Unpacked Goes to the Potty

Alright, Im going to deal with a "smelly" issue but one that strikes fear into the hearts of even the most hardened traveler: weird bathrooms. This is all brought on because I kind of chuckled the other day when a friend of mine posted a picture of a "gross" toilet in Hong Kong and it looked just like the one in my house. The toilet bowl half filled with water weirded her out. Conversely, when she showed me a picture of her toilet at home I told her how we hated those toilets. She couldn't believe it. To each their own we decided.

It's always a bit of a harrowing experience when you are on a trip and come across facilities that are, well, less than stellar. If you're traveling with little ones it's even worse because they don't always understand that this is IT. (Actually, it may potentially be worse with teenagers because they are more prone to be grossed out but seeing as Maya s only 4 I have ten more years to desensitize her. ) Maya and I had some "fun" times in China dealing with their public bathrooms as 90% of the bathrooms there have squatting toilets not to mention they usually left a lot to be desired in the cleanliness department. If you think changing a diaper on an airplane is hard, try getting a wriggly preschooler to squat over a toilet and not hit anything!

Sometimes the bathroom may have normal fixtures but be dark as a cave. Ive gone in ones where you practically needed a flashlight to find your way around. I wont even talk about the most evil of all evils, the port a john. That would just be too much for you tender readers. Then there are the ones that have no working sinks or where you have to pay just for the pleasure of having toilet paper. Those are awesome

I know this isnt the most pretty of topics to write about but hey, Im here to help. I'm suffering for YOU! OK, maybe not but I'm sounding the warning call at least. Be prepared for ANYTHING when you're on travel, especially weird bathrooms.