Toilet H3ll
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| Squat Toilet |
Even a commode lid and cover are a luxury. Well, today I would've killed for these basic luxuries at I was met with a hole in the ground surrounded by a porcelain rectangle with impressions for your feet. WTHeck!! Here it was. My first squat toilet. I've read about these, but never encountered one. I don't know why I thought they could only be found in India or China. Yet, here it was in Ancona, Italy. I drink a lot of water and have to go often. With nothing else around the church I was visiting, I had no choice. Who knew when my next chance would be? Surprisingly, the sucker was clean. I mean, sparkling. It was in a clearing a bit away from the church, so it wasn't evident who cleans it. (Toilet fairies, maybe?)
I immediately thought back to the last time I had to squat, which was when I was a little girl. I recall my mama stopping on the side of the road because I really had to go and couldn't hold it. She'd hold my pants out of the way so that I wouldn't splash them. Well, she wasn't around to hold them and I didn't trust my own aim. How the heck was I to do this?? Did they NOT think about women when they designed these? I'll spare you all the gory details, but in the end I did what I had to do to make sure there was no chance of splashing my bottoms. It's not like I could change them if I made a mistake since I'd stored my luggage at the port while waiting for my ferry to set sail to Split, Croatia later in the evening.
While taking care of business, I was super thankful for the tons of stairs I'd silently complained about having to climb the past 2 weeks in Italy. My thighs didn't shake not once as I positioned my feet on the markings indicating where you should stand and squatted further than I've had to since high school P.E. Finished, I redressed, watched the "toilet" flush in what looked like a monsoon, and marveled at the sparkling shine that was left behind. It wasn't quite that bad, but it's an experience I'll not want to have again.
Labels: ancona italy vacation europe backpacking, squat toilet
posted by The Black Planeteer at 3:25 PM
9 Comments:
Wow. The next time I have to use the facilities, you can be sure that I will bow down in front of my beautiful porcelain commode (with a lid might I add) and sing in praises and gratitude. I've never heard about this squatting toilet from any of my other friends who have traveled abroad LOL. Thanks for the heads up;-)
Wow, that's something serious. I haven't squatted in so long that I probably would have fallen. LOL
To top it off, Felicia, they make you PAY to use them in most cases.
Wow, maybe that how they keep them so clean. (if you have to pay for it.) I've encountered some terrible bathrooms when I visited home with my parents (Nigeria). Like you, I'm surprised see you can find hole in ground toilets in unexpected countries. At least it flushed :)
YAY new post! I'm afraid of these toilets. I've heard about them but never been anywhere where I would encounter one. Even here at home I will avoid H20 like the plague if I'm in unfamiliar territory or in a place I know the restroom is nasty b/c of the #of people using it (like planes/buses ewww).
That's the second time I've heard of the toilet in the ground. Looks pretty interesting. Actually, I can see how more sanitary they are compared to the the one's you have to sit on. You don't have to worry about pee or anything else being on the seat!
But I do frown at the thought of paying to go potty.
LOL! I found your post. That darn thing was a trip when I saw it. I was like.. am I suppose to use that? And where does the waste go? Oh well.. I can cross that off the list of "things to do"
Well I can cross this off my "things to do list.". I mean where does the waste go?
Ok blkgrl, toilets always make for the most interesting stories. you were a delightful surprise Friday evening. How do I contact you. Paul:)
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