Beijing: The Facilities
Yes, it's a little bit of a disgusting topic but if you want the real China experience, it really is a big part of it. I'll try to keep it short.
As with every trip I take, especially to HK/China, I end up going to the washroom a lot. This exposed me to many different types of toilets. The most extravagant was like our usual Canadian toilets. The least extravagant was seriously and literally a hole in the ground outside. That was extremely gross and I hope I never have to go through that again. But this wasn't even more disgusting a hole in the ground when it's indoors. At least when it's outdoors, it doesn't smell.
But as it is notorious in China, majority of the toilets is the squatting kind. So you have to squat down. I'm pretty much used to it since I did spent time in HK/China before. But for many people, it's not the norm and they're not used to it. I have one story that I want to share about this. During one of the Olympic games (I think it was the Waterpolo game), I was in line for the washroom between games and there were 3 Canadians in front of me. They were all waiting for the sitting stalls. They wait for a really really long time but the stalls with the actual toilet just weren't becoming available. Only the squatting ones were available. Two of them said "I am NOT squatting." and left. I couldn't believe that they wouldn't do it even though it's part of the culture. To be honest, they're lucky that there are even stalls with toilets in them. Most other places don't have them. I wonder how they managed during the rest of their trip....
The most shocking thing I experienced in terms of facilities was that the toilet and shower shared the same space. I don't mean just in the same room. But actually sharing the SAME SPACE. The place I was living, you can actually sit on the toilet while in the shower. I didn't do that but it was tempting at times since the room was so small. At least at the hotel we stayed at, there was a curtain to "separate" the toilet from the shower. It was still sharing the same floor.... I'm surprised that the room doesn't get flooded and water's not everywhere after a shower.... It was definitely a different experience.
Edit: Okay, another rather funny/gross story. My parents got a really good laugh out of it. Wherever we happened to be, there were bound to be kids. Well, once, I saw a kid whose pants had a giant whole in it. So I told mom "That kid's pants are ripped." My mom just laughed at me. She said "It's not ripped. It's meant to be that way." I ask "Why?" She said "That way, the kids don't have to pull down their pants to go to the washroom." So, it's for easy access. and there are LOTS of kids that have this. Funny? Gross? You decide.
As with every trip I take, especially to HK/China, I end up going to the washroom a lot. This exposed me to many different types of toilets. The most extravagant was like our usual Canadian toilets. The least extravagant was seriously and literally a hole in the ground outside. That was extremely gross and I hope I never have to go through that again. But this wasn't even more disgusting a hole in the ground when it's indoors. At least when it's outdoors, it doesn't smell.
But as it is notorious in China, majority of the toilets is the squatting kind. So you have to squat down. I'm pretty much used to it since I did spent time in HK/China before. But for many people, it's not the norm and they're not used to it. I have one story that I want to share about this. During one of the Olympic games (I think it was the Waterpolo game), I was in line for the washroom between games and there were 3 Canadians in front of me. They were all waiting for the sitting stalls. They wait for a really really long time but the stalls with the actual toilet just weren't becoming available. Only the squatting ones were available. Two of them said "I am NOT squatting." and left. I couldn't believe that they wouldn't do it even though it's part of the culture. To be honest, they're lucky that there are even stalls with toilets in them. Most other places don't have them. I wonder how they managed during the rest of their trip....
The most shocking thing I experienced in terms of facilities was that the toilet and shower shared the same space. I don't mean just in the same room. But actually sharing the SAME SPACE. The place I was living, you can actually sit on the toilet while in the shower. I didn't do that but it was tempting at times since the room was so small. At least at the hotel we stayed at, there was a curtain to "separate" the toilet from the shower. It was still sharing the same floor.... I'm surprised that the room doesn't get flooded and water's not everywhere after a shower.... It was definitely a different experience.
Edit: Okay, another rather funny/gross story. My parents got a really good laugh out of it. Wherever we happened to be, there were bound to be kids. Well, once, I saw a kid whose pants had a giant whole in it. So I told mom "That kid's pants are ripped." My mom just laughed at me. She said "It's not ripped. It's meant to be that way." I ask "Why?" She said "That way, the kids don't have to pull down their pants to go to the washroom." So, it's for easy access. and there are LOTS of kids that have this. Funny? Gross? You decide.