Restrooms in India

Ford_Prefect

Hello, maybe this should have been posted in the "India for Beginners" forum, but for whatever reason, I cant post in there.
I will be traveling with friends to Mumbai, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Jaipur, Agra, Delhi, Gangtok, and Darjeeling starting next week.
I have a fairly weak stomach, and I usually get some sort of indigestion even when traveling in countries with food similar to my diet and less waterborn pathogens. I am wondering what the situation is for restrooms in India. If I need to use the restroom in any of these cities, where do I go? Are there public restrooms anywhere? Do the monuments have restrooms? If I'm in a pinch can I pop into a restaurant and ask to use theirs?
Any advice would be appreciated.

trooooon

You cold try thumbing a vogon spaceship

India is famous for indigestion! And the restrooms are pretty sad . . . well in the big cities, Delhi Agra etc it shouldn't be a problem the restaurants, malls etc all have pretty clean loos, smaller places are more difficult, but I'm sure you'll find something . .

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what if . . . maybe . . . say . . . suppose!

anar

i think most restaurants, etc will be willing to let you (a foreign tourist) use the toilet. what state they will be in is another matter.

driving around himachal pradesh in north india with my sister taught me a thing or two about how awkward it can be for women - a lot of small out of the way places had no toilets - she had to go into bushes, etc. something she loathed doing. in places that did have toilets, the state of them sometimes made them unusable.

i noticed local women who wore ankle-length voluminous skirts would squat by the side of a road and go for a pee (at least) with no show of flesh, no embarrassment. quite remarkable.

Nick-H

restrooms! ridiculous euphemism.

Search this site for toilets, and you will find far more information than you ever wanted

rondel

and to add...the bigger tourist monuments usually do have good washrooms with western toilets. For example, the Taj Mahal has a good toilet, as does Amber Fort in Jaipur (one of my fave toilets ) I stood there and washed my hands for about 5 minutes as the water was so nice and hot!

another word...in "lesser" public toilets, use the squatter (Indian style) not the western. In those places, the western is not made for sitting (no seat) and they always smell far worse. Hope I didn't put you off

Have a great, great trip. And while you're there you can get in on an age old tradition of comparing "the facilities" from place to place.

Ford_Prefect

Thanks to all who replied. I think I am prepared for the state of some of the toilets in India, I just wanted to make sure that I would be able to find one in a pinch. If nature is calling loud enough, I don't really care what state its in.

dzibead

Don't forget your Imodium.

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capt_mahajan

Except that, in many cases, man made toilets will be so filthy that 'nature calling' will take on a new - and appropriate- connotation.

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PeakXV

You may well meet your match & have to eat those words in Ma India.

Oh, & don't forget During the British Period toilets, restrooms, porcelain thrones, dunnnies, loos, johns whatever ya call em .... were known as "Thunder-Boxes' for obvious gastrointestinal reasons.

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What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us.
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Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

Sama

and the perfect thread to post this about World Toilet Day which was November 19.

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MY INDIA, 2005-2008
"Once you have felt the Indian dust, you will never be free of it." (Rumer Godden, 1975)

edwardseco

So well put, a handy device is a disposible funnel for women so they can stand up & not get near the "facilities". For men a trucker's friend is handy. I haven't seen many these days. Guess truckers don't drive 24 hours straight anymore. I have a jerry rigged one that was quite easy to build and inexpensive. Let me know you need a parts list (yeh, I read Popular Mechanics). Also, small plastic bottles are handy to carry around especially if opaque. Turn around lady if you don't want to be offended, growl. One thing I didn't have and wished for was the larger size..

My nominees for best toilets in India, the Lake Palace, Udaipur and the Pizza Hut, Agra..

anar

if you are used to using toilet paper, don't forget to carry some with you. most indian toilets would not have such a thing except in big cities.

edwardseco

And note that it may jam the facilities and it may also offend sensibilities. I got one such complaint from a cleaner, dirty paper down a toilet..

anar

this problem (jamming) seems never to occur with the indian style hole-in-the-ground toilet, just the western style toilets.

iwanttogoback

[quote=rondel;864218]and to add...the bigger tourist monuments usually do have good washrooms with western toilets. For example, the Taj Mahal has a good toilet, as does Amber Fort in Jaipur (one of my fave toilets ) I stood there and washed my hands for about 5 minutes as the water was so nice and hot! /QUOTE]

really? the toilets at the taj, whilst flash, smelt overpoweringly whilst i was there.