"Jack Campin - bogus address" wrote in message

Toilets are fascinating pieces of engineering, and the different
designs around the world can be somewhat confusing.

One I used in Romania last year:

http://www.campin.me.uk/Travel/Roman...hoolToilet.jpg

Eww.

But on a similar vein.... when travelling through Australia, the toilet
stops along the freeways will almost always be a toilet seat on a tin tube
(simply to raise the seat off the ground so one can sit rather than having
to squat) that goes down into a giant pit. These are specailly designed
composting toilets because of the often huge distance from town water and
town sewage facilities and surprisingly don't smell bad at all. They're
primed with a particular form of bacteria, and lime is regularly thrown in
to reduce the acidity from uric acid. Anything organic will easily be turned
into good mulching compost, particularly in the summer months. I don't know
what the gent's toilets are like, but the women's toilets are almost almost
always clean and well stocked in TP. They may or may not have a small sink
outside to wash you hands, but its usually supplied by tank water collected
from the facility's roof, and may or may not function due to lack of water.
The only disconcerting thing is the wind wafting up on one's exposed
buttocks whilst sitting there - not something I'm accustomed to :-)

I haveno idea what Id do if I had to squat. My knees simply don't work that
well any more - I can't even manage the 'hover' as taught by mother to
daughter in regular rest rooms these days.

http://www.campin.me.uk/Travel/Romania2008/

Not having the resources to get tehre myself, I always enjoy other folks
traveldiaries. Thankyou.

Yowie
--
If you're paddling upstream in a canoe and a wheel falls off, how many
pancakes can you fit in a doghouse? None, icecream doesn't have bones.