Somewhere between Jabalpur and Kanha the bus stops for a lunch break and I head straight from the bathroom. In developing countries there are 4 basic types of bathrooms, holes in the ground, troughs, ceramic squat toilets, or cement slabs. This one was of the cement slab variety. Basically how it works is that there is a large slabe of cement which slants slightly downwards intot an open gutter. The women squat and do their business directly onto the slab, and all fo the human waste eventually slides its way down into the gutter. This is my least favorite of the four bathroom options, as I still haven't figured out how to use it without making a total mess of myself, and this time was no different.
So there I am, squatting alongside a few other women, pee splashing my feet and ankles before it begins its journey down the cement in a mad race to the gutter. Somehow I lose my footing. My left foot begins to slip when it comes into contact with some unknown bodily fluid, and I start to fall. It happened in slow motion, just as most moments like this do--my foot sliding out form under me, my eyes examining my surroundings, looking for the cleanist (can I even say clean when talking about a public toilet, a slab of cement at a bus stop in rural India where people defecate?) spot to catch my fall, profanity running through my mind. My hand finds a relatvely dry patch, but my purse lands in a nasty puddle, and somehow my foot ends up soaking wet. The smells were rechid and I couldn't believe I'd just come into contact with the collective sources of the nauesating smell. Without even fully comprehending what had just happened, I hurridely got out of there and washed off the best I could at the spicket. But with no soap, I had to manage with a good scrubbing and a whole lot of hand sanitizer. My purse well, with the bottom soaked, there wasn't much I could do until I got to the hotel, but trust me I scrubbed the crap (litterally) out of that thing once I checked into my hotel a few hours later!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
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3 comments:
Dona
I bow before you – seriously amazed at your journeys and adventures through South East Asia. I knew you were a tough cookie back here at home – climbing Half Dome in your flip-flops but seriously toilet problems, eating eggs with half formed ducklings and eating food all over Asia from street hawkers… just amazing – I used to be able to do those things except eat those eggs. But when I went back in 2000 after living in the States for 6 years – I had a hard time adjusting. I guess we are pretty sheltered back here and get used to a certain lifestyle.
Take Care
Chhimi
PS: On a side note – your toilet episode seems like an episode of my toilet experience in Bangkok --- let’s put it this way – I was balancing myself on one leg on a western toilet trying to get my aim correct without slipping. And I am a lot less balanced than you. I won’t tell you what happened. Do you need more anti-bacterial liquid?
A brand in India is called DETOL works very well – they sell DETOL Soap which is the same as Anti-Bacterial soap.
Detox soap maybe hehehehehe
You are amazing. I would have lost my lunch. On the brighter side - you have, by now, thighs of steel. I would have landed on my keester long ago. You go girl.
Please let me buy and send you a new purse. (hee-hee)...seriously!
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