A Different John
May 13th 2011 14:50
:
Retired Away
When people move from a western country to Asia there is one aspect of the culture or way of life that is little thought about, but cannot be avoided. This is the difference in bathrooms, especially public bathrooms. As I had visited Southeast Asia many times before this was not too much of a surprise for me.
In the US, as in other western countries we are used to visiting a public bathroom and finding at least a sitdown toilet and a sink, with a urinal in the men's room. These are the basics. They are not always kept clean and there may not always be toilet paper, but they are usable. In most public bathrooms here in Malaysia the bathroom consists of a squat toilet with a small sink outside. Don't even mention toilet paper or paper towels for your hands. They are non-existent. Forget about cleanliness too.
The big tourist attraction here in Penang is the fantastic local food found in the food courts and hawker stands. It's a shame that the bathrooms in those locations are atrocious. I have lived here three years and I many times refuse to use them. First of all I have a bad back and arthritis in my hips, so squatting is impossible. Secondly there is never any toilet paper. I must point out that Indians and Malays do not use toilet paper, but a water hose. I leave it to the reader to figure this one out.
I know that the Penang government is working hard to remedy this situation and I can see that some of the bathrooms are becoming more tourist friendly. If you go to a modern shopping center you do find western style bathrooms, but there is seldom any toilet paper or paper towels to dry your hands. One big complaint I have about these bathrooms is that those people who don't use toilet paper, but use the hose, shoot water all over the toilet seat and all over the floor. It is difficult to find a dry bathroom, so your clothes don't become wet or soiled. I guess this is not a problem for the locals. I remember at the hospital in Boston, where I used to work, the janitors constantly complaining about foot prints on the toilet seats. Upon investigation it was found that the residents and interns from Asia were squatting on the toilet seats.
Lastly I would like to discuss the differences in the home bathrooms.
All of the home bathrooms I have seen have western style toilets, but the showers are completely different. In the US there is either a seperate shower stall or a shower in the bathtub. When you take a shower only the shower stall or tub gets wet. Asian style home batrhooms have a shower head and hose attached to a small water heater mounted on the wall. When you shower everything gets wet. This was very difficult for me to get used to, as the floor was always still wet when you had to go back in the bathroom a short time later for any reason. This was especially annoying for those late night visits to the toilet. I remedied this situation by installing a shower stall in one of the bathrooms. This was not easy because most of the plumbing contractors could not understand why you would want a dry floor and seperate shower area. Kevin's brother-in-law did the work for us as we specified. There are also no electrical outlets in the bathroom. So using an electric razor or hair dryer is out of the question.
As I have lived here for almost three years now I don't really view the bathroom situations or differences the same way as I did when I first moved here. It's just another cultural difference that we have to get used to and accept.
In the US, as in other western countries we are used to visiting a public bathroom and finding at least a sitdown toilet and a sink, with a urinal in the men's room. These are the basics. They are not always kept clean and there may not always be toilet paper, but they are usable. In most public bathrooms here in Malaysia the bathroom consists of a squat toilet with a small sink outside. Don't even mention toilet paper or paper towels for your hands. They are non-existent. Forget about cleanliness too.
I know that the Penang government is working hard to remedy this situation and I can see that some of the bathrooms are becoming more tourist friendly. If you go to a modern shopping center you do find western style bathrooms, but there is seldom any toilet paper or paper towels to dry your hands. One big complaint I have about these bathrooms is that those people who don't use toilet paper, but use the hose, shoot water all over the toilet seat and all over the floor. It is difficult to find a dry bathroom, so your clothes don't become wet or soiled. I guess this is not a problem for the locals. I remember at the hospital in Boston, where I used to work, the janitors constantly complaining about foot prints on the toilet seats. Upon investigation it was found that the residents and interns from Asia were squatting on the toilet seats.
All of the home bathrooms I have seen have western style toilets, but the showers are completely different. In the US there is either a seperate shower stall or a shower in the bathtub. When you take a shower only the shower stall or tub gets wet. Asian style home batrhooms have a shower head and hose attached to a small water heater mounted on the wall. When you shower everything gets wet. This was very difficult for me to get used to, as the floor was always still wet when you had to go back in the bathroom a short time later for any reason. This was especially annoying for those late night visits to the toilet. I remedied this situation by installing a shower stall in one of the bathrooms. This was not easy because most of the plumbing contractors could not understand why you would want a dry floor and seperate shower area. Kevin's brother-in-law did the work for us as we specified. There are also no electrical outlets in the bathroom. So using an electric razor or hair dryer is out of the question.
As I have lived here for almost three years now I don't really view the bathroom situations or differences the same way as I did when I first moved here. It's just another cultural difference that we have to get used to and accept.
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