I generally succeeded in avoiding the squat toilets. I just did my business on western-style toilets whenever I found them.

Then again, I was blessed with superior bowel control. Not everyone is so lucky.

Oh, and always, ALWAYS carry your own toilet paper in SE Asia

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ALWAYS carry your own toilet paper in SE Asia

Charmin with aloe!

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Then again, I was blessed with superior bowel control. Not everyone is so lucky.

Oh, and always, ALWAYS carry your own toilet paper in SE Asia

Being a vegan doesn't help with the bowel control. I go 4 times a day on average. That being the case, toilet paper runs out fast. I read over the link pepdrug posted on this topic. It seams the consensus is to be a master of the water hose/cup or use your left hand to assist pulling out the jiblets with your fingers. Besides the fact that is completely disgusting (even if you are culturally open-minded), I still think this would create a bigger mess.

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My dear grasshopper... try practicing the horse stance for 10-15 mins, once a day for a month. Not only will you become Squattius Maximus but the exercise will also reverse your aging. Lean your upper torso forward as you squat halfway. This pushes your center of gravity forward and balances your front-to-rear weight distribution.

Master, I have done this training you speak of. The problem is not the squatting. It is the combination of squatting and control of the water hose without soiling or wetting my royal garments. One also has to have the self-control to operate the spigot with one hand to turn the water on and off, while holding the hose with the other hand and holding the squat pose at the same time. I may have seen that once at a Cirque de Soleil performance, but those performers are very strong and train relentlessly. I am just an average person. Maybe this is what Buddha was contemplating when he said "Life is suffering". Maybe if he had a porcelain toilet he would've said "Life's not too bad."

The line in Vegas is currently even money on this thread ending up in "Best of the Boards"...

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???

You know, I think I'm gonna stick with the "Hold it" method. Tried and true

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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!

I've thought of this too and almost attempted it if it wasn't for the wet nasty floor delima. Usually the floor is wet and dirty from people spraying their fecal matter all over the place with the hose. In the nicer public facilities bathroom attendants will spray down the floor to at least get rid of the dirt and poopy shrapnel. In either case the floor is almost always wet. Now, when taking your pants off you would want to keep your shoes on so you don't have to step on the floor. However, even if you're wearing shorts you can't expect to slide them off and not hit the side or bottom of you're shoe that has been exposed to the wet floor. So the only way you can pull it off is to take off one shoe, slide that foor out, then step on top of the shoe so you can lift your other leg to take that shoe off. I've tested this procedure before and I have a 35% success rate of not losing my balance and stepping on the floor with my socks. Not worth the risk, especially when during the 65% failure times you not only get your feet wet, you risk falling on your ass, dropping your pants, or ramming your shoulder into the side of the stall as you hop on one foot trying to catch balance. Then even if you do pull it off, where do you hang your clothes? You ever see a coat hook in those places? Not me. And you can't hold on to them. We've already discussed the number of other things you have to concentrate on when in the "position". Holding your clothes should not be one of them.

adult diapers anyone?

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Originally posted by poochythedog:
Being a vegan doesn't help with the bowel control. I go 4 times a day on average. That being the case, toilet paper runs out fast.

I saw a promo for something on tv where a poor lady went through SIX rolls of toilet paper every day. it was on one of those reality medical shows. ouch.

I'll bet that she was really wiped out at the end of the day.

Might I recommend self-induced consipation via a pepto bismol overdose? Save it for when you can get a western can.

This is actually very interesting to me, and not even because I'm planning to go to Asia. A Filipino friend of mine recently informed me that Filipinos in the US use a bucket of water to wash themselves. That explained the casino chip bucket I've seen in his bathroom and wondered about. I have been trying to incorporate this into my own bathroom ritual since I feel cleaner after washing with water (taking a shower) than after using paper. It would also be one less thing to have to learn when I do go somewhere where it's the only option.

Great first post

I got one word...."Bidet"


about 5 billion people use this method. Must work.

If you can squat down to pick up your backpack off the floor, then you can crap in a squatter.

With regards to the pants and shorts, am I being too much of an ameture (and poor speller) if I say that I always took my shorts off?! I never really wore pants out most of the time, so taking my shorts off was my best option.

And about the water bowl, you have to LOVE baby wipes! I learned that lesson while stationed in Iraq. You can say what you want about the war over there, but every soldier has a stash of baby wipes in his uniform and you never know when they'll come in handy.

Great thread, btw!