12.30.2006

12.30 oh! da toilette!

it's been a coupla weeks and i've not mentioned anything about the toilets... yes toilets are different all over the world and india is no exception!

although i'm no stranger to the squat, i am highly adverse to the wash n go. india's toilets always have two things: a hole in the ground and a faucet. and if you are in a hotel (hoteliers notice how long tourists spend in the john), no matter what type of hotel - from a cabin to a 5-star, you will always find a phone on the wall behind the toilet bowl!

to tp or not to tp....

when arriving at the ashram guest house i was given a choice of whether or not i wanted a western toilet, so i opted for the western style. why not? everyone likes to feel at home on the john and i'm no exception. i happily marched up to my new home to be greeted by the word FRANKNESS on my door. sandwiched between ELEGANCE and INTENSITY on the other, for a second i thought to switch to the indian toilet room. my better judgement prevailed and i stuck with the frank room. i was greeted by another sign on my bathroom door, PLEASE DO NOT THROW PAPER IN THE TOILET THE LINE WILL JAM. like it or not i was gonna have to wash n go. i decided to go with the flow. did i mention i hate the drip dry??




every time i entered the bathroom, i couldn't leave before taking a shower. i eventually got used to the cold water (refreshing in the middle of the day), fetching hot water in a bucket when i felt like indulging. no matter what, you learn to adapt to your environment, which i did. i even started to like my little space of FRANKNESS where i woke up each morning...

i do marvel at how women use these squat water toilets, managing handbags and children while keeping their silk sarees and salwar khameez dry... layers of slippery fine fabric falling prey to a fountain of manual flushing...

[update: i did luckily come across an article called "how to use a squat toilet", which would have come in handy when i was performing my one-woman squatting act... for anyone needing some coaching, an excellent read! be fearless and just do it!!]

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