Frequently seen, rarely honoured - a tribute to the toilets of the world
####*An occasionally updated collection of toilets from around the world!* *Reader contributions most welcome*
Yes, it is what it looks like. A hole in a bare room. A bare, stinking room without toilet paper
And another one. Vladivostok, June, 2014.
But it doesn't have an internal lock, so the door swings open. Vladivostok, June, 2014.
A man's toilet. Suifenxe, June, 2014
Beijing has some pretty swish - and free! - public toilets in the central area
Beijing, June, 2014
Beijing, June, 2014
A toilet with instructions! Beijing, June, 2014.
If anyone can provide guidance on what this might possibly be about, please contact me! Bejing, May, 2014.
Chinese trains
Chinese trains deserve their whole own sub-section, so here it is, from various trains Chinese trains between Hanoi, Vietnam and Suifenxe, China. May and June, 2014.
At one end of each carriage is drinking water - boiling hot for tea or instant noodles. Each compartment is provided with a thermos to store the hot water in. If you want cold water ... you just have to wait!
At the same end is a washroom with three basins and cold water on tap. And a big rubbish bin and recycling at the end usually.
Also at the same end is a western-style toilet.
And at the other end a squat toilet.
And the squeaky clean toilets of a high-speed train.
And everywhere are 'idiosyncratic' translations.
Public toilet in the 'fresh beer' area of central Saigon. May, 2014.
And a squeezier version! Hanoi, May, 2014.
A roomier version of the all-in-one wet toilet. Includes shower, toilet, washbasin and bin! - room to clean your clothes too. Chau Doc, Vietnam, May, 2014.
I'm one of them.
And here go the Gentements. Saigon restaurant, May, 2014.
Another wet - but clean - toilet in Cambodia. Phnom Penh, May, 2014.
In case you didn't know ... Toilet at a bus stop Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville. May, 2014.
Not a toilet, but the first reader submission, so I'll relax my stringent rules!!
Siobhan says "Permanently running shower in Talknafjordur, in the westfjords of Iceland. Nice and steamy, piped up directly from the middle of our little planet, on the edge of a cliff overlooking the fjord."
The third-class toilets in the morning train from Bangkok to the Cambodian border. May, 2014.
The toilets at our bus stop between the Thai/Cambodian border and Siem Reap. May, 2014.
The rocking toilet in the sleeping car of the Butterworth - Bangkok overnight service. May, 2014.
I had to post an extra few photos of the wonderful shared toilets and bathroom at the lovely Chulia Heritage Hotel in Georgetown, Penang. Not only spotlessly clean but an innovative and effective use of limited space. "Top marks Chulia!"
The sometimes challenging toilet aboard the day train from Singapore to Butterworth (Penang). May, 2014)
The public toilets in the wonderful Tekka centre in Singapore's Little India. May, 2014.
Singapore's Asphodel Hotel, near Little India
The spotless toilets of the overpriced and under-impressive Raffles Hotel public bar
The second-class toilets aboard the Pelni ferry KM Kelud, heading from Jakarta to Batam (just off Singapore). May, 2014.
The toilets aboard Train no. 1, the Argo Bromo Anggrek, day train from Surabaya to Jakarta. May, 2014.
Not quite a toilet (which is over the wall behind the mirror), but a bathroom. The lovely facilities at Barry's eco-resort on Atauro Island, East Timor. April, 2014.