toilet advice

Constipation is the thief of time ...

Thanks, Tigerwatcher,, for reuniting me with a once-favourite saying

Hi Nick-H,
Glad to have been of service.Thought I may hear from you.Excremental telepathy?

What about the guys who make your chapatis, slapping from one hand to another? Or do you prefer rice?

Tim in Ireland

Not to mention the "Namaste" mudra. There is no way to keep your hands separate for more than a few minutes at a time. And most places have neither enough water, soap or towels to really wash your hands sufficiently afterward.

You gotta looooove eating in those places where the guys are making everything the old-fashioned way, by hand..yet the bathroom sports no soap, no towels and just a trickle of water.

People take their own lavatory paper to India, so why shouldn't they take their own lavatory?

After reading through this thread (OK, so its Sunday afternoon!) I noticed a startling omission...

There are no mention of Female Urinals ! How come? Someone else must have found them?

It happened to me in Chittaurgarh, RJ, near the entrance-way to the Fort. I was desperate to go, and the Gents was full, so I nipped into the Ladies toilet. There was a Female urinal - a bit like a shower tray, with a small wall around maybe 3 inches tall, and a gently sloping floor leading to a waste pipe. I have no idea if this was a one-off, or a standard item, as I don't make a habit of visiting Ladies toilets. How common are they in India, or elsewhere? Perhaps one of the fairer sex could enlighten us..

Tim in Ireland

There are a few - not nearly enough! It's a good idea.

I always wonder that especially at those massive food/wedding/religious festivals where they are cooking, peeling,cutting vegetables and everything else sweating over a steaming large pot...blessed with extra steamed rice
Helps you build up good immunity

Thats why they eat with the right hand and keep the left for washing i.e toileting

Dunno, thousands of Indians still die of dysentery and other fecal to oral diseases every year. Any guesses as to why?

As previously noted, this is not really possible...for more than a couple minutes. Unless you can make a chapatti or cut a carrot with only one hand...?

Wait, amend that...not only is it not "really" possible, it's not possible at all.

Hi there, my comment about immunity was related to the travelling population …not the poor folk living in inadequate housing with poor sanitation, dirty water etc. You often see travellers from more sterile environments fall ill quicker when visiting less sterile places compared to travellers from Asia visiting countries where the environment is a lot cleaner with all mod cons etc.

Your comment about Indians dying of dysentery is not surprising .. given the poor levels of sanitation some of these people are living in..I think anyone would suffer if they had to try to live in those conditions wouldn't they....

Still observing immunity amongst travellers from various countries is interesting

I spend a lot of time outdoors in the US, so I already had one of these -

http://www.travelmateinfo.com/

And I can tell you, this is one of the best things I have ever bought for outdoors work. I got the 3 pack, and I am taking these babies with me to India when I go (in about a month from now).

I'll have to figure out how to get it around my indian clothing, but it'll still bea damn sight better than squatting.

Looks like a copy of the shewee. I haven't bought one, as I usually wear jeans, in which their use would require more exposure than I'd be comfortable with, but if I'm wearing an SK in India... Interesting.

Without going into graphic details, do you find it "safe" to use, or are my shoes going to get wet!

Men, and ladies who are squeamish, look away.

It works pretty well. The travelmate looks more or less like one of those medicine measuring spoons, except the 'exit' end is narrowed into a funnel-like opening. I have seen some other female products that are larger, and I like this one specifially because it is about the same size as a tampon - in fact, I keep it in a tampon case. I also like that they are plastic and washable, etc.

I have used it in a lot of places, and the only time I have had trouble is when it 'splashed' - basically just like the trouble men will have, simply the physics of a stream of liquid hitting the ground from a few feet up . . . so aim carefully. My husband always pees on trees, when we're out and about, I thought it was stupid maleness, but now I realize that it really does help. Who knew?

They ARE gravity fed, so you have to keep it pointed down, and this may vary from person to person, but I don't get a lot of 'velocity' out of it, so it does limit your range. Another way you could prepare is taking these hiking, and peeing on random stuff out in the woods, to get an idea of the best way to avoid splashing on yourself.

As far as leakage, I have never had any, as long as I got it 'seated' right. When I first got them in the mail, I practiced using them in the shower until I was really comfortable with them. You kinda get a sense for how it feels when it's seated right, when it's got that airtight seal against your body. One minor thing I'd warn you about is that when I'm done, there's a little urine left in there, held by hydrostatic pressure - it won't fall out until I 'unseat' the travelmate, so I usually pull it away from myself with a care that the little extra bit doesn't fall anywhere I don't want it to.

I use them while dressed - the website says you can just put it through the fly of your jeans, I find that I need to lower them two or three inches, but you also get to go in through the leg hole of your undies, so it still keeps me completely covered. I am a bit curious to see how I will negotiate using them while dressed in indian clothing; updates will follow upon my return.

It just leaves me wondering -- you'd have to have somewhere to pee to though, no?

(Picturing the outdoors: Well, why not squat. Picturing a squat toilet: Well, why not squat. I may be thick but I think I'm not getting it )

I suppose you mean in quasi-public circumstances? Well, if the attention factor is a concern like it seems to be to many visitors... I'd say squatting may give you a lot more peace of mind

We look forward to your report of using this thing while wearing a sari .

Especially the madessar, the nine-yard jobby that goes between the legs