Disclaimer: There will be a lot of bathroom humor in this post. And by bathroom humor, I mean that literally. Read at your own risk.
Carrying around toilet paper in my purse nowadays is a lesson I had to unfortunately learn the hard way. (Read: the very hard way). My familiarity with non-Western toilets is minimal. The occasional camping trip led to some uncomfortable situations but all-in-all, my experience at public washrooms has been generally positive. Sure, on road trips, you would find the yucky, smelly, dirty washrooms but none of that experience could prepare me for what I would find in the Kingdom.
Prior to moving here, I had the privilege of watching this hysterical video on YouTube: How to use Eastern Latrine. Mostly humor, but oh so relevant.
Obviously, my experience is limited to using female washrooms here in the Kingdom but I am told that the male washrooms are quite similar in nature. Public washrooms here are an experience, to say the least. Most public toilets consist of one crucial decision. You can take the Eastern style or Western style.
As you can see, the Eastern style toilet can be used in a manner similar to the one presented on the YouTube video mentioned earlier. There is a hole and a hose. Easy enough to figure out I suppose.
The Western style toilet is where I am confused. As ladies, we are accustomed to having toilet paper around. If you were to find yourself in a situation where there wasn't any, you could just switch stalls, no problem. Here, that is not the case. We are provided with a toilet and a hose. Let me set the scene as to what this is really like.
You are at the mall, shopping, eating, enjoying great company. You are wearing your clothes and an abaya and you feel the urge to use the restrooms. Upon entering, you have the two options, Eastern or Western, and you choose Western. You step into the stall which has a floor-to-ceiling door for obvious privacy. Unfortunately, as you get into the stall you realize there is an inch of standing dirty water and the entire stall from top to bottom is dripping wet. There is water, dirt, and hair everywhere. This is when you wonder what the hell happened in the stall before you got there. Was there something explosive happening? Why is there water EVERYWHERE?? Did someone wrestle with the hose while they were grooming themselves? The thoughts that run through your mind are disgusting. (and FYI, this is not an isolated incident, this happens every time, at every toilet, for everyone).
I don't mean to be crass, but then you do your business (which invariably leads to one of two possible outcomes). Once completed, you would naturally reach over for some toilet paper. There is none. You are left with a hose (also known as a health faucet - thanks R). The hose sprays water which I suppose is what you are supposed to do to clean yourself. I'm not naive to the fact that water is probably a better method to clean oneself (bidets were invented for a reason). But in a public washroom, I'm not sure what you are supposed to do.
I will leave it to your imagination as to what one should do in such a situation. You have a hose, your hands, and your clothes.
Any advice is much appreciated.
All I know is that my purse is fully-stocked, at all times, with toilet paper.
Cheers!
M
Carrying around toilet paper in my purse nowadays is a lesson I had to unfortunately learn the hard way. (Read: the very hard way). My familiarity with non-Western toilets is minimal. The occasional camping trip led to some uncomfortable situations but all-in-all, my experience at public washrooms has been generally positive. Sure, on road trips, you would find the yucky, smelly, dirty washrooms but none of that experience could prepare me for what I would find in the Kingdom.
Prior to moving here, I had the privilege of watching this hysterical video on YouTube: How to use Eastern Latrine. Mostly humor, but oh so relevant.
Obviously, my experience is limited to using female washrooms here in the Kingdom but I am told that the male washrooms are quite similar in nature. Public washrooms here are an experience, to say the least. Most public toilets consist of one crucial decision. You can take the Eastern style or Western style.
 |
| Eastern style |
 |
| Western style |
The Western style toilet is where I am confused. As ladies, we are accustomed to having toilet paper around. If you were to find yourself in a situation where there wasn't any, you could just switch stalls, no problem. Here, that is not the case. We are provided with a toilet and a hose. Let me set the scene as to what this is really like.
You are at the mall, shopping, eating, enjoying great company. You are wearing your clothes and an abaya and you feel the urge to use the restrooms. Upon entering, you have the two options, Eastern or Western, and you choose Western. You step into the stall which has a floor-to-ceiling door for obvious privacy. Unfortunately, as you get into the stall you realize there is an inch of standing dirty water and the entire stall from top to bottom is dripping wet. There is water, dirt, and hair everywhere. This is when you wonder what the hell happened in the stall before you got there. Was there something explosive happening? Why is there water EVERYWHERE?? Did someone wrestle with the hose while they were grooming themselves? The thoughts that run through your mind are disgusting. (and FYI, this is not an isolated incident, this happens every time, at every toilet, for everyone).
I don't mean to be crass, but then you do your business (which invariably leads to one of two possible outcomes). Once completed, you would naturally reach over for some toilet paper. There is none. You are left with a hose (also known as a health faucet - thanks R). The hose sprays water which I suppose is what you are supposed to do to clean yourself. I'm not naive to the fact that water is probably a better method to clean oneself (bidets were invented for a reason). But in a public washroom, I'm not sure what you are supposed to do.
I will leave it to your imagination as to what one should do in such a situation. You have a hose, your hands, and your clothes.
Any advice is much appreciated.
All I know is that my purse is fully-stocked, at all times, with toilet paper.
Cheers!
M
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