One of the biggest surprises when it comes to traveling in China is the wild state of its squat toilets. Not only do you have to get used to doing your job while squatting, but you also have to remember No to flush the toilet paper!
I first discovered the wonders of the dreaded squat toilet in my younger years living in Malaysia, and while it wasn’t the best experience, it was an experience I learned from.
* Always carry toilet paper, sanitary napkins or tissues with you (some public restrooms sell packets of tissues at the door)
* Always have 20sen ready so you can pay to get into smelly public toilets
*Bring a friend, Malaysian toilets are notorious for having bad things happen to helpless women on their own
* If you wear pants or jeans, it is necessary to roll up your sleeves before entering
*Expect to be greeted with wet and dirty floors
*If you get a toilet with a seat, be aware that many Malays will still squat on those seats
*Watch out for your neighbors. The person next to you may decide that the cubicle needed a quick rinse…or at least, that’s what I hope the water was…
* High heels/stilettos are not recommended unless you are experienced
Before China, I had always believed that I had already experienced the worst that I could experience (when it comes to squat toilet), there could be no way in this lifetime that people could live in a country with worse public toilets than Malaysia. I was, of course, completely naive and obviously not using my head.
The worst public toilet I have come across was in the rural region of China. The good thing is that the toilets are not difficult to locate, you just have to follow your nose. However, there are many bad things to note about rural public toilets.
1. The stench is enough to make you pass out
2. There is no toilet paper
3. No toilet flush (your flush is actually someone pouring water down the ditch at the end of the day)
4. No toilet seat (no western toilet!)
5. No toilet hole (no squat toilet!)
6. There is no bathroom door.
7. There’s a waist-high bathroom wall dividing each ‘cubic’
8. There is a small foot-deep trench to relieve yourself.
9. There’s a bin for used toilet paper and sanitary products (if you’re unlucky, you might not even have this)
10. There may be someone’s number 2 waiting to greet you
11. There are probably plenty of bare bottoms and other bits to greet you with.
China certainly knows how to unite its people.
Here are some things you might want to consider in preparation for the worst bathroom experience in China (and a few other countries)
* Never travel without toilet paper, sanitary napkins or tissues
* Some good public toilets have a toilet paper roll near the entrance
* A perfume/cologne soaked face mask can help with your trip to the bathroom
* Always look for a 4 or 5 star hotel, or a newly built hotel to use the lobby bathroom
* An umbrella is a useful tool to hide your butt from other bathroom users if there is no door.
* Always use the bathroom in hotels, even if you don’t need it, you never know when your next bathroom break is or how worse the bathroom can be.
*If you’re lucky enough to get a squat toilet, face the other side of the hole (never figured out why, but a friend told me #2 will go straight down that direction and #2 obviously won’t it was deleted)
* Never flush toilet paper down as it will clog the pipe! (More on this later)
No matter how many times I use them squat toilet and how often do i hear how hygienic it is compared to western toilets, i will always prefer western toilets! The fact is that not everyone knows how to properly use a squat toilet and I know that there are a higher percentage of people who fail when it comes to squatting.
Now let’s move on to the importance of NOT flushing toilet paper down the pipes!
I never really followed this advice until I stayed in the Beijing student dormitories when I studied there. As a result of not obeying the rules, I had to go up to 24 hours without going to the bathroom on several occasions. The toilet actually clogged a couple of times even though I didn’t flush the toilet paper!
It’s not a proven fact, but rumor has it that waste from upstairs bedrooms drains downstairs, so you’ll likely have more clogged toilet problems in lower level bedrooms. I know for a fact that some of my friends who stayed downstairs in the dormitory building had the worst smelling toilets, even after I had bleached the entire room…
Just don’t do it!
Don’t flush toilet paper down those pipes!! Think of the poor Chinese whose job it is to uncover the mess you make, and just be thankful that the toilet can even flush!