| Carry coins with you. No, not to wipe
your butt. To pay for pay toilets and/or to tip bathroom attendants --sometimes a
franc or two are all that can save you from soiling your pants (not to mention the coach
seat). It is rude, sometimes even illegal, NOT to tip a bathroom attendant --no
matter the state of the bathroom.
Take personal tissues or wipes with you.
Yes, this IS to wipe your butt. A "pocket size" pack of facial
tissues (Pocket
Tissues) or wet wipes (Towelettes)
will save you the trauma of having to shout out "can someone
hand me some toilet paper" from the stall only to find that no one in the restroom
speaks English. Not to mention those times when the only "potty" available
is a hole in the ground --or not even that. If you forget this tip, and worse comes
to worse, do you REALLY need that pocket map of Paris?
Note: Anti-bacterial wipes (Towelettes)
or hand lotion (Hand
Sanitizers) can also be
used in restrooms where the hand towels are cloth, reusable towels that are changed on a
monthly basis. I find that wet wipes (Towelettes)
are also good for: getting spots out of clothing, cooling off on hot day,
helping the driver clean the vehicle, making friends on the subway by offering
wipes all around.
Bring your own seat cover. Some
folks carry disposable toilet seat covers, which are available at Walgreen's in
handy pocket packs, to cover dirty toilet seats before sitting down.
Use bathroom language. What I mean
is, when traveling to a foreign destination know what restrooms are called in the local
language and know how to tell the difference between the Men's Room and the Women's Room.
Even in English-speaking areas, this can be tricky: in British-style English the
Men's Room becomes "Gent's." And sometimes the word "bathroom"
translated literally into another language really means a place to bathe --not
necessarily the toilet! Likewise, a literal translation of "rest
room" may get you a lounge in some parts of the world (or more likely, a
blank stare). Try this link for some help: Where is the toilet
Here's a link for other handy phrases: travlang
Go before you leave. As I always
tell my kids before we embark on any little jaunt about town, go the toilet before leaving
the hotel room, restaurant, shop, whatever. You never know when your next
opportunity to visit a socially acceptable spot to void urine will be.
Women: pee standing up.
No matter where in the world you are, you may find yourself not having a
toilet seat (or not wanting to sit on the one that's there). You
may even be facing a pit or hole in the ground or floor.
Anyway, it IS anatomically possible for a woman to pee standing up.
Click here to find out
how.
Got a light?
OK, you can't hold it any longer and you find a restroom and . . . it's
too dark to see! This happens most often in rural and primitive
settings (i.e. on safari, camping, etc.), but you just never know.
So another small item to have handy is a flashlight. I recommend the PAK-LITE LED FLASHLIGHT W/ALKALINE BATTERY ,
which is a tiny flashlight attached to a regular 9V battery (it lasts
forever, it seems, and is brighter than you imagine!)
 
PAK-LITE LED FLASHLIGHT W/ALKALINE BATTERY
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Check out the book
Going Abroad
by Eva Newman
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