The photo above shows the pathway approaching the toilets. Do you see those two brown, grassed blobs at the end of the pathway ? Well, those are the toilets !
If you were to use these toilets, this is what your view would be (above) - as they are completely open at the front
And this above,dear blog readers, is a close-up view of one of the toilets. (Yes, I got up close & personal - holding my breath, of course - all in the name of blogging !). The little wooden criss cross thingy is where you sit. Most toilets don't have these though. These are there to serve many purposes - for your comfort (no need to squat & strain your thigh muscles !) and also to prevent small animals & childred from falling in
This is the second toilet, above. It gives new meaning to going to the toilet with a friend (women will relate here !) - because of the open sides you can happily carry on a conversation with the person next to you - plus you can both enjoy the great view together !Following on from my post on Monday about our recent day trip to the hot springs near the Tanzanian village of Boma’Ngombe …… here, (as promised !) is a post about the toilet facilities which we found there. Well, here are the pictures at least (they are supposed to tell a thousand words, after all) interspersed with my thoughts on the whole toilet thing. (Yes, it is a favourite subject of mine although not really good material for a food related blog, I know !)
Firstly, I just want to point out that these toilets are not indicative of the toilets in general which you will find in Tanzania. Obviously in the towns/cities and more built up areas you will find proper 'flush' toilets, especially in the tourist hotels and restaurants. But I do have to say that a lot of Western visitors are often surprised to find that many of the toilets which you do find here are of the ‘long drop’ variety - and after 11 years of living here, I can still never get used to using them.
In the more rural areas, you will find long drop toilets which are nothing more than open holes in the ground, with a slight cover over them for privacy (see photo's above !) In the towns and more built up areas, you will find long drop toilets housed in proper toilet buildings and these are tiled, with doors which close and the holes have ceramic edges to them. Some bush camps (especially the mobile/temporary variety) will have long drop toilets which are not too bad - green plastic toilets placed over holes in the ground, surrounded by small canvas tents for privacy.
Of course during my many travels all around Tanzania - and before my husband & I had children or a permanent home here we were much more adventurous than we are now - I got to experience each kind of Tanzanian toilet first hand.
Now that I am older & wiser *ahem* I have to say that I now avoid toilets like this at all cost. Stopping off in a town en route to your holiday destination to buy some cold soda’s and have a bite to eat at a popular tourist hang out ? Then I get my husband to pull over in a densely wooded area just before we enter the town so that I can pop behind a bush & avoid having to use the public restrooms. You get the picture !
I have to say that although I understand that long drop toilets are a great necessity here because many homes have no access to running water, or to a constant supply of it - I do find them extremely unhygienic, to say the least (and I think they should ALL be banned & that everyone should have access to running water in the first place !) I won’t go into detail here but you can use your own imagination re the smell, the flies, the cleanliness of the area surrounding the actual toilet hole itself (especially if you are a woman and you have to actually stand in that area and squat in it !!) and what they are like after a few days in the African heat. Ewwwwww !!
On a lighter note, when I am not pregnant I am quite dedicated to daily workouts and have found that if you work a lot of squats and lunges into your workout routine every day, this helps to make it a lot easier if you ever do have to ’lunge’ or ’squat’ over a filthy hole in the ground (e.g. - speaking from past experience here - if you have had a serious vehicle breakdown & are stuck at a local garage in the middle of nowhere with no sign of a bush to duck behind !)
Also, always always carry toilet paper and wet wipes with you, and that dry soap/anti bacterial liquid that you can use to wash your hands when no water is available. Learning how to hold your breath for long periods at a time is also a handy trick to have up your sleeve (you could practice this in the bath LOL) and if you’re a woman, you could also curse under your breath a little when you see the ease at which your husband pops out of the car to relieve himself on the side of the road *sigh* and rolls his eyes & says ’But can’t you hold it in until we get to our hotel tonight ? We only stopped 3 hours ago !’
And as for another drink before we hit the road ? No thanks, I think I’ll pass on that one. So much for all the people out there advocating that you drink 6 to 8 glasses of water a day. Sometimes here in Africa, you just can’t follow life’s rules.
(Lin contacted me after reading this post to direct me to her site - which has a fantastic solution to the 'toilet problem' ! You can see her site 'When Ya Gotta Go' over here.)
