So, you’re in Thailand and you feel the urge to use the toilet… luckily in tourist areas, most hotels, restaurants and bars will have a good Western toilet. Outside of the touristy areas, what you see is what you get, especially if you visit a Thai people’s home. A traditional Thai toilet is a stubby toilet that at first glance appears rather simple. Drop your pants, squat down and finish. Well, if you’ve never used one, parts 2 and 3 of the instructions can be a bit difficult, if not downright confusing.
Number one, when was the last time you squatted down to do something? I thought so, you see those of us of the Western persuasion (especially men) don’t squat well and while you might have great squatting muscles, the time to find out isn’t 2am in a bar. after eating Som Tam, which can be better. be described as a class A incendiary device… but I digress.
The next thing you see is the barrel (sometimes a bucket or a small well) which is full of water and has a small pot floating on it, this friend of mine is the flushing mechanism. Simple enough, pour some water in the hole and it’s all gone, but did you notice there’s no toilet paper? The barrel you see has a dual purpose. The small pot is also used to splash yourself. Sounds refreshing right? Even in most Thai bathrooms you will find toilet paper, but there will be times when you don’t.
If you find yourself in a situation where you have no other choice and have to leave, make sure you take your time or things could get very complicated. Better yet, if you can take your time finding a western toilet. If you find you have no choice and it doesn’t go as planned… you can always use the bucket of water to wash yourself up a bit!
Another thing you will notice in all western toilets is the hose attachment on the wall next to the toilet with a spray nozzle. This accessory looks exactly like the one at home in the kitchen sink and is used in much the same way, but obviously not for dishes. Although Thailand has come a long way in terms of infrastructure, the sewage systems are still very poor. The spray attachment will clean it up and help reduce the amount of toilet paper used. You will usually see a sign in every toilet in Thailand asking you not to flush the toilet paper but to throw it in the bin provided. Use the trash because the result if you don’t will not be nice.