After 3 years of living in Taipei, and using public restrooms on occasion, I am getting ready to depart for cleaner (and greener) pastures. I feel it is my duty to pass along a basic “How To” for the Western women who will follow in my footsteps.
HOW TO USE THE WOMENS’ ROOM IN TAIWAN
(“Ladies” was a definite misnomer).
ADVANCED PREPARATION: Bring your own tissue and soap whenever you leave the house.
STEP 1: Take a deep breath that can be held for as long as is necessary for you to finish your business.
STEP 2: Roll up your pant legs (or wear a skirt in the first place). This applies to regular toilets as well as “squatters” because most Taiwanese women miss no matter what.
STEP 3: Put down the toilet seat. Even if you’re not going to sit on it, the rim is usually too foul to even see for a few seconds.
STEP 4: Clean up the previous “lady’s” mess - usually footprints or just a general mess. (They love to let the world know when they’re menstruating - they refer to it as “being sick” and want pity from all other bathroom users).
STEP 5: If you wish to sit, cover that seat in loads of tissue. But I would advise against this altogether.
STEP 6: FLUSH your toilet paper! There is no reason that a country with any amount of technology cannot make a toilet that handles paper. I mean, c’mon, the Romans figured it out thousands of years ago!
STEP 7: Wash your hands with the soap you brought. Despite the SARS epidemic, most bathrooms do not provide soap.
FINAL NOTES:
Never, ever look in the trash can. Unless you are part barn animal you will not like what you see. (And they make sure you get to see it all).
Never use the bathroom at TU. F-O-U-L. Outhouses on the U.S. highways in the 1970s were cleaner.
Question why foreign men would drool over the species that creates this disgusting mess.
Caveat: Of course not all women are this foul, and not all bathrooms are this gross. Just 98%.
[quote=“sss0226”]
STEP 6: FLUSH your toilet paper! There is no reason that a country with any amount of technology cannot make a toilet that handles paper. I mean, c’mon, the Romans figured it out thousands of years ago![/quote]
toilets handle the paper just fine, but the pipes that lead out from the toilets don’t. most of the pipes used here are old - really old. they get clogged when you stick huge wads of paper in the shitter as you have described. that, in turn, will make the bathrooms even more disgusting …
i’ve put a few sheets down with the rest of the business, but put the bird’s nest of protective paper in the trash can. this serves a secondary purpose to cover up the mess that the others have left in there.
Honestly, I don’t think it’s really that bad at all but maybe you’ve never been to India? That’s bad. But Taiwan is now worse than some of the places I’ve visited in Australia and the USA.
[quote=“sss0226”]
Question why foreign men would drool over the species that creates this disgusting mess.
Caveat: Of course not all women are this foul, and not all bathrooms are this gross. Just 98%.[/quote]
:s :s Awwww sukie sukie now. I feel the ire of the men coming on…
[quote=“xtrain_01”][quote=“sss0226”]
STEP 6: FLUSH your toilet paper! There is no reason that a country with any amount of technology cannot make a toilet that handles paper. I mean, c’mon, the Romans figured it out thousands of years ago![/quote]
toilets handle the paper just fine, but the pipes that lead out from the toilets don’t. most of the pipes used here are old - really old. they get clogged when you stick huge wads of paper in the shitter as you have described. that, in turn, will make the bathrooms even more disgusting …
I’ve put a few sheets down with the rest of the business, but put the bird’s nest of protective paper in the trash can. this serves a secondary purpose to cover up the mess that the others have left in there.[/quote]
It’s true. The pipes don’t handle it and once it’s blocked it’s a real pain in the ‘ass’ to clean it in those old buildings.
Watch your balance. I have heard of several women who have fallen in those squat toilets.
I’ve never been able to get the hang of the squat toliets. There’s been several instances where my bowels were on the verge of an explosion and I had no choice but to use the “squatter.” The worst was a portable toliet at a book show in Taichung. Is there some secret I am missing to using these thing? I think there was some discussion here before about using squat toliets and one’s ability to squat down flat-footed. I just can’t get down like that without totally losing balance. Plus, being a guy there’s always a chance that the 'ol fire hose lets loose in an uncontrolled direction. Never been able to see any advantage to these types of toilets.
I mostly use squat toilets now, but I can imagine that it would be difficult if you’re not able to put your feet flat. I seldom see really dirty toilets in Taipei, but then again, I’ve also been to India so my toilet tolerance boundary might have shifted.
I prefer squat toilets, it might seem unconventional but it’s a hell of a lot better than the bowl ones since I’ve got no idea of the hygene habits of the occupants before me the less skin contact with toilet surfaces the better imo.
Most of the places in Taipei have been pretty clean such as the MRT, department stores and fast food joints … then again if you had to take a dump it would be better to do it at these places since they’re pretty well maintained.
Oh come on girls, admit it! The toilets here are almost always disgusting. P&*s on everything. The TP bin filled with paper and pads FACE UP, tampons (unhidden), etc. Yep, just what I want to see when I need a pee.
You might say that I am trying to ignore the human reality, and you’re freakin right! I don’t look at my hubby’s sh*&, so why should I look at a strangers’?
Just wish people would cover or hide their “business.”
OTOH, I’m all for the squat toilets. Keep me as far away from sh@# while being as “comfortable” as possible.
[quote=“greeneyedgrrl”] But Taiwan is now worse than some of the places I’ve visited in Australia and the USA.
[/quote]
What I meant to say was ‘no worse’ - Taiwan toilets aren’t too bad at all and if you can’t stand public toilets, then maybe you should stay at home and do your thang there. Or just get used to it.
I have been putting paper down toilets in Taiwan for 15 years. I can’t believe you guys buy that “the pipes can’t handle it” line. So at home you like have a big bag of shite beside the toilet which you throw out with the household garbage? Yuk. Poo-eeee. I mean why fucking use a toilet at all? Why not just shit in a bag and put it in the bin?
On another note: anyone used those hilarious HCG toilets with the no-cistern at the back? The ones that you have to flush 5 times before the poo will go down? The last two companies I worked for had them, and the results are that at company (a) there was always a huge poo waiting for you when you went to use the bog; and at company (b) the have to employ someone to go round flushing the bogs because they don’t work.
Squat toilets are so much better. It is much easier to squat low then to try and squat over the bowl. There is no way you should sit down on a toilet seat you have not cleaned yourself. However, wearing denims or more than one layer does cause a problem. The material can bunch behind your knees and sometimes cause you to loose your balance. The last thing you EVER want to do is put your hand down to steady yourself.
As for the smell, and toilets do smell, get the tissues that have a nice smell of their own. After they have served their purpose of being a mask they can be used to wipe with.
My kids (at elementary school in Taipei) tell me that their peers have only approximate aim in the botty department and no one has told them about the flush lever. The hate going because of the pee all aver the floor and wall and the poo on the floor (in and out of the stalls). They do say that the ones who flush get their poo flung at them by the force of the water pressure…
I only had problems with squatters my third day in Taiwan (coincidentally, the day of my health test at Ren Ai Hospital and my first day of work). Since then, smooth sailing.
Until recently, I could not master squatting with flat feet (instead of squatting down on the balls of your feet, like westerners tend to do) outside of using the toilet, but I’m finally getting the hang of it, much to the relief of my arches and knees. It was odd that I could do it so automatically in the bathroom.
From the pages of the ImaniOU Guide to Squatters…
Roll up your pants legs. Face away from the dome. Pull your pants forward to keep them out of the way. Put a hand out for the door frame if you are afraid you will lose your balance. When finished, stand up and back away from the bowl before flushing to avoid splashback. Always have a pack of tissues in your purse because you never know.
girls,
this may sound a bit metro-ish, but i ususally carry those wipe-ies from 7-11. you know the ones for 19NT? i use them for a lot of things like cleaning off the nasty table at a restaurant, and CLEANING THE TOILET SEAT before i sit down. they’re good for cleaning your face after riding a motorcycle across town and anything else you can think of that involves clean. the 19NT ones from 7 are the best. they don’t sting your face.
i’m sorry. am i in the ladies’ room? i’ll leave now.
You don’t have to love Taiwan and stick up for the toilet etiquette too. Generally the toilet and washrooms suck. Put paper in a basket? In this heat? Come on, is that the best a modern society can do? It has nothing to do with being prissy, it’s plain unhealthy to have s* and pee all over the place. We’re not pigs.
You can always provide and example of something worse. I can remember when I used to work in bars in Canada having to wade through 3 inches of pee in bathrooms every night. That lovely memory doesn’t make the experience of using the washrooms here any more pleasant.
[quote=“rantheman”]girls,
this may sound a bit metro-ish, but i ususally carry those wipe-ies from 7-11. you know the ones for 19NT? I use them for a lot of things like cleaning off the nasty table at a restaurant, and CLEANING THE TOILET SEAT before I sit down. they’re good for cleaning your face after riding a motorcycle across town and anything else you can think of that involves clean. the 19NT ones from 7 are the best. they don’t sting your face.
I’m sorry. am i in the ladies’ room? I’ll leave now.[/quote]
Save the wet wipes for, er…special occasions, although they are handy in this weather for swiping the dirt and sweat off your face (plus the cool feeling as the wind, should it be blowing, hits your freshly wet skin). I carry a pack with me in my purse as the temperature rises. Ran is right that the unscented ones won’t sting your skin or leave soapy trails. Another tidbit of wisdom from the ImaniOU Book of Surviving Taiwan
I don’t look at my hubby’s sh*&, so why should I look at a strangers’?