Loo, Loo, skip to the Loo

Ok, the toilets in Central Asia deserve their very own special mention here. They're a pretty big part of our day (some days more than others!) so we don't always appreciate the sheer variety of them....

~ The ultimate is the classic western toilet with a seat and everything. Bonus if it's actually indoors and double bonus if it flushes! We've only seen 4-5 of these gems on our trip.

~ Mid-range is the classic western toilet without a seat or the outdoor sitter. Also fairly uncommon.

~ The classic is the outdoor squatter. Usually placed far enough from the house that you need to bundle up before every night-time excursion and usually have to dodge a snarling dog en route. The hole is usually diamond shaped and there are raised foot-holds on either side. Aim is a bit of an issue in these. Now for a bit of a rant. Jodie and I have only been here for 2 months, and we've more or lessed mastered the art of aiming at a squatter.... WHY CAN LOCALS NOT DO THIS?!?!?! I mean they've grown up with these and they still seem to get more crap around the hole than in it.

~ The icky-yucky, bottom of the barrel option is the public indoor squatter. Same aim problems as with outdoor sqatters, but maybe it just seems worse because it's on a white ceramic squatter rather than a brown wood one. I don't know, but these ones make me feel like I need to use hand sanitizer up to my elbows. Oddly, they're the ones you have to pay for. At every entrance, there's a woman collecting about 20 cents per person and handing you far too little toilet paper*.

* A note on toilet paper: All but the public squatters are BYOTP so we usually tote a whole roll around with us every day. In Kyrgyzstan, the toilet paper is more like sand-paper. In Tajikistan, it's a little softer but flimsy so you need to use a lot to make sure at least some layer in there holds together!

** Finding a toilet (of any kind) with walls AND a door is a treat. In many cases, there are 2-3 holes in a row. Even in co-ed bathrooms! I wasn't sure if anyone actually used the toilet side by side (we're talking like 2 feet apart with nothing between you) until the night in Jelandy. After I waited for a man to finish smoking and squatting in the women's (awkward), I went in to do my business. On the other side of the thin wall, I could hear at least 3 men smoking and talking...and grunting and flatulating!

I hope nobody was reading this over dinner and sorry if anyone finds it in poor taste. But really, don't most of us appreciate a good toilet story?!

Christine