As I sit pool/ocean side in this beautiful country, I feel an undeniable need to reflect on the bathrooms in this country. And yes, I may have had a couple Bintangs, so I figure no time like the present. We started off pretty normal, I mean like a toilet and all the regular fixin’s. When we headed to Kalimantan/the Indonesian side of Borneo, that’s when things started getting interesting. We had a layover in Suraabaya, Java, and I came out of the bathroom laughing so hard-they had a LOT of instructional pictures pfor just a normal toilet…at least I thought it was a normal toilet.
I particularly enjoy the pictures telling me not to squat on the actual toilet seat but to sit on the toilet seat. THEN we landed in Kalimantan and I walked into a whole new world…it brought a whole new meaning to the term squatty potty (that’s for you Jo-Nathan)!!! There was basically a hole, in the ground and a bucket of water next to it…at this point I wasn’t a hundred percent sure what this bucket was for so I left it alone. Apparently, the men’s stall was similar, but also had a urinal. Then the boat in Kalimantan to the orangutan sanctuary…well you would sit on it and there was that mysterious bucket by it. Apparently, that “bucket” was the flushing mechanism. So we conquered that. The hotel toilets have all been pretty nice, other than the guessing game of where does toilet paper go…in the toilet or in the trash…always a solid question. The other unique thing these Indonesians seem to be allllll about it some little spicket by the toilet. These spickets all resemble what US kitchen sinks have on them to help hose down the sink. At first I figured these were to help clean the bathrooms cuz they seem to just spray them down. But, alas, these little Indonesians are pretty keen on biday style spickets. They even leave liquid soap by the toilets for “cleaning.” I will add pics to clarify all of these things, but I will just say that the Indonesian toilets have given us a LOT to talk/laugh about. And I guess when in Indonesia…?