Because Asia is prone to squat toilets, I’ve been calling anything with a seat a western toilet. Now that I really have one again, I am amazed at the difference, especially in the way that is flushes. It really does seem like an incredible waste of water, emptying the whole bowl and refilling it with new water every time. That probably doesn’t sound strange to you. You’re probably thinking, why is Bekki explaining to me how a toilet works from the other side of the world?
What’s strange to me is that in China, there are two buttons on the top instead of a handle. Pressing two on the top is a stronger flush than just one. I hadn’t realized how used to this I had become.
They also use much less paper here. If it is provided in public bathrooms, which is rare, there is one dispenser on the outside. They also often share sinks in a common space between the male and female bathrooms. In Malaysia there’s almost never toilet paper, and in lieu of a flush you run the hose down the squat toilet. Sometimes they gven charge you 20 cents RM just to use the bathrooms.
What’s interesting in both Beijing, KL and Penang is that there are a lot more public bathrooms than NYC. They don’t need to find the Starbucks on every corner like New Yorkers.
Slightly related is the awesome design of Malaysia’s electrical sockets. Each one has a switch, like a light switch, which turn the power on and off. We all know by now that plugging in our electrical appliances uses power even when the device is turned off, but it’s often difficult or just annoying to unplug everything from the wall when you leave the room. In Malaysia you can save energy just by flipping a switch. Genius!
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