In defense of squat toilets 保卫“蹲式”厕所

There are two subjects that seem to come up most oftenin travel-related stories and they are both closely-related daily activities.Food is obviously a big talking point as tourists sample the many weird andwonderful delights of the local cuisine.

But it's not only how the food goes down but thecircumstances you find yourself in as it come out that can provide the bestmaterial for trip tales. If you've reach your 30s without collecting a grossoverseas toilet story, if you haven't undertaken a desperate search forfacilities in the middle of nowhere after eating a dodgy kebab or made the mistakeof peering into the dark void beneath your perch, then you've been doingholidays wrong.

When I tell people aboutChina, hot pot and hutong toiletsare on high rotation. Rather than boring them with sight-seeing, I aim to entertain with descriptions of thevarious animal parts available at hotpot restaurants and the need to abandonany notion of privacy in the cubicle-less hutong toilets.

This may seem juvenile, but the difference in howvarious countries approach the necessities of life make the best trip talesbecause they take you beyond the tourist attractions everyone sees in thebrochures and give you a glimpse of real life.

Late last year, China announced plans to spend $290 billion on tourismover the next four years. A "toilet revolution" headlined theinvestment. In response to constant complaints about the state of  facilities, about 100,000 public toiletsacross the country are set for a foreigner-friendly makeover.

I'm all for improved sanitation, especiallywhen in someplaces whererural communities rely on public toilets as much as tourists, but it's unclearfrom the announcement what the new baseline standard is.  

Given the emphasis on tourists, I fear this money willbe spent replacing squat toilets with western style sit-down facilities.

Squat toilets have a bad reputation in the westernworld. They've become synonymous with dirty and smelly. Sure, there are putridsquat toilets out there, just like any country has a range of maintenanceissues no matter what shape the bowl is. When you get beyondAustralia'smajor cities you're just as likely to come across dingy public toilets withcracked seats and creepy crawlies lurking in the corners. In these situationsit's probably preferable to find a squat toilet where only the soles of yourshoes come into contact with any surfaces.

This advantage from a hygiene point of view, not tomention the added workout for your leg muscles, is under-rated. There's alsomuch less dilly-dallying on a squat toilet which can only be a good thing atbusy tourist attractions and experts say it's a more natural position to doyour business.

Just like you've got to try duck blood at least oncewhen you're doing hot pot, tourists should give the squat toilet a go. It mightbe a little confronting at first, but you might be pleasantlysurprised. And it will make for much more interesting travel stories.