Squat Toilets

I was checking out beijing on the web when i ran into this site: http://www.beijingtraveltips.com

Pretty interesting site; it seems to be aimed at westerners visiting the chinese capital. But what really caught my attention was this article.

The first few lines go,

What can we say ? .. This kind of toilet is still in abundance in Beijing and there is no sign of it going away very quickly.

That really left me bemused. I had no idea the kind of toilet you have is a sign of backwardness, or whatever you call it. But given a dirty squat toilet and a dirty toilet bowl, i'll have the squat version anytime (no, actually i'll rather hold). And dun get me started on the toilet bowl; i think it's one of the worst inventions EVER.

The article finishes with this advice:

Unless you're insanely curious. We would recommend you give this style of toilet a miss. It requires a great amount of effort and leg muscle to use. Hold it till you get back to your hotel !

That probably explains why my legs will never grow fat. Yes, I have a squat toilet at home. And from now on i'll think twice about letting any westerners into my house, lest they think we're really really ancient people.

Just one more week to go! :D