What's with the potties?

[Carolyn R]

@caugh51654: As a side note: the WORST, I mean the worst bathroom in my travels was in Egypt. At the Step pyramid. I will not even go into any details....... it was THAT bad !

 

My worst was on an Amtrak train which had unisex bathrooms and men who were inebriated had trouble with their aim. :eek:

[mygreyhound66]

was in a remote little village after hiking the Great Wall - i asked where the toilet was, the guide rolled around laughing and pointed away, said start walking and you will SMELL it long before you get there!!

 

OMG !!! my husband and I laugh about it frequently, it was the WORST toilet in my 50 years of travel!!!! and in fairness i should point out, that this expedition to the Great Wall was up there in the top 10 days of my life!

[2theship]

If you are visiting from a cruise ship you are unlikely to be in places where the plumbing is so primitive. Any historical site or museum that you visit will have bathrooms that may be small, but function much like those you are used to. The same is true of bars and restaurants. You can use the toilet in a bar but you are expected to purchase something (a coffee, for example).

 

While I did not experience it myself, my husband told me that this is exactly the kind of toilet he encountered at the Forum in Rome. Personally, I'll wait and stop in a cafe for a cappucino then spend a Euro to use the toilet there.

[10DogMom]

Just got back from a Western Med cruise Saturday and saw nothing at any port like that (but I admit I didn't pee at every port!). I will clarify the train station at Rome, though - it was incredibly clean and modern BUT it took coins (50 cents Euro, I think) and it took them via a machine that opened a glass door for you to go through to the other side and I did not see an attendant to make change. Elsewhere (Nice, can't remember the other one), there were attendants to make change.

[texancruzer]

While I did not experience it myself, my husband told me that this is exactly the kind of toilet he encountered at the Forum in Rome. Personally, I'll wait and stop in a cafe for a cappucino then spend a Euro to use the toilet there.

 

Sometimes ya gotta go when ya gotta go......like in Egypt when you have Mummy Tummy :eek:

[texancruzer]

If you are visiting from a cruise ship you are unlikely to be in places where the plumbing is so primitive.

 

Not necessarily so....... we were on a cruise ship tour and the bus stopped at a road side park area for a "potty" break. The bus bathroom was not in use. That was the one and only "hole" bathroom I have encountered in all my travels, but unless you could wait until we arrived in Aix, it was all you were gonna get ;)

[srlafleur]

Have never encountered a Turkish toilet, except at a restaurant near the Oasis of Tiout in Morocco. But even in THAT restroom there was also a standard toilet. I was prepared for "the worst" because the excursion description said "facilities are rustic".

A funny one, though, was at a restaurant in Rabat. There were 2 doors - one for men, one for women. Both opened into the same restroom (multiple stalls with standard toilets).

[cruisemom42]

While I did not experience it myself, my husband told me that this is exactly the kind of toilet he encountered at the Forum in Rome. Personally, I'll wait and stop in a cafe for a cappucino then spend a Euro to use the toilet there.

 

He did realize that the old Roman latrines were for illustrative purposes only, right? :D

[celle]

Not necessarily so....... we were on a cruise ship tour and the bus stopped at a road side park area for a "potty" break. The bus bathroom was not in use. That was the one and only "hole" bathroom I have encountered in all my travels, but unless you could wait until we arrived in Aix, it was all you were gonna get ;)

 

If you ever travel to Asia, while the hotels usually have western-type bathrooms, you will find that elsewhere the "squattie potties" are standard issue. If you're lucky, there will be a "footprint" either side of the hole - this helps you position yourself in the right place.

 

In Hanoi (Vietnam) there is a whole street where the porcelain squattie toilets are displayed for sale - and quite smart they are, too!

 

In Asia, I always travel with a small packet of tissues in one pocket and a bottle of Purell in the other.

 

My favourite bathroom incident happened in X'ian (China), in a restaurant we visited after seeing the Terracotta Warriors.

 

After the meal, I went to the restroom. It was the same room as the waitresses used. The facilities consisted of a raised area with 3 separate holes, about a yard apart from each other, with no screens around any of them.

 

The three waitresses in the room politely waved for me to use the facilities first, while they chatted to each other and asked me, "Where you from?" and tried to teach me a little more Mandarin, apart from the word for "thank you", which I already knew.

 

So, I had the use of these 3 little holes all to myself, with a charming audience - talk about performance anxiety!! :o However, needs must!

 

When I had finished (yes, I made it!) and while I was washing my hands, they hopped up and used the facilities side-by-side, alll the while continuing to chat to each other and to me.