What do you think of the toilets/loos in various countries?
By ilyzium
@ilyzium (1197)
Canada
August 29, 2009 12:05pm CST
People might laugh at me that I'm starting this discussion but there is a valid reason why I'm writing this discussion. Ok, well a few yrs ago my husband and I were traveling by car in Italy, somewhere near Venice when we stopped at this roadside rest stop/restaurant in order to use the washroom. Well, the first thing I noticed was that the washroom doors in the stalls were floor to ceiling. Uh oh I thought to myself, not good for a claustrophobic person like myself. Once I entered the stall I noticed that there were in fact instructions on the door in French, Italian, Spanish and German. Oh dear I though, where's the English? Well, whatever I thought I'm just not going to close the door all the way since the lock looked complicated. Well, I tried to do that but then suddenly it snapped shut with a bang. I was done my "business" so I proceeded to unlock the door, nothing was happening. I tried another tactic and still nothing. I tried again and again nothing. I was getting quite frustrated at that point and started banging on the steel doors, though I didn't think anyone could even hear me. I looked at my watch and noticed that I was in there struggling with the lock for about 20 min, at which point I started crying thinking that I was going to be trapped in there for a long time. I tried the lock one last time only prayed to God to help me and magically it opened. Since then I've made it a point when traveling never to use a washroom with a floor to ceiling door. Has anyone had any similar experiences? Or am I just "special"?
2 people like this
4 responses
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
31 Aug 09
I have seen a couple a strange toilets. I once went to a pub in France, and when I wanted to use the toilet I discovered that you had to walk through the men's toilet to get to the lady's toilet. The men's toilet was empty so I passed the urinals and ran through the room and into the the lady's toilet. When I wanted to leave to toilet I listened carefully to make sure that the men's toilet was still empty 
and I mananged to get through the room without meeting anyone, but it was a pretty strange experience.
I saw another unusual toilet at a hotel in Copenhagen. There was a window between the bathroom and the room. From the room you could see everything that happened in the bathroom, and from the bathroom you were able to watch tv in the room even though the door was closed.
and I mananged to get through the room without meeting anyone, but it was a pretty strange experience.
I saw another unusual toilet at a hotel in Copenhagen. There was a window between the bathroom and the room. From the room you could see everything that happened in the bathroom, and from the bathroom you were able to watch tv in the room even though the door was closed.@ilyzium (1197)
• Canada
31 Aug 09
Ok, yeah sometimes you wonder what these "city planners" were thinking when they designed some of these things. I mean how hard is it to design a men's washroom right NEXT to the woman's washroom. Why the need to charge through the men's? Ok, that is just very strange, I mean why would you want to see what goes on in a bathroom, well I guess unless you're a voyeur or I'm guessing a pervert?
@maximax8 (31053)
• United Kingdom
30 Aug 09
That must have been a scary time in the floor to ceiling toilet in Italy. One of my colleagues went to a toilet and it had an automated door. The door suddenly came open which was really awful for her. She had been sitting on the toilet at that time.
I am really keen on traveling. Toilets is Asia are terrible in some places. A a petrol station there was a rubber tire, that was meant to be a toilet. Other toilets there were of the squatting type.
The surprise was a public toilet block in Los Angeles in the USA with no interior walls. I walked on to find a more acceptable toilet.
@ilyzium (1197)
• Canada
31 Aug 09
Hello,
lol That's insane to have a door like that! I've never heard of that kind of toilet, although all over Europe they have those kind of toilets that spin, lift and turn around-now that's common. Yeah, no not crazy about the squatting toilet, rubber toilet, or that hole in the ground. I'm surprised they'd have those kind of public washrooms in LA of all places? Hmmm...
@pushkin69 (546)
•
29 Aug 09
hey there. A random question, but something differnet to talk about. I have to say that most Western countrie the toilets are fairly standard. In Greece however when you go on holidy they tell you not to put any toilet paper in the toilet as the systems are rubbish. Its pretty gross as you are supposed to put paper in the bin.
I lived in Korea for a while and most public toilets had squat toilets which I could not get used to even after being there a year. Some of the more modern places had 'normal' toilets. Once I was in a pizza place and I went to the toilet and turned to flush it and had not idea which button to press. There were 4 different buttons and the writing was in Korean. So I pressed the green button and hoped for the best. Water started spraying up and out the toilet and was going all over the floor. I was so embarressed! After it stopped I decided to not press any more buttons and let the next person deal with it.
@ilyzium (1197)
• Canada
29 Aug 09
Hi pushkin,
Ah well, you know how it is... I thought this topic might "shake things up a bit" on this forum. lol lol Yeah some countries do have pretty crappy toilets that way, I've experienced that on my travels too. Those squat toilets are pretty strange, I would agree. Well, I would get sprayed too because I don't know Korean. Oh I remember once when we were in Croatia visiting family, well we went to this little restaurant that had a restroom out back. Ok some restroom...It was a big open room with holes in the concrete ground, and no walls separating anyone so you could see everyone in that room. It was very bizarre. But you still find those "Turkish" squat toilets in many parts of Europe.
