Toilets in Thailand

I will admit that one of my biggest fears before traveling to Thailand was the taking care of business in the bathroom. I knew that Asia was famous for its squat toilets, and it was recommended to bring our own toilet paper. That would take a little adjustment, but wasn't an issue.

The bigger issue: Thai's warn tourists not to put their toilet paper in the toilet, but rather, in the trash can! Apparently the sewer system of Thailand can't handle the extra bulk of sanitation paper, and a simple act of flushing your used tissue down the tank might result in a clogged pipe. And I didn't want that! But, tossing the tissue in the trash could become a stinky proposition. I think you understand my dilemma.

Anytime we travel to another country, they may do things differently. That's part of the experience and a component of what I love about traveling.

We only stayed in Thailand for two weeks. Many of the toilets I encountered were in hotels, which of course are catered to tourists. But I tried to “explore” as many others as I could, even if that meant just walking inside to check it out. For what it's worth, here are a few pictures that illustrate my experience with toilets in Thailand.

This is a typical toilet that you will find in hotels and most pubic restrooms. The hose on the left has a jet spray that will get you cleaner than any bathroom tissue (in my opinion). The toilet paper can be used to dab yourself dry. This way, very little is used, and it is clean when you throw it in the trash can. (Notice the sign on the wall.)

This is the other type of toilet you may encounter: a squat toilet. Although the government is trying to fade away the squatter because of Thailand's aging population, they are still quite prominent, especially the further away from the city you go. This one had a jet spray, and everything was very wet with water when I walked in.

The best place to find a toilet outside your hotel room is to take advantage of public places and tourist sites such as train stations, malls, and popular temples and shrines. Always carry spare change, usually from three to ten baht, as many of these places charge for use.

You may encounter a squat toilet like this one, with no jet spray, and no apparent way to flush it. I am not an expert on this, but I believe you use a ladle of water and your left hand to clean your underparts. Sounds fun, right?! Then you dump a bucket of water into the hole to flush the waste.

If for some reason you forget the process, you might find a reminder on the bathroom mirror. 

The next three pictures all come from a small eating establishment/house on the back-roads of Krabi Provence. It is a comfortable sit-down toilet with jet spray for cleaning and bucket for flushing.

I thought the PVC plumbing was interesting. Just twist open the valve to flush the urinal.

Backed up to get the broader view, we can see the PVC pipes are hooked up to the sink also. This bathroom has a bar of soap in a holder at the upper left side of the sink. This doesn't happen too often. Always bring a small bottle of hand sanitizer everywhere you go!

This bathroom is exactly half way up the 1,237 stairs leading to the Buddhist shrine of Wat Tham Suea. It is always important to be thinking ahead when it comes to using the loo, and to take advantage whenever you can. Most public bathrooms (but not all) have some of their signs in English. I never had a problem figuring out which was the mens and which the womens.

Sometimes you may be surprised and find a toilet where you least expect it, like this squat toilet just off the alley of a back-street. It is very rudimentary: no jet spray, no toilet paper, no flusher. It has a hose, which you could use your thumb to create a jet spray.

Lastly, this is a squat toilet at the airport in Beijing on our way home. I include it to point out that Thailand seems to be “ahead” of China in this regard, as I saw no squat toilets at the three airports I visited in Thailand. This had a jet spray and paper, but no trash can to put the paper into. So what did I do? I put my small piece in the toilet and tried flushing it. The flushing suction was so weak that it took five times to get it down! Looking back on it, I was probably supposed to carry it out of the stall and throw it in the trash can.

On a lighter note, the farangs aren't the only people who have a hard time figuring out another culture's toilet system. I recently read an article that told of a problem in Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks, where the seats in their pit toilets were mysteriously breaking at the hinges. After some sleuth work, it was discovered that Asians were standing on the seats and using them as squat toilets! Ha, ha, ha! It's probably just as funny to us as it is for them when we try flushing paper down their toilets and clog it up. ♠