U.K. PARURESIS TRUST: Re: Thailand / East - Squat and communal toilets

Hi all,

I've had some concerns regarding the state of the public commodes here in Taiwan. Apparently word has been spreading that the public toilets here are merely holes in the ground. It is understandable where this logic comes from. But the truth will dispel any notions of people squatting over earth in public restrooms.

To begin, all households are basically equipped with western toilets, similar to the one you've sat on recently. However, when it comes to public restrooms, my opinion is that not many people (living here in Taiwan) are interested in trusting some 19 or 66 yr-old minimum-wage-earner to keep the public commode cleanliness up to a standard that would be acceptable to touch the skin even of their rear-end. I have enough evidence (from more than a single source) that even when provided with a western toilet, women in Taiwan generally prefer to remain 'above the toilet'.

All this background information points me toward the reasoning that people in public areas of Taiwan would prefer not to touch the toilet when 'using the toilet'. It is my opinion that this is one of the main reasons that the squat toilet is in such proliferation in public areas.

Now, onto a description of the squat toilet. The squat toilet used often in public areas of Taiwan is not simply a hole. It is a porcelain structure that has two main sections. The first section, is the water tank. This generally mounted on the wall, often at or above head level. There is a standard string hanging down which activates the flushing mechanism. The second and much more interesting section of the toilet is difficult to explain in words. It looks like a 2 1/2 foot long elongated cake pan with a lip at the front. The lip at the end is like a rounded windshield. When male commode-users are squatting and facing this windshield, it will protect the floor from any misguided 'rain'. The entire 'pan' excluding the 'lip' is sunk down into the floor, or more often the floor is raised around the toilet and users step up when entering the stalls.

The benefits are this style toilet (which is of substantial size and most likely $) is that nothing but your shoes must touch anything of questionable cleanliness in any public restroom. I think this is a major benefit that needs repeating. No one has to sit on anyone else's urine in other words.
Since there is no water in the toilet before the strong flush of water, your movement will not splash and will be plainly visible for those interested in inspection.
Go to any colonic clinic and you'll soon learn that knees-up is a much better position for complete elimination. Squat toilets are definitely a knees-up experience.
A drawback I have unfortunately found with the squatters is that when used as urinals for standing men, there is too much degree of splash. However, the simple solution here is simply to use the provided urinals.

I hope that all this has given a clear view of the toilet services in Taiwan. There is a large push in China right now to prepare for the Olympics that there are more and cleaner public restrooms.