Check
out The Worst Toilet in the
World? under Glimpses of the
Road, back on Randy's Travel
Page. As long as we're at it, let's discuss washing yourself, as well as your clothing. Sometimes just keeping yourself clean and well groomed can be a chore. In any case, it helps to know what to expect and how to use the facilities you will encounter in your hotel, in cafes, camping, and around town.
Bathing
Simple bathrooms just have a shower head on one wall and a drain in the floor; there is no tub or shower curtain, the whole bathroom is the shower. This means that the entire floor will get wet (or maybe flooded), and you have to be careful not to get your clothes wet, not only during the shower, but when putting them on afterwards. A skirt, shorts, or sarong avoids the necessity of dragging your trouser legs across a wet floor.
In Indonesia and a few other countries, you will have a "mandi" or dipper-bath. It is just a big tub full of water. Don't get in! Find the small bucket or ladle that is meant for pouring the water over your body. Need I tell you that the water will not be hot? With a little practice you can get yourself quite clean this way, and it uses much less water than a shower.
At the beach, you will want to rinse off the sand and salt
several times a day, especially after swimming. There are a
number of nice isolated beach locations which have a dire
shortage of fresh water. At one beach, I was limited to a
2-gallon (8-liter) can of fresh water for bathing each day.
In more than a few much more isolated places, the only
bathing available was in the ocean itself. After a day
or two,
Therefore, If I have a choice, I will take a place with fresh water over one with electricity, any day. Word!
Hot Water?
Well, it is becoming more common, but you can still go for a month or two without a hot shower, unless you splurge on a nice hotel. Fortunately, in hot climates it is not much of an ordeal bathing in refreshingly cool water. Keep in mind that just because your hotel claims to have hot water, this does not mean that any of it will find its way onto your body. I have rated many hotels as having "legendary hot water". The hot water may last for only an hour once or twice a day (when the family gets the first -- and often last -- of it), it may be tepid, not available in your particular room, the boiler is broken, etc., etc. Don't believe it until you feel it on your body, and don't spend much extra money for a hotel "with hot water" without verifying its existence.
In a number of countries, you will find electric elements attached to the shower head. Aside from the minor risk of electrocution, electric showers can be quite adequate, although in less efficient ones the water will only be hot at a slow trickle; check it out.
Please Note: A few places will charge you extra to take a hot shower! This is a fine system, since you only pay for hot water when you want it, and if it actually appears.
There is often hot water in China, but not always a shower; sometimes you just stand around the boiler pouring the hot water over yourself. In Turphan, China, one of the hottest places on earth, I used to get up early in the morning so I could have a cool shower! They had hot water in the showers, and by mid-morning the "cold" water, which was stored in a roof tank, was almost as hot as what came out of the boiler!
Should you ever find yourself in a place with both a bathtub and plenty of hot water, pinch yourself to see if you are dreaming. Then pray that you still have your universal drain plug. It is just about worth it to scrub out the grotty tub and take the hottest bath you can coax from the pipes. You may get home before you can soak your weary bones like that again! -- Do you deserve it?? (I doubt it.)
The Public Bath
In some countries where hot water is not common, the public bath house fills this need. It may be just a local with a wood-burning boiler and a shower stall behind his house, or it could be a palatial community center. You should give public baths a try, if only for the experience. You won't find them everywhere, buy you often won't notice them unless you ask.
In much of Latin America, many towns have a "Baño
Publico" where you can get a hot shower in a private stall,
and maybe even a steam bath with eucalyptus (or other) leaves.
They are generally quite basic (and sometimes run-down) places,
and may be hard to find (just ask), but it's a very cheap
alternative to splurging on a fancy hotel, and you get all the
hot water you can stand! The Baño Publico often have
very cheap and tiny rooms to rent as well -- yes I have! I
have stayed in little rooms at a Baño Publico in San
Cristobal.
Much of the Muslim world enjoys the ancient tradition of the Hammam, a communal public bath which is generally like a steam bath. In large cities there may be separate hammam for women, but in smaller communities they just have different (and shorter) hours for women to bathe. In small towns, the hammam may just be a few shower stalls or steam rooms; women may have to make an "appointment" to get the place to themselves.
Several places in China have public baths, which could be anything from a few shower stalls, to a number of bathtubs, complete with massage services. If you get to Japan, you should not miss the glories and pleasures of a Japanese Public Bath; there is one in every neighborhood. Bathing is communal and (since the Allied Occupation) there are separate areas for men and women. Korean public baths are still common, although not as flash as those in Japan.
The public baths in India, Nepal, and Indonesia may be quite public indeed. Beside the traditional water fountain in the center of town, where pre-moderns went to collect water, may be other fountains used for bathing by men and women at alternate times. As in many other Asian countries where the "public bath" may simply be the local river or well, bathing is done while wearing a sarong. In Bali, the locals may bathe along streams or irrigation canals, while the rest of the world buzzes by, properly oblivious to their semi-nudity.
Toilets
Whether your toilet and shower are attached to your room, or down the hall, it's pretty much the same antiquated fixtures. In most of Asia and the Middle East, "Asian" (or "squat") toilets are the norm. If you've never confronted one, your first visit will be surprising. It is basically a hole in the floor over which you squat. Modern ones have porcelain "bowls" with full plumbing facilities, but still, there is nothing to sit on. The good news is that this is an extremely sanitary arrangement. I have been in many grotty "western-style" toilets, where I much preferred squatting on the rim of the bowl to sitting down on it. (Sorry, folks, but these are the very necessary details!) In fact, it is appallingly common for "western" toilets to have the seat missing altogether.
Don't plan on doing much idle reading over squat toilets. If you are not used to squatting, your legs will get cramped from any but the briefest visits. Longer or more frequent visits to the toilet may leave your legs aching, and if you've got a bad knee, heaven help you! Often the toilet is built into a low platform off of the floor, but sometimes it is level (flush!) with the floor, and the area around it can be quite wet from the last shower. In this case, it's easy to get your clothing wet just by using the toilet. You would be better off in a sarong or skirt; just tuck the bottom hem into your waist to keep it off the floor. I know this sounds like pretty trivial stuff, but you won't think so after getting your clothing soaked in scummy water every time you use the toilet in a particular hotel.
If the toilet doesn't flush properly, (or never did), look around for a pail of water. Even though facilities may be crude, most people have a reasonable idea of sanitation and will provide buckets of water for flushing the toilet. Any toilet made for flushing can be flushed properly by pouring a big bucket of water down it. Keep the bucket full in case of the all-too-common water shortages. In India and Muslim countries where cleansing by hand is the accepted method of "wiping" after defecation, there will usually be a water spigot within easy reach of the toilet. Not only can you fill the bucket from this, but if you're lucky, you can use it to steady yourself while squatting there. If you find yourself using the hand-washing method, you will want to have a towel or bandanna to dry off your bottom, as well as your hands. (Who else is going to tell you this stuff?!)
Almost everywhere in Latin America, toilet paper is used (though seldom provided), but it is never flushed down the toilet. There will be a small basket beside the toilet where you should leave your used toilet paper. The baskets are always emptied daily. It sounds foul, but they know the limitations of their plumbing systems, which will back up quickly with the paper. In traveler's places, you will see notices imploring you not to put paper down the toilet. Don't. In a few blessed countries you may often find some kind of toilet paper provided, but don't count on it. Always bring your own.
If you do any interesting travel at all, you will use a number of toilets with no plumbing at all. I know I've been out in the bush too long when I always forget to flush the toilet after I finally reach civilization. If you are camped out, or staying in very rural areas, there may be no other toilet than the nearest clump of bushes. This becomes a real sanitation problem if too many people are using the area, but in many isolated locations it is the norm. When you have to use the bush, dig yourself a little hole with your shoe and take along matches or a lighter to burn the toilet paper before covering the hole. Animals will come at night to lick salt from urine patches, so get yourself well away from your campsite.
An elderly woman had traveled all day by Land Rover to reach a rustic lodge in the backcountry of Zimbabwe. Upon arrival, she asked the manager of the lodge where she could find the toilet. Spreading his arms to the expanse of the savannah, he said, "Madam, all of Africa is your toilet!" I have been on tropical islands where there was an outhouse at the end of every jetty, or where tourists sunbathed on a beach that was used as a toilet morning and evening by the entire local village.
Check
out The Worst Toilet in the
World? under Glimpses of the
Road, back on Randy's Travel
Page.
Washing Up
You should make a practice of washing your hands as often as possible; there's a lot more dangerous crud out there in the Third World than at home. Wash up whenever you get back to your hotel, and before meals. In many simple restaurants all over the Third World, you will find a well-frequented wash basin and soap in the dining room itself. Use it! If you don't see one, wonder back toward the kitchen and make hand-washing motions; you will quickly be shown to the nearest basin. Use your own bandanna or handkerchief if the towel looks impossibly grotty; hold it in your teeth as you wash so you don't have to dig for it with wet hands.
Even if you don't have a private bath in your hotel room, you may have the luxury of a sink (wash basin) in the room. This means you can do your washing up, tooth brushing, and small laundry chores in the convenience of your own room. Don't expect much in the way of mirrors, soap, or towels, but you will appreciate them when they are there. A real drain plug is a rarity indeed, so bring one along, and keep it out of sight when not in use. Even if there is hot water in the shower, there may be none at the wash basin.
Keeping your hands clean is just as important, but more difficult when camping out. If you are at the beach, you can always wash up with soap in the ocean if nothing else is available. Washing with unpurified water is fine as long as you dry off properly and don't get any in your mouth.
I am now going to tell you one of the secret tricks of veteran travelers. It is so simple, that when you hear it, you will say, "Of course, that's obvious." But I spent several years backpacking and traveling before it was revealed to me by two South African women. "Of course," I said, "that's obvious."
How to wash up out of a canteen: First, I assume you have a canteen or water bottle with drinkable water. Take a big mouthful of water but don't swallow. You will now use your mouth as a water tap; simple, right? Put the canteen down, preferably closed, grab your soap, lean forward and let a little water trickle from your mouth into your hands. Wash your hands thoroughly, then rinse with what's left in your mouth. Take another mouthful of water and do the same on your face and neck. You might need another swig of water if you want to thoroughly rinse off your hands before rinsing the soap off your face. Now, grab your little towel off of your shoulder for drying, and you are clean as a whistle! There is no excuse for not washing up anytime you have two mouthfuls of good water, and a spot to stand on.
Drinking Water
The water from the tap may or may not be drinkable. More and more cities in the Third World are treating their water. Sometimes you can smell the chlorine before you get it to your mouth; that means it is probably safe, although chlorine does not kill all viruses or parasites. Do not use questionable water for brushing your teeth. When there is nothing else, use saliva! Your mouth is perfectly capable of generating plenty of moisture for brushing your teeth. When you are done, suck the excess toothpaste off your brush and spit it out with the rest.
Always ask if the tap water is safe, or ask for drinking water when you check into a hotel. One of several things will happen. Often you will be given a bottle or pitcher of drinking water. This indicates that the tap water is probably unreliable; the drinking water they give you may or may not be purified, but it is somehow "safer". Sometimes they will tell you that you can drink the water from the tap. In larger cities and more modern countries, you may take this as accurate information, but keep in mind that your stomach may not be used to what the locals drink every day. Sometimes you will be shown to a special tap, or a well somewhere in the hotel which is the main source of "good" water. At other times you may be shown a supply of boiled water in a refrigerator; if you see them boiling it you can rest assured, and realize the trouble these people must go to just to give you a simple drink of water! When in doubt, just dose it with some iodine.
In a few coastal and island locations, the local water is drawn from a shallow water table and may be brackish (somewhat salty). Although locals have grown up drinking it all their lives, it will make you nauseous even if it is purified! In this case, you will surely be told how to find some source of fresh water. You can still use the brackish water for washing, and bathing.
How to Drink Out of a Spigot: Speaking of Drinking Water, you probably will not pardon my chauvinistic attitude, but if you're going to go traveling, it's time to grow up and learn to drink out of a faucet like someone who walks upright on two feet! I know that many people do not because I see them all the time in movies and TV shows that you also see. They either try to wrap their lips around the tap, occasionally chipping a tooth or two and drenching their front, or else they make a bowl out of their hands and try getting a few drops by bringing it up to their mouth. C'mon!Here's How: (Wash your hands first, if possible, then...) Hold your palm out flat and parallel to the ground in front of you. Now scrunch your four fingers together just slightly (index finger and pinky partially overlapping the two middle fingers) to form a slight trough. Then pull those fingers up just slightly -- just an inch or less -- to form a semi-cup of your palm. Now just slide the tips of those fingers under a slow running tap (water spigot) and leave them there as you drink. You don't have to put your hand right up next to the spigot as long as you have steady trickle of water. Now you've got it -- a nice little shallow pool of water in the palm of your hand that you can put your mouth into and drink up to your content. No splash, no fuss, just drink all you want, and look like you know what you're doing! You're welcome!
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