It's Potty Time!

I have avoided writing about this for some time now. I mean, who really wants to hear about my toilet issues, right?? But with much urging from my sister (she is freaking out with just the THOUGHT of our toilets), I told her I would "clean" up the story and give her details.
There are enough Chinese in this country that all restrooms have at least SOME toilets that are in the ground. In fact, most women's toilets will have one or two conventional seats, then five or six Chinese toilets. Yes, this is even in the mall. Yes, this is even at the church. Yes, this is even when eating out. Obviously the holes in the ground are much more popular over here! I could be O.K. with this, but I find that often the conventional toilets with seats are "out-of-order". Not sure why, but I think it is a conspiracy to make us ALL use the hole in the ground. I will not lose my resolve!
Something I have found interesting is that about half of the restrooms have someone sitting at a station in front of the toilets and they charge you to use their lovely facility. It is usually 20 or 30 sen (6-7 cents). If you want "tissue", that is another 20-30 sen.
Toilet paper IS an ongoing issue. Very, very few toilets have toilet paper in the stall with you. The "nicer" malls (that don't charge) have a huge roll on the wall when you walk in and you get your own before going into the stall. Most, however, you bring your own or buy at the door. (Completely a side note but something strange: One day as I walked in and paid my stall money, the woman taking the money was sitting there with a large cucumber in her hand just munching on it like you would a dill pickle. Just seemed like a gross thing to be eating in such an unclean place!)
I haven't really figured out why they charge money for these restrooms. They generally are dirty, smelly and wet! Every stall has a hose on the wall and obviously everyone using the toilet COMPLETELY hoses down the seat and floor when finished with their business. It is ALWAYS wet and you just don't want your pant legs to touch the ground! Often the sink area has no soap dishes, or at least no soap in the container. There are NEVER paper towels to dry your hands. A few mall restrooms have hand dryers, but it is so hot in the room no one seems to use them. Occasionally you will see a woman wiping down a sink or using a mop, but they never seem really clean. Oh, and when Ruby was visiting in August, we walked out of restroom stalls in a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur and there was a MAN in there cleaning something under the sink. That was a fun, new experience! Jeff has frequently seen women cleaning in the men's restrooms. Woo-hoo.
Sometimes I just have to choose NOT to use the toilet at a place. When we went to eat at "The Sticks" (see earlier blog), I went to the women's toilet and it was a small room with nothing in it but a small drain hole in the corner. HHHMMMM.
I do enjoy this humorous sign in most restrooms: "Do not stand on toilet seat!"
I didn't really know this was something we needed to have posted. Silly me!