The Rest of the Story

After a week in China one would think I would have the bathroom issues under control. In some ways, I have learned a lot. Many public toilets have at least one "western style" stall and so whenever we are approaching a bathroom stop, I rush forward, trampling my fellow travelers, in order to be the first one to reach the toilets and the one western style toilet among a dozen squats. It's not a problem when I'm in a group of Chinese - they actually prefer the squats - go figure.

We American ladies queue up for the toilets clutching and sharing our bits of tissue paper which we hastily grabbed from the hotel earlier in the day. The Chinese just clutch their children who they take with them into the squats. No paper for them. Ewwww.

I was actually getting very optimistic as we drove to the big modern airport at Xi'an early this morning, expecting a bunch of modern toilets before boarding the airplane. Not only was I faced with all squats when I went into the bathroom (holding my boarding pass, passport, carry on bag and tissues) but I ended up in one that had a door that didn't close. There I was holding one pant-leg and carry on with my right hand, clutching my wiping tissues in my left hand, holding the door closed with the top of my head, biting my boarding pass and passport in my teeth.

It's really something when you look forward to the airplane flights because the airplane toilet is the best one you?ll have all day.

Photo is of my friend and me demonstrating the correct way to squat.

Don't even get me started on what it's like to make a doo-doo in this country.