You feel a little silly at first, asking where the "W.C." is, but really, it's a much more reasonable euphimism than the ones we use. "Bathroom?" Well, I suppose there are at least sometimes baths in the room to which we are referring but how often do we actually use the baths? And then there's "Restroom." Seriously? Who in their right mind would go into said room to rest? Where did that term even come from? "Water Closet" is clearly the superior term, and much more likely to be understood internationally...and of course, international W.C.'s are the most interesting...
Many times on my most recent trip, I found myself in various establishments that served beverages...and with the beverages, they would provide a wireless key, thus allowing me to check email and other internet-y things. Of course, after a long enough time drinking beverages and writing blogs and checking facebook, one would begin to wonder where the W.C. was. Most of the W.C.'s in these establishments were pretty typical, but there was one...
We were in a sort of cafe (with a disco flavor) in Litochoro, Greece. I went in search of the W.C. and found one of the most bizarre ones I've ever seen. Most of the surfaces were of a reflective black material. This was actually fairly common in Greece, (though still sort of weird). The strangest part of this water closet was the sink. Unfortunately, I failed to get a picture, and my description will probably not do it justice. Basically, the water flowed from the odd water spout into the basin of the sink, which was a clear, shimmery piece of plastic or glass, under which could be seen pictures moving. Specifically, the movie "Ice Age" was playing in the sink. Who needs a TV when you have a sink?!
In Turkey, I lost track of the number of public W.C.'s I visited, most often in bus stations or the like. Often these place would charge a lira or two before they would let you in (or out). Of course, when you have to pay that much to simply use a toilet, you rather hope for a few basic amenities. Like, maybe, evidence that the place has been cleaned in recent memory. Or paper products and soap. Unfortunately, this hope was often disappointed. Now, I realize that the Turkish expectation for toilets is quite different from the American, but it was still a little sad when with 20 stalls available, the only type of toilet to be found was this:
The facilities at Priene had similar amenities, but they, at least, were free...
...and there was the added bonus of a cute bug on the sink.
Of course, something must be mentioned about toilets on boats. It's always fun to try to use the W.C. when the boat is rocking. Having to pump your own water to clear the bowl adds to the excitement.
The nicer bathrooms I used were, of course, in hotels. Mostly in the hotels during the first part of the trip, because the places I booked myself were not nearly as nice. Still, it was exciting to stay at a place that had an actual BATHroom...because then it was laundry time!
Many times on my most recent trip, I found myself in various establishments that served beverages...and with the beverages, they would provide a wireless key, thus allowing me to check email and other internet-y things. Of course, after a long enough time drinking beverages and writing blogs and checking facebook, one would begin to wonder where the W.C. was. Most of the W.C.'s in these establishments were pretty typical, but there was one...
We were in a sort of cafe (with a disco flavor) in Litochoro, Greece. I went in search of the W.C. and found one of the most bizarre ones I've ever seen. Most of the surfaces were of a reflective black material. This was actually fairly common in Greece, (though still sort of weird). The strangest part of this water closet was the sink. Unfortunately, I failed to get a picture, and my description will probably not do it justice. Basically, the water flowed from the odd water spout into the basin of the sink, which was a clear, shimmery piece of plastic or glass, under which could be seen pictures moving. Specifically, the movie "Ice Age" was playing in the sink. Who needs a TV when you have a sink?!
In Turkey, I lost track of the number of public W.C.'s I visited, most often in bus stations or the like. Often these place would charge a lira or two before they would let you in (or out). Of course, when you have to pay that much to simply use a toilet, you rather hope for a few basic amenities. Like, maybe, evidence that the place has been cleaned in recent memory. Or paper products and soap. Unfortunately, this hope was often disappointed. Now, I realize that the Turkish expectation for toilets is quite different from the American, but it was still a little sad when with 20 stalls available, the only type of toilet to be found was this:
The facilities at Priene had similar amenities, but they, at least, were free...
...and there was the added bonus of a cute bug on the sink.
Of course, something must be mentioned about toilets on boats. It's always fun to try to use the W.C. when the boat is rocking. Having to pump your own water to clear the bowl adds to the excitement.
The nicer bathrooms I used were, of course, in hotels. Mostly in the hotels during the first part of the trip, because the places I booked myself were not nearly as nice. Still, it was exciting to stay at a place that had an actual BATHroom...because then it was laundry time!
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