![3bmjefe9fc.jpg](https://img.esteem.ws/3bmjefe9fc.jpg)


The toilet in Thailand is not like the toilet in the West. It’s not like the last toilet you visited in Thailand either. No two are the same. They have some similarities. But you never know what you are going to get until you get there.

It’s like this in all of SE Asia. I was with a friend here in Kuala Lumpur, and asked where the bathroom was in a place we were shopping. “Are you sure? We are not know for our toilets in Malaysia, and I would not go in the place.” 

So I held on until later. If my knowledgeable Malaysian friend won't go there, neither will I.

Some toilets are “squat” toilets. You stand on them and – yes squat. I have done it many more times than I care to remember, especially in Northern Thailand where tourists never go. For an old lady with arthritis who did not grow up squatting as a way to sit, I am not too bad at the balancing act if I do say so myself. 

I still prefer what I grew up with. Often there is one Western toilet and several of the squat variety, so I have to wait. 

In airports and train stations they have signs like on my poster today. People traveling from villages might never have seen a western toilet and do not know how to use it. Or they just do not like to use it that  way. Seeing footprints on the toilet seat is not surprising to me now.

You need to carry tissue packets here. Toilet paper may not be provided and often is not provimded since most people do not use it. They use a “bum gun” which is a hose hooked to a faucet next to the facility. 

![lykqfrcio5.jpg](https://img.esteem.ws/lykqfrcio5.jpg)


Or they use a dipping pail in a bucket of water.

![caxpb8wx91.jpg](https://img.esteem.ws/caxpb8wx91.jpg)


The shudder you just did is what the do when they think of wiping paper in that area.

“Would you clean mud off your floor with dry paper?” 







My post is for the freewrite weekend single prompt challenge by @mariannewest. Freewrite is a great way to post on steem when you do not think you have the time, or talent, or anything to say. Start regular posting on steemit here. I know you can do this too! Here is [Marianne’s freewrite prompt post for today](https://steemit.com/freewrite/@mariannewest/weekend-freewrite-7-6-2019-single-prompt-option). Give it a try and surprise yourself.