If you travel to India, the topic of “toilet” will soon become a very special one!
On the one hand, the “shape” of an Indian toilet is quite different. In the better hotels you will usually find our normal “Western Style Toilet”, but in villages, train stations or cheaper accommodation, you will most likely make use of the “Indian-Style Toilet”, a toilet embedded in the ground, where you have to squat above it. This toilet is generally the better choice in India, because you manage to touch as little as possible on a public toilet. Additionally it is said, that the position taken is anyway the better one for the daily business.
Also, in India, toilet Papir is not common. Although by now you can buy it almost everywhere, the Indian way is to clean yourself with water. Possibilities for this vary greatly depending on the standard of the toilet. With the better toilets, you either have a small shower head next to the toilet with which you can clean yourself, or you turn a tab and water comes directly in a jet to the place of desire through the back of the toilet. On older toilets there is a faucet and a small container next to the toilet. Here the buttocks are cleaned with the left hand (attention: the right is for eating).
I am often asked how this works, because then everything is wet down there… Well, it is and it dries again 🙂
And there is another topic in India that requires a lot of discussion among travellers: the bowel movement! Many traveler make an early acquaintance with the famous Delhi Belly. This is often less due to something bad that was eaten, but often simply duw to to the different composition of bacteria in the water. Nevertheless, the harmless diarrhea is unpleasant. Those who do not face this issue, mostly establish the opposite problem in India: constipation! Try to eat more fibre.
So you can see, that the topic of toilets is an interesting one in relation to India. Therfore a visit of the Toilet Museum in Delhi is worth. If visiting forts, gardens and shopping streets becomes too much, check out the small museum in West Delhi. It is run by the non-profit organization that has made it to its mission to improve the hygienic situation in India and provide the country with public toilets. The museum is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm, admission and even a little lively guided tour are free!
The museum is really very interesting and entertaining! It informs vividly about the history, function and development of the toilet! My absolute recommendation, if someone is in Delhi a few days longer!
Sulabh International Museum of Toilets
Sulabh Complex Mhavir Enclave, Palam Dabri Road
Mon-Sat. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission free
