What to do when you have to go

This blog is about restrooms

Bathrooms, toilets, WCs, loos..you know what I mean.

This should be simple, but when you're in a foreign country, it's sometimes nerve-wracking.

First time I was in Tokyo, just off the airplane. I go thru customs and run to the nearest toilet I could find. I go in, go to the first stall and was confronted with a gutter, or a drain. Not sure what to call it (an in-ground sink?), but it sure as heck wasn't the familiar stool that we encounter here in the US. It's more common in Japan (and in other countries) to find a "squat toilet", kind of like peeing on the ground. Only it's not the ground, it's porcelain and has water and a flusher, but you pretty much have to squat. I never really got the hang of this, since my balance is precarious. Suffice to say that I took to wearing skirts, or got used to undressing from the waist down in order to answer the call of nature!

WIkipedia has nice explanations and photos so you can see what I mean:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toilets_in_Japan
(or click on the title of this blog post too)



I've also encountered squat toilets in Europe too (the top of St. Peter's in Rome comes to mind!)

Besides Japanese toilets, I've also learned that when traveling, it's good to keep some things in mind:

Some restrooms will have attendants and they expect a tip. Sometimes in exchange for a tip, they will give you a few squares of really scratchy toilet paper.

Some restrooms will have attendants that expect a tip and don't even give you some scratchy TP in return. I always pack travel size tissue packs for this purpose.

Some restrooms have no attendant, so always good to come prepared with tissues and even hand sanitizer.

McDonald's tend to have recognizable bathrooms that no one will hassle you for using if you don't buy anything (though if you like ICE COLD milk, this is the place to find it)

Places like Brazil have little covered wastebaskets that you put ALL paper waste into (even when I stayed at a fancy, hermetically sealed chain like a Hilton in Sao Paolo) since the systems can't handle the paper.

Always good to search out information on this stuff. Maybe it's because i'm a woman, but peeing seems to be more of an issue for me than my husband. He can even pee into the gutter in Japan and no one even looks twice (only really works late at night, when every other salary man is off work and out for a few drinks with friends!)

Happy Travels!