on to the door and swing backwards. It works.

And I like the butt gun, although my first experience was painful. I turned the nozzle on too quickly, and a jet stream of glacier-cooled water shot right up my ass. Once I recovered from the shock all I wanted to do was head to my room and crawl back under the covers. These days I'm a convert.

Now for you pros ... after the squatting and the butt gun my ass is clean but wet. Are damp undies the price you have to pay, or is there a secret way to dry yourself also?

quote:

is there a secret way to dry yourself also?

Quote:
Quote:
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is there a secret way to dry yourself also?
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I just have to comment on that photo Static. At first glance methought, "I wonder what that is, it looks Japanese. That's smart, I wonder what it's called and how it works?"

Now, wearing glasses, I moved closer to the screen for a better look.....I realised it was a pair of bellows!

I nearly fell off my seat laughing! You wouldn't want THAT up your Khyber Pass.

Have a nice day, Whistler.


If you can keep a sense of humour and see the funny side of life, you will ndever be old. SMC.

Hahaha. What a cool, earthy topic we have here. The mind boggles. I guess its a matter of "horses for courses". Asians can invariably squat for days and sleep in the process. Maybe for some westerm types this problem is an intractable one. Most western folk with an expanding girth would have difficulty to even enter the standard Asian cubicle. Believe me I sympathise. Two years ago I ruptured my archilles tendon and so I have certainly been there and got the tee-shirt. Imagine squating whilst using cruthches and plastered up with the wooden sticks sliping in every direction. Shit happens in many ways

Greetings world toilet users!!

Just to add my own insight into the wonderful world of squat-toilets, this time in Algeria.....

The first time I went to visit my in-laws in Algeria, my husband had conveniently forgotten to tell me that they have squat-toilets, and that the one in his parent's house was in the world's smallest toilet cubicle.....

Apart from the physical difficulty of managing the whole balancing thing in the loo, especially whilst wearing trousers (trying not to trail them on the floor, wee on your own feet or fall over and get jammed in there in a horrifically embarrassing position requiring full family rescue), the door didn't shut properly and in a house with only 2 rooms everyone could hear the echo of your endeavours.

There was also a definite shortage of loo roll, as using toilet paper is not the done thing (they consider it a bit dirty and rather weird to wipe with paper!), so you had to wash yourself with water bailed from a small bucket filled by a rusty tap in the loo compartment. However, in that part of Algiers, in the evening, there was no water....

My husband, patiently dealing with my mad ranting, promptly went off to get paper, arriving some 30 minutes later with menthol tissues, which when used as toilet paper produce a strange stinging, numbing sensation...... Since this first visit, I now take small packets of (non-scented) tissues with me wherever I go in Algeria, and when in my in-law's house in Algiers, I secretly steal bottles on mineral water for my toilet needs. (As I never go out shopping by myself to buy water!!).

The added bonus of the toilet in Algiers is that it doubles as a shower (no, really, it's good.....!) - you simply put a small plank of wood over the hole (jammed against the sides of the loo) and they've fitted an old shower hose (you know, the old ones with the rubber tubing stuff) and when water is available, it's a shower!

Except that in the confines of the tiny toilet-space, I have had a few difficulties........... In the flat in Algiers, it's not the done thing to be seen naked, so you have to go into the toilet/shower with some clothes on, then hang them up on the hook. Every time you move, your clothes get knocked off, and the space is so small that everything gets wet.

There is also a pipe from the kitchen which empties sink-water into the toilet space, about 2 feet up the wall, so you have to try and avoid the splash back from coffee granules and dirty dishwater. In my showering escapades I have managed to lose soap, tissues, shampoo and a variety of other things down the loo in the process of showering. The worst occasion was when I lost my glasses, and had to spend several minutes with my hand down there, groping in the murky gunk before finally retrieving them, rather the worst for wear and in need of a good clean..........

With the new zero gravity flights, it should be easier to do it then ever!

Just relax and let it all float!

How about bringing a disposable bag with you!
You sort of go and throw it out later.
Sort of like the pooches do.

quote:

Originally posted by Igor Berger:
How about bringing a disposable bag with you!
You sort of go and throw it out later.
Sort of like the pooches do.

as if there isn't enough plastic waste with nowhere to go already?

the squat is definitely the most sanitary. think about it - the gesture kind of naturally spreads your butt cheeks apart, and the poo has minimal contact with the outer skin. not to mention that the pose itself has a massaging effect on the area, allowing your business to descend at a rapid and efficient pace. no more sitting on the pot waiting for a motion.

when i first used the squatter, i too was baffled and had to ask advice from some friends who had been on the road longer. after a few days' practice and some of the harvested wisdom, i became an expert and a convert. i like the little pitcher method the best. fill up the pitcher or cup or other vessel from a spigot, pour it near your backside with your right hand and use the left hand to splash the water into your crack. this should take care of it. you might want to use a little paper to dry yourself, but the water is the main cleanser here. you shouldn't have to have skin on skin contact to get the kibbles and bits to dislodge.

practice, friend. that's all!

Readinig a book you forgot what us men do...

Like many said before me... I laughed like crazy and cried for over an hour as I read this thread... and then joined bottsnall. I came here looking for advice to pass on to friends going to Thailand on the use of the hole, as I had been stumped by the 'hole'. I'll not rehash all that has been said. But like this quote I went with pants off (being culturally sound I didn't where shorts) handing them on a sink... and yes I was commando most of my time this past January for 6 weeks.

But I soon found that I couldn't take my reading material to the office... I began to really miss squatting on my bowl at home and how much that time meant to me. A private place for us men to catch up on events.

So I'm glad to finally find out what the hose was for and why no TP in the guest house... my next trip to Asia I will be more wiser... will have plenty of paper... and will leave my book in the room.

Cheers from Beirut...

quote:

Originally posted by crazyal:
I find it best to strip off everything from waist down - that way you don't end up with any surprises in your back pockets!!! AND without any pants on you don't have the embarassment of trying to fish your wallet out of the hole!

Fastening your belt to something in front of you and holding on helps you keep your balance, unless it's the door and it opens!

Always a good idea to carry some toilet paper and handiwipes with you any time you are separated from your regular hotel for a while.

If the outdoor toilet has an open roof - check to see if the kids are still watching and laughing at you!

Another good reason to keep a cheap paperback novel with you in your walking bag! No TP in most of these places.

Mothers always warn their daughters of the snakes that crawl out of the hole for some reason???

Awesome!

But I've repeatedly heard on this thread people expressing that paper is more sanitary than the bucket method. When you splash or spray some water on your arse you get no contact with the poo, but when using TP you fully contact the poo with only a slight layer of porous paper. I'm no scientist, but my friend is and he says it's unsanitary. Also on topic but off topic at the same time, pee is sanitary. Seriously, it's cleaner than the saliva in your mouth, google it.

I prefer the squat toilet method and the little hoses always leave me feeling so clean. I'm putting one in my house when ever I build it, I probably won't have many visitors, huh?

quote:

Originally posted by travis:
I prefer the squat toilet method and the little hoses always leave me feeling so clean. I'm putting one in my house when ever I build it, I probably won't have many visitors, huh?

I'll visit you Travis!!

I have my own idea of the perfect "toilet experience".
Butt-Gun followed by drying with the toilet paper!

After 2 months in "Squat-toilet" parts, and lots more practice with the water bucket and the butt-gun I am converted! I always felt so clean after going to the toilet. Then I came home... and there is only toilet paper in the toilets...eeeeeewww.

Some toilets in Japan actually have built-in "butt guns" where you just press a button and it will automatically spray water in your arse. You can even set the water temperature on a computerized screen. And then there is another button to actually air-dry your arse after you're done. And the seat warmers. Oh yeah, the seat warmers. I never felt as comfortable when seating in a sit-down toilet outside Japan.

As for the squat toilets, I'm just glad I had to experience using it although I never experienced using it without toilet paper. I would probably be clueless how to go about without toilet paper.