Will there be a Western-style seated toilet or a squat toilet? An automatic flushing mechanism or a bucket of water with a scoop to flush your deposits manually? Toilet paper or just a bidet-style spray hose? (Always carry your own supply of toilet paper, just in case. Always.)
In one restroom off a quiet beach on Koh Phangan, the squat toilet and the in-ground source of water for flushing looked quite similar. This creepy, Nemo-like painting stared me down and warned me to choose wisely as I surveyed the situation.
I'm sure plenty of tourists made the wrong decision before someone appointed Nemo to lay down the law. And I'm... pretty sure that I made the right one.
Apparently, Western-style toilets present just as much of a problem for those who are more accustomed to squat toilets. As seen in a Bangkok restaurant's restroom:
I... just... hmm. That last one had never occurred to me.
Do you have any travel-related bathroom mishaps to share? I know many people will consider this a gross topic, but I think it's interesting how basic human functions are carried out so differently across the world, and how lots of us manage to screw it up as we travel. I even read How to Shit Around the World before I began my trip and I was still confused in several situations!
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