Topic: The trip continues

[ren]

I just finished a six week stint in India and got to Bangkok today. I was traveling with a friend in India and was supposed to keep traveling with him for a month more but his passport expires in less than six months so he was denied entry and sent back home. So now I'm here by myself. Not a bad situation but it would've been nice to do all this with my friend.

In India I was at one point within a few hundred meters of the Pakistan border. I waved to Pugnate just in case.

I've been traveling all night and need to sleep soon, but first, fun facts:

-There's lots of stray dogs here. They've arranged into packs and seem more like wolves than dogs. At night times when it was extra hot we'd sleep on the roof to stay cool. This was fine except the dogs would get into fights and howl at the moon all night.

-40C without air conditioning is easier to adjust to than you would think.

-The water pressure is really low and runs out during the day. We'd have showers by filling buckets of water in the morning when the pressure was still high. bathing from a bucket is awesome. Using as little water as possible to bathe and then dumping a bucket of water over your head is the greatest feeling ever.

-I've gotten used to squat toilets and water. Going back to western toilets and toilet paper seems like a big step back.

[Pugnate]

What part of India are you in, without air-conditioning and normal toilets and running water? And where you have to sleep on the roof at night?

I actually fear for your health a little. Be careful about the water you drink. Either drink Nestle bottled water or drink tap water boiled.

Regarding the stray dogs, I laughed at that. I found that odd as well.

The other thing I found odd was how thin people are here. It is a sharp contrast from the fat Western world.

I do agree that toilet paper sucks. In Muslim countries you have a mini hand shower kinda thing that fires water at high pressure for when you are done on the toilet. Much better.

Here is sorta what part of my washroom looks like:

[Cobra951]

And in Europe, they have bidets.  I miss those from Puerto Rico.  Here, they're nearly nonexistent.

[idolminds]

We don't have those because if it was a public restroom some asshole would set it up to spray everywhere.

[Pugnate]

We had a bidet in our apartment when I was a kid. No one used it.

It works, but isn't hygienic. The problem is that it is directly under the... umm... exit hole. So what ever lands... lands on the bidet spray.

[Cobra951]

How exactly were you trying to use it?

[Ghandi]

The only downside I see to using toilet paper is the environmental impact. Other than that, I will stick to tp over a hose in my ass any day.

And don't even get me started on bidets.

[ren]

What part of India are you in, without air-conditioning and normal toilets and running water? And where you have to sleep on the roof at night?

I actually fear for your health a little. Be careful about the water you drink. Either drink Nestle bottled water or drink tap water boiled.

Regarding the stray dogs, I laughed at that. I found that odd as well.

The other thing I found odd was how thin people are here. It is a sharp contrast from the fat Western world.

I do agree that toilet paper sucks. In Muslim countries you have a mini hand shower kinda thing that fires water at high pressure for when you are done on the toilet. Much better.

Here is sorta what part of my washroom looks like:

I was in a small town just outside of Chandigarh (the capital of Punjab and Haryana) living with my mom's side of the family. They have an air conditioner in one room which is used on especially hot days but I didn't like going it it because I find the temperature difference between hot and cold far more annoying than just being in the heat.

They have normal toilets and squat toilets. I prefer the squat ones though so using that was by choice.

There is running water, just not enough pressure during the day to run a shower. And of course I drink bottled water or filtered water and not the tap stuff. I made one mistake by having a drink with ice and got sick from the ice cubes but other than that slip-up I haven't had any issues with illness

I guess it sounds a bit grim in my original post but it actually wasn't bad.

We had a bidet in our apartment when I was a kid. No one used it.

It works, but isn't hygienic. The problem is that it is directly under the... umm... exit hole. So what ever lands... lands on the bidet spray.

If you're referring to the same kind they have in India, that's not a typical European bidet. The ones that these guys are referring to are probably a separate device that's not attached to the toilet.

On another note, the red light district in Bangkok is one of the craziest things I have ever seen. It goes so much further and is so much more open than any other similar area I've seen.

[Pugnate]

How exactly were you trying to use it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bidet

[Cobra951]

OK.  So I guess I don't understand the problem.  This doesn't replace TP for me.  It's just added hygene.

[Pugnate]

A bidet may also be a nozzle attached to an existing toilet, or a part of the toilet itself. In this case, its use is restricted to cleaning the anus and genitals.

Never used it, but hope this is enough to clear any confusion.

I don't care how well you clean that. If it has been below another person's anus, I don't want to use it.



edit:

They have normal toilets and squat toilets. I prefer the squat ones though so using that was by choice.

They say that squat toilets are significantly better for bowel movements, and result in lower cancer risks in older age.

Having said that, I hate them.

[Xessive]

Oh man, haha Pug only you can fully understand my plight when I'm in Canada! I had to take shower every time I took a #2. Eventually, I got a jug of water and kept it beside the loo.

[scottws]

There is no way a spray of water gets everything off.  I'm just thinking of spraying down my car with water from a hose.  It is still dirty after I do that.  Or do you also use soap with a bidet?

That said, I doubt some swipes with toilet paper fully does it either.

[Pugnate]

Well, no, it isn't just the hand spray that is used.

As for a bidet, I am not sure.

[Xessive]

It depends, if I'm on a bidet (like here) yes I use soap. But with the water hose I wash it down and then wipe with toilet paper. I just need the water to properly clean the zone. Wiping it dry just doesn't do it.. If anything it just smears it.. ew.. sorry for that image.

[Cobra951]

What a shitty topic of discussion. 

Yes, water is essential, with or without special implements like a bidet.

[gpw11]

-40C without air conditioning is easier to adjust to than you would think.

Is it humid?  For some reason, I can't handle humidity at all.  It could be 22 C with high humidity and I'll be miserable, but I can handle temps a lot higher than that if it's just dry and sunny.

[Cools!]

Dunno, bidets aren't as prevalent in Europe as people think here. I lived there for a long time and I don't think I've ever seen one in your average home, heck can't even remember the last time I've actually seen one...

There are plenty of squat toilets in southern France, so I hear. No thanks, if I want to feel like an animal, I'll go take a dump outside (and I have thought about it out of revenge).

[ren]

Is it humid?  For some reason, I can't handle humidity at all.  It could be 22 C with high humidity and I'll be miserable, but I can handle temps a lot higher than that if it's just dry and sunny.

It's monsoon season so it's pretty humid. I was having trouble with it until I was without air conditioning for a while.

[scottws]

Is it humid?  For some reason, I can't handle humidity at all.  It could be 22 C with high humidity and I'll be miserable, but I can handle temps a lot higher than that if it's just dry and sunny.

I got married in June in a non air-conditioned, mid-1800's era building.  It was extremely humid the day of our wedding and it was pretty miserable inside the building.  There were several Arizonians there, used to summer temperatures averaging in the 100's (F) under an unending hot sun.  Jennie, who used to visit them in Arizona every summer, always said "You know how people say 'It's a dry heat and therefore not so bad' about Arizona?  That's bullshit.  It is ridiculously hot!"  But they were suffering worse than anyone.  Luckily, Jennie's family from Colorado wasn't there.  I think they might have melted.

When we checked out the facility in June the year before, it was hot outside but not inside because it wasn't humid and the thick stone kept the temperature well-regulated.  We just weren't so lucky for the real deal.

As far as squat toilets, I read about them and they seem pretty primitive to me.  I guess they are supposed to be better for your body somehow but smell really bad.  I am fine with my Western toilet.