toilet advice

iwanttogoback

even after a year of yoga i cannot get my feet flat on the floor, but i can squat quite close to the ground easily, and feel quite balanced.

good luck.

gvdv

Hi iwanttogoback,
Thanks for your message.

I know what you mean; I seem to fall short (so to speak) in many of the endeavours in which I'm involved.

Still, as a wise person said 'It is better to travel hopefully, than it is to arrive', so I guess the message is 'enjoy the process'.

Thanks for the encouragement.

Wildhorse

Personally I think you have to be born in India or anywhere else in Asia to be able to master the technique. I believe it's in the genes...

melinderry

I find the Indian toilet better when in a public place. In the western style ones the seat is usually too wet (with what I don't know) to sit on. So kind of hovering over the seat of the wetern one is more difficult than squatting in the Indian ones and then it will only be my shoes that may get dirty.
I still have no idea what to do in the hybrid version.

About the water / left hand cleaning thing...in many ways I like the concept of using less toilet paper. But I just don't feel that it's possible to get yourself really clean without soap...maybe I'm wrong but that's my experience...especially the hand washing afterwards - many Indians don't seem to use soap which I find hard to see is hygenic....???

Hal

I've been into a few western toilets in India and found footprints on the seat. Like someone got up on the seat to squat.

namaste_cat

Me too, seen it many times. One time the seat was up, so wow that must have been some acrobatic person!
Or maybe..."Man who stand on toilet high on pot" - Confucius

wonderwomanusa

There is almost always a place to wash your hands when you leave the toilet. And you can buy (I found them on the trains: 3 for Rs10) little booklets of "leaf soap" -- pull out one leaf, wash hands discard whatever it is that holds the soap on the leaf... clean hands!

Carry a bandana in your bag to dry your hands.

__________________
The map is not the territory. --Alfred Korzybski

gvdv

wonderwoman usa,
I've been meaning to say for some time now, although it is totally off topic, I love the Korzybski quote. I use it all the time when I'm teaching the kind of psychotherapy that I do.

Himalaydy

hmmm what about privacy of these squat pottys? is it one for all and all for one or are there stalls?
-also can i buy 'handi-wipes' or wet wipes in india? thanks

freenote

Quote namaste..."Man who stand on toilet high on pot - Confucius " end quote

__________________
eyes ,eyes that have seen all , come back to the white chrysanthemum (Basho)

theyyamdancer

__________________
"Wandering seemed no more than the happiness of an anxious man." - Albert Camus

iwanttogoback

i have seen private stalls and a row of squats without stalls (now don't tell anyone but i took a photo of one of these at modhera as it quite boggled my mind at the time), it really depends on where you are.

and yes, you can buy wet wipes in india.

doIhavetoReally

This forum has discussed at length on how to use Indian toilet, comparisons, clinics etc...I would also like to hear from experienced traveler's about access to toilets (public).

How easy or difficult is it to get access to decent facilities?

wonderwomanusa

In most places, you just walk into the toilet... some have no doors, like the public facility in Pushkar, so men just turn their backs to the public.

I did, once, see a fellow enter this "convenience" with a small girlchild riding his shoulders. I guess she watched Daddy do his business.

Decent? Sure, in 5-star hotels and sometimes in MacDonald's... and your own hotel room, I hope. But in other public places ... good luck!

angadtalwar

There are actually indo-western hybrid seats with footrests incorporated on the seat rims. You can lower the ring and sit down western style and also raise the ring and squat indian style ( I don't know how comfortable it is though to climb up and squat). Though if you guys are talking about footprints on normal seats with thin rims,