East vs. West-Toilets That Is

As if the food wasn't bad enough, now you have to find a decent toilet. Cleanliness standards aren't the same as in the US that is for sure. Here is a traveling tip: take your own toilet paper for sure and paper covers would be good too. I would say that a 8 out of 10 public toilets were so disgusting you were afraid to use them. I was really glad for all those Hepititus shots. The ones in hotels and most restaurants were fine, but hard to find when wandering the city.

So, in the Western toilets you can find signs like these posted on the inside of the stall door. It is a reminder to the Easterners NOT to hop up on top of the toilet seat to squat to do your business. Clearly, I would not be doing that! First of all, I could not hop that high, and second of all, who can squat and do business?  It was so shocking I just had to take a picture.

Now compare this to the Eastern toilet. There are two kinds. This one that is about 15 inches off the ground and there are ones that are about 2 inches off the ground. These are usually located near the far end of the row of stalls. See the ribbing on the sides? That is so that when you hop on you won't slip!
Can you say OMG!!

Again, bring your own toilet paper. If I was ever to go again, I would also throw in a wash rag to use as a towel as there is never anything to dry with. It is important to bring tons of hand sanitizer. I brought a lot of it and the other people in our group were happy to use it and I was happy to share.

One place, you had to even reach into the tank and pull the chain or it wouldn't flush.  So between the heat and humidity- and the nasty bathrooms, I would be hard pressed to go back. I have to keep reminding myself that we saw amazing things, met wonderful people, and experienced scenery like no other. It is a cultural difference and I can only wonder what they think when they visit us or other European countries. Guess I am just not that adventurous.