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Those of you who have been around a while may recall my attempt to do a "bog blog" last year when my husband and I travelled to Nepal. My intention was to report back on my various toilet experiences along the way, knowing that I was likely to meet some challenges. You may also recall that the Nepal earthquake intervened and my planned bog blog didn't happen.
Following that trip, probably not surprisingly, our travel confidence took a bit of a blow. Other things happened in life, as they do, but now it feels like the time to get back to travelling again.
It would probably be sensible to go somewhere not too far, fairly westernised (in terms of toilets), somewhere where English is widely spoken and understood. But a very tempting last minute offer for India found its way into my inbox...... and that's where we're heading at the weekend. I know it will have its challenges - it will be a busy trip so there will sometimes be time pressures for using the toilet, sometimes the toilets will be squats which I find difficult, not to mention the flights, but here goes anyway - wish me luck!
What a challenge, Ann, in view of your experiences in Nepal! You are very brave. I certainly wish you luck and will be thinking of you! Your eventual 'bog blog' should be interesting!
Well we have returned from our trip to India. We are not exactly rested - it was a whistlestop tour of palaces, forts, towers, mosques and temples, including the wonderful Taj Mahal which was every bit as beautiful as I'd hoped. What an amazing building - I really think it is not an exaggeration to say that it is the most beautiful building I've ever seen. The poverty that surrounded it in the towns and cities was immensely sad and thought-provoking though.
The outward journey was a bit wobbly in the toilet department. I wasn't able to get an aisle seat so was stuck inside - not my preferred position. The flight was a night flight so for 4 or 5 hours of the journey the plane lights were off and most people were sleeping. There was some turbulence somewhere over eastern Europe so the pilot put on the seatbelt sign. Fair enough, but he seemed to forget to switch it off again - the turbulence passed but still the seatbelt light remained on. One or 2 people began to get up to use the toilet but the cabin crew sent them back to their seats. After a while I really did need to use the toilet and politely ask the lady next to me if I could get out. She refused to unfasten her seatbelt and said that I would have to wait! So I waited a while, still the light remained on. The lady next to me appeared to sleep and my bladder grew fuller with every passing moment. Enough was enough, I tried to wake her to let me through but she remained asleep (or was she pretending....?). Nothing for it but to climb over her, which I started to do! At this point she grumpily woke up and let me through! Cabin crew saw me go to the toilet and just let me get on with it so I can only assume the pilot had simply forgotten. There was only me, no queue, but I was a little stressed so it took me a while to relax enough to pee but eventually I succeeded and returned, much more comfortable to my seat. Needless to say my neighbour and I didn't exchange any further words!
During the rest of the trip I found the toilets a little better than I'd expected. I managed to avoid the dreaded squat toilets and was always able to use a western one. Admittedly some of them were not very clean - it was wise to roll your trouser legs up before going in the cubicle otherwise you ended up with wet and dirty trouser bottoms.
Often there was no lighting so it was difficult to function. Usually in circumstances like that you would feel your way around but believe me that was not a good prospect in there. In one toilet (don't read on if you are of a delicate disposition!) I used the facilities and there appeared to be some fabric hanging on the back of the door which I assumed was a towel, so dried my hands on it a little cautiously before following up with sanitising hand gel. It wasn't until I opened the door to let some light in that I realised I'd just dried my hands on a pair of men's underpants hanging on the back of the door!
I managed to avoid queues completely (often a problem for me) by sneaking off when the guide was talking and everyone was too distracted to notice me. My husband is well used to that so filled me in on the information I'd missed when I got back.
All in all it was a pretty manageable trip and I've returned with my confidence boosted somewhat.
What a very interesting trip, Ann, and thanks so much for sharing with everyone in such detail. It is good to know you feel your confidence has been boosted by the experiences you had and you managed to overcome some very awkward situations, with which I can totally emphasise. However you coped a lot better than I would have been able to! Well done.