I’ve posted about squatting before, but ‘squat’ is one of those rare words that has three pretty different meanings, I wonder which was the first one to come to your mind when you saw the title: staying in an empty abandoned house, the squatting exercise or a type of toilet found in China?
Well today’s post is about the latter, and it might get a bit graphic, you’ve been warned!
Squat toilets are pretty common in China, most of the public toilets you’ll find are squats as they’re believed to be healthier and more sanitary than the ‘western’ toilets. They have a very particular smell and are often where I see the worst in Chinese people, things like not cleaning up after themselves, dirty tissues in an overflowing bin and also elderly women squatting out a number two in a cubicle with no doors. I could go into more details, but some of the stuff I’ve seen is mentally scarring so it’s best for me not to relive those memories.
I moved into a new flat and it is truly Chinese, right down to the toilet. The change from a ‘normal’ toilet to a squat, actually hasn’t been as bad as I first expected. Public squat toilets smell awful, so I thought mine would also smell, but cleaning it regularly keeps that distinctive smell away. There was always the worry of splashback in squat toilets, but after living in China for a long time, I’ve kind of cracked that one now and it’s easier to manage.
I feel a lot healthier in regards to my bodily functions, let’s say. Pooing on a squat toilet is actually easier than in a regular toilet, and cos there’s no water in the basin, you don’t have to worry about that splash back of water (or pee) on your bum. Squat toilets have a big hole for all the waste to go down, so you don’t have to worry about bad plumbing and getting a blocked toilet either, which is a common problem with western toilets.
For any of you who aren’t too familiar with squat toilets and think that they’re just a whole in the ground, they are actually quite sanitary in the fact that there is a flush, so everything does get cleaned after each use.
Have you got a squat toilet? Would you be able to adapt to having one in your home?
My L(e)onely Planet 
I still can’t do my business in a squat toilet. Nothing comes out xDD But I guess if I had one at home I would need to get used to it, or explode, hahaha!
Haha, yes, it’s just about getting used to it!
We had one in our first Chinese flat, i totally got used to it too. Agree that it’s better for you and it’s not any different to clean. Living in China i think we can pretty much adapt to anything 🙂
Yes, it’s definitely one of the things to get used to that people back at home would be freaked out by!
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