western toilets
June 25th, 2005 by boon
here’s an adlib from one of my fleeting thoughts the other day.
I walked into my office communal washroom and the urinal had been clogged up for days. By now, all the protein deposits from the urine had been coagulated into denser yellow. And interestingly, gave off a pungent odor that brought to my memory the selera malam foodcourts in SS2, PJ. Somehow I’ve recognized that stench before, either coming from the drains there or the large overflowing dumpbin just outside the courts.
Then I wondered how the chinese hawker stall folks do their daily business, since there isn’t a proper public toilet around for miles (they’re considered horrendous by most accounts, anywhere).
The courts are longish, featuring stalls on both sides for about 100 meters. And along that entire stretch there isn’t an attached public toilet anywhere. There’s one outside where the park is, but I haven’t dared step into it in my entire life.
The next best bet would be the McDonald’s, which is at one end of the courts. Out of all the shops around, I had this assurance that good ol’ McD’s would at least have a clean toilet (in this country anyway), and a sink area complete with proprietary soaps (it’s the same one they use across the nation).
And I thought to myself that this was the result of a western franchise. Maybe I’m wrong, but every toilet out there seems to be the other way around. From mamak restaurants to chinese kopitiams and every other local eatery that doesn’t cost you RM20 or more for a meal.
Why?
I once took a photograph of a very distinctive-looking toilet at my university chapel. It wasn’t very grand, nor was it very large and spacious. But it was clean, had all the proper condiments and facilities and you could actually spend some prayer time in there, if you really needed some quiet.
I think a lot of my american brothers and sisters thought it weird, and that photo was actually jovially framed and given to one of our staff workers as a farewell present. But I remember that I took that photo as a reminder that even though this photo was indeed a toilet, it looked rather attractive and pleasant on its own.
And I think that’s why some people spend a lot of money on washrooms. Maybe it’s the peace of mind. Maybe it’s serenity. Maybe it’s being able to come to a place to hide and rest, even while taking a crap.