Traveling to remote parts of the world, especially in Asia, may require Americans to rethink some fundamental aspects of their daily activities. While some of the bathroom facilities we take for granted are being adopted worldwide, some are not, such as regular showers and Western-style sit toilets. Many of the more rural areas of low- and middle-income countries, particularly areas without robust plumbing systems, still utilize bucket showers. Furthermore, many areas of the world, even more wealthy and developed regions, still use squat-style toilets. We have found over the years that bucket showers and squat toilets can be problematic for some students. To help everyone prepare, we want to provide some information to consider.

Bucket Showers

Many areas that do not have robust municipal water systems, especially very rural areas of Asia, will still utilize bucket showers. The concept is very simple: use the buckets wet yourself and then to rinse off any soap. With practice, you will realize that you don’t need much water at all to thoroughly clean yourself. Here are some hints to successfully use a bucket shower:

• Use a little bit of water get yourself wet. You really don’t need much, especially if you’re not washing your hair.
• Use slightly less shampoo or soap than you typically use in a regular shower. You really don’t need as much as you think. Another option is to dissolve a little bit of soap in your bucket of water, and use the soapy water to soap up instead of a bar of soap. That will make it easier to rinse.
• You may want to shampoo your hair and wash your body before rinsing, so you can rinse your hair and your body at the same time.
• Some shower areas will have a large basin of water to get fresh water from, while others may just have a spigot.
• Try to minimize water use as much as possible. In rural areas, there usually a limited amount of water!

Here is a good link to using a bucket shower

https://matadornetwork.com/life/how-to-bucket-shower-like-a-pro/

Squat Toilets

Believe it or not, sit toilets, which is what you are probably used to in the US, are not the most common type of toilet used outside of the Western Hemisphere and Europe. As recently as 2016, squat toilets were far more common globally than sit toilets. So if you’re traveling, especially to parts of Asia and Africa, you will most likely have to use a squat toilet at one point or another.

Once you’re used to using one, it’s not a big deal, but it can seem daunting to those who’ve never had to use one. If you’ve rough camped or backpacked, you probably have squatted to poop, and using a squat toilet isn’t too different than using a cathole in the woods.

There’s even evidence that squatting while pooping is healthier than sitting. In fact, there are products out there, like the Squatty Potty, that mimic squatting while using a sit toilet.

Here are some hints on how to use squat toilets:

Another good site about using squat toilets:

https://www.thaifaqs.com/using-a-thai-squat-toilet-everything-you-wanted-to-know-but-were-afraid-to-ask/

Here’s a good site about using squat toilets for those without penises:

https://gobackpacking.com/woman-guide-using-squat-toilets/

A few other notes about toilets in Thailand

• Toilet paper isn’t always available in public stalls. Make sure you carry some.
• Paid toilets (which usually cost no more than a few baht) are typically cleaner than free ones.
• Some toilets (sit or squat) will have “bum guns”, flexible spray hoses that you typically find on kitchen sinks. These are used as a “manual” bidet. If you want to try it, here is a good tutorial:

• IMPORTANT! Please do not throw toilet paper away in the bowl (sit or squat). Plumbing systems in many parts of the world were never designed to deal with toilet paper, and it can lead to clogging or damage. All toilets should have a garbage pail adjacent, and this is where all toilet paper should be placed. In fact, this is the custom in MOST of the world, as this map shows:

• Some toilets will not have a flushing mechanism; rather, you have to manually dump water into the toilet. This is more common with squat toilets. With these toilets, there is typically a basin of water and a scoop so you can pour water into the bowl and “flush” it. Sometimes, there is a spigot and a scoop instead of a basin.
• In most of the world, the term to ask for if you need to go is “toilet”, not bathroom. Ask for the toilet, and even those who don’t know English will know what you’re asking. Most folks don’t know what “bathroom” means. And “restroom” is even worse!
• Many bathrooms in Asia are entirely “wet”, meaning the entire bathroom can be wet, unlike many American bathrooms, which have “wet” areas for showering/bathing and “dry” areas for the toilet and sink. Sometimes, the toilet and shower are adjacent to each other. This is entirely normal, so just go with it. It’s usually a good idea to use sandals or flip flops in these bathrooms.
• Finally, all of this illustrates how we have culturally imposed Western “ideals” of hygiene to the rest of the world, insisting on how this is most appropriate and hygienic and any other customs are “primitive”. I would argue that our customs are actually less hygienic and less healthy than those of the rest of the world. If you’re interested in reading a bit about this, here is a great article in the BBC on this topic.