The woes of toilet business in Southeast Asia
Yes, you read that right: I peed on my foot.
And don’t pretend you’re not interested in my toilet business. Even though none of you dared to comment on my What We Do In The Ladies Room post, you sure had a lot to say about it in private emails.
Foot-pee’ing is an amateur backpacker hazard in Asia. Of course, this only applies to females. Guys, you don’t need me to tell you you’ve got it pretty easy when it comes to toilet business. We ladies don’t exactly have the benefit of “aim” that you boys have. We can’t just pee anywhere (believe me, I’ve tried). I don’t like to think of myself as an amateur backpacker after 13 months on the road. But I have yet to master the art of the aim.
As many times as I’ve used a bush toilet on camping trips/long hikes, and used a standard Asian squat toilet (aka a hole in the ground), I’ve yet to strategize the perfect splash-free angle. It is damn tricky!
So yeah. I peed on my foot the other night. Well, splashed is more like it. I was out drinking with some new Vietnamese friends at one of those street-side hangouts where I already knew the restroom was gonna be a hole in the ground. So I was trying to hold it til I got home.
But my tinkle basket was full to the brim. It was either: hold it despite the pain (and possibly pay for it later with a dreaded UTI – my ladies know what I’m talkin’ about – ouch!)…or just go.
It was a go. And it was a marathon go.
And any good statistician can tell you that the longer the tinkle, the higher the splash probability.
It wasn’t pretty, folks. That’s all I’m gonna say.
Splish splash.
Lol! First of all, let me tell you that U GOOOO GRRRL!! lol second! i didnt know i could respond to ur lil stories!!!! lol I am new at this! ….Anywho, third and lastly! yes! although i have not peed on my foot! ive peed on the side of a freeway! with upcoming traffic head lights on my face!….i guess it was ok, cuz i was drunk! I was celebrating my 21 b-day!!! Sofi knows!! lol 😉 oh by the way thanks for the lil adventures keep the keyboard running!
This is my daily dilemma, especially since I’ve been traveling in China. Aside from having trouble “aiming,” failing at it, and basically peeing all over my feet (once I even got splash-back on my face! That was a horrible day…), in China I also have to worry about other people watching me do all this as the squat toilets do NOT have doors! Oh, the daily horrors!
Hi, there is something called a She Wee. Its handy when you need to go standing up, discreetly etc. Only just discovered your blog when searching for info on Vietnam, I’m going in a few days time and can’t wait 🙂