So, today the Australian woman with whom I'm traveling compared Thai toilets to American ones, saying they were just the same. This was while we were at the home of a rural hilltribe family. Their toilet? A squat toilet which required you to flush it by pouring a bucket of water into it.
Immediately upon hearing this, I was appalled. Mostly because I can't imagine an American who would buy a house with a toilet that required them to squat, and lord knows we love our toilet paper...and don't even get me started on getting our hands dirty to make the thing flush.
The conversation all started with Diane made the statement that Thai people must be shocked when they see bathrooms in America or other countries because we devote huge amounts of space to having a toilet area, shower are and sink area. Our idea bathroom allows us plenty of room and separation between the elements of the bathroom. In a Thai bathroom, it's an all-in-one affair with the shower being a handheld nozzle next to the sink, above the toilet. Most bathrooms occupy a space of about 5ft by 5ft. Unless you're living in a fourth floor walk-up in NYC, your American bathroom is considerably different.
So you can imagine my shock at the Australian woman's assertion that Thai toilets were just like American toilets. She quickly backpedaled and said that she didn't mean that we have squat toilets. No, her comparison had to do with the water level in American toilets. Apparently, she felt fear every time she sat on a toilet in America, thinking she might fall in.
It takes all kinds.
Later on in the trip, the same woman compared my traveling solo to Cambodia with her traveling alone to London to visit her daughter who lived there. Yes, traveling ALONE to a 3rd world country still recovering from genocide and under the rule of what is essentially a military dictatorship is EXACTLY like going to London.
End. rant.
PS. Diane is now coming with me to Cambodia, so you needn't worry. I'm just doing Laos solo.
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