RPCV Warner M. Montgomery reports that Squat Johns are now an endangered species in Thailand
Read and comment on this story from The Columbia Star by RPCV Warner M. Montgomery who served in Thailand in 1962 and recently returned and reports that squat johns are now an endangered species along with water buffalos and sarongs for men at:
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Squat johns replaced by automatic urinals
10/03/02
Warner M. Montgomery
These urinals are on a ferry boat that plies the Gulf of Siam.
Back in 1962 when I first went to Thailand, squat johns were a way of life. In fact, during Peace Corps training we had lessons on how to use them.
Our Thai teachers discreetly instructed us to 1) back over the squat john, 2) place your feet on the foot pads, 3) drop your pants, 4) squat directly over the hole, 5) rest your elbows on your knees, and 6) let nature take its course.
In those days, we had to take our own toilet paper with us unless we wanted to join the left–hand water wipe club. There was always a water jar and a cup nearby.
I remember a scorpion who crossed in front of me in a squat john in 1962. As I sat there in #6 position unable to attack or defend, he walked slowly, tail held high, from the corner of the dark, murky compartment. He stopped directly in front of me and said, “Hi, buddy, whatcha doin’?” In Thai, of course. I replied, “Nothing much,” and he ambled on out of sight. We met every night for many months.
Well, my fellow travelers, things have changed in Thailand.
The urinals in the Bangkok airport sense your arrival and prepare a clean bowl for you, then flush themselves when you leave.
Squat johns are an endangered species along with water buffalos and sarongs for men. You no longer have to run to the bush at bus stops. The era of self–standing privies and urine walls is over. This progress accompanies the advent of expressways, fully–stocked convenience stores, and pristine truck stops. Relieving one’s self is no longer an embarrassing chore, and the rate of kidney disease among the foreign population is down from the 1960s.
Modern toilet facilities abound throughout Thailand. Toilets and urinals flush and sanitize themselves as soon as you leave. Toilet paper, the soft fluffy kind, is everywhere. Sometimes change is not so hard to take, but we adventure travelers miss the challenge
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