No Toilet! Ranking of Countries That Were a Nightmare & Places That Were the Best

The most stressful moment while traveling,
is when you think, "I need a toilet but there isn't one anywhere".

Food poisoning, long-distance travel, cultural differences...
During my trip around the world, I faced this "toilet crisis" many times.

This time, I will talk honestly about the "toilet heaven & hell," "cultural differences," and "portable goods" I felt while actually traveling the world.

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■ Top 3 Countries That Were Toilet Heaven

1. Japan (Truly divine)

Washlets, cleanliness, toilet paper always stocked, and free. Seriously the best in the world.

A foreigner once said,
"You could sleep in a Japanese toilet."

Japanese toilets are of such a high global standard that there are even toilet tours.

2. Dubai (UAE)

Airports and malls have spacious and luxurious toilets. They even smell good.
Plus, they are free. Thanks to the Islamic "water cleansing culture," you stay clean.

As you'd expect from a wealthy city, the toilets are also luxurious.

3. Singapore

-> The pride of a city-state. The level of cleanliness is too high. Just as it ranks high in passport rankings every year, the level of its toilets is also high.

■ Top 3 Countries That Were Toilet Hell

1. Egypt

Paid. No paper. No toilet seat. Sometimes no door either.
They even try to scam you on change. If you have a weak stomach, survival skills are a must.

At a toilet in Luxor, someone was standing by the sink, and just as I finished washing my hands, they handed me paper. I accidentally accepted it and was asked for a tip... I refused, of course.

2. India

An "open style" with no walls or partitions. Even when lined up, people stare right at the person next to them. My sense of shame exploded.

The toilets near the Ganges River in Varanasi were just holes, and feces and urine were flowing directly into the river... Local people were washing their hair with that river water...

3. Bolivia (Rural areas)

It's at the level of "toilet = hole." It's common to have no toilets on 12-hour bus rides. When the bus traveled through places with nothing, I was told to do my business on the Earth.

■ Essential Toilet Goods for Travelers

• Pocket tissues: More important than life itself
  - Operate on the assumption that there is no paper.

• Alcohol wet wipes: Basically a bath
  - Too many places don't even have soap. An all-purpose item that can also be used before meals.

• Toilet paper with the core removed and compressed: A god-tier storage hack
  - Just buy it at a 100-yen shop and compress it. I kept it hidden in my bag.

• Mini bottle of disinfectant spray or gel
  - Especially useful in countries with street food.

■ Stories about being surprised by cultural differences

The "left-hand culture" and water-washing style of India and Nepal

In India and Nepal, people who use paper in the toilet are in the minority.
What they use instead is "water + left hand."

The first time I witnessed this was at a guesthouse in northern India.
There was a toilet in the room, but next to the bowl were a hose, a water bucket, and a mysterious watering can. There was absolutely no paper.

When I asked a local, "How do you use this?", they replied nonchalantly, "You just wash it off with water using your hand. Your left hand, that is."

I see.
But it was the moment my own "common sense" glitched.

When I actually tried it, I was confused at first, but I got used to it.
However, in exchange, there is a very strong awareness that "the left hand is the unclean hand," and if you try to use your left hand while eating, you will be scolded quite seriously.

Even when tearing things like chapati, you must useonly your right hand.
There are cases where even using your left hand to assist is off-limits, so I ate with awkward hand movements until I got used to it.

This water-washing culture is actually eco-friendly and makes sense.
But until I got used to it, it was nothing but terrifying if there was no soap for hand washing.

In Germany, "McDonald's = Public Toilet"

When I went to Berlin, the first problem I faced was the "where is the toilet" issue.
Public toilets are scarce, and even when you find one, they cost money and the safety is questionable.

At times like that, the locals would tell me,

In reality, every McDonald's in Berlin was crowded,
and it made sense that many people were just coming in to use the restroom.

Many cafes required you to buy a seat to use the facilities,
but at bars, if I asked, "Could I use the restroom?"
they would often let me in with a casual, "Oh, sure, hurry up!" attitude.

In Africa, the "bush" was the toilet (and it even came with a guide).

During a bus trip in Kenya, the vehicle stopped for what seemed like a break.
I got off thinking it was for a toilet break, but it was just land with no buildings at all.
When I asked, "Where's the toilet?" the driver pointed toward the bushes and said,

Wait, hold on. I was thinking, "Are you serious? It's literally just trees and grass...?"
Then, a local woman smiled and said, "Come with me, follow me."

Like a tour guide, she led me and the other female passengers deep into the grass.
"You can't be seen from around here, so it's fine," she said,
with such a confident air that I actually felt embarrassed.

She even brought water for hand-washing,
and I felt something like a "spirit of hospitality for outdoor toilets."

This kind of situation is unthinkable in Japan,
but the "resilience to make do with what you have" is amazing.
It was a moment where I was both shocked by the cultural difference and felt a bit of respect.

■ Top 3 Moments I Seriously Panicked

1. Uzbekistan long-distance train: 2-hour toilet ban

I was seriously about to cry

This happened while traveling by train from Tashkent to Samarkand.
Second class, a three-hour trip, with meals and toilets all handled on board.

It was comfortable. It was comfortable, but
there is a mysterious rule that the toilets become off-limits as you approach a station.

For some reason that day, it was over two hours until the next station, and
I was stuck on a swaying train for two hours with the restroom locked.

I was hoping, "They'll open it as soon as we stop, right?"
but even when we arrived at the station, nothing changed.

When I asked the lady next to me,

"You can't use it until boarding and alighting are finished," she said with a smile.
Yeah, well, I couldn't smile back.

Cold sweat, tapping feet, shallow breathing, I endured by mastering the technique of distancing all my nerves from my bladder.
I wish I could have channeled that level of concentration into my exams.

When the restroom was finally unlocked,
I thought, "Isn't this the greatest sense of relief in the world?"

② Max food poisoning, and the hostel restroom had "no lock and a half-broken door"

Conversely, I let go of my worries and the stomach pain (felt like it) went away

A super cheap guesthouse I stayed at in the capital of Vietnam.
Something I ate at a street stall for dinner hit me, and I was struck by intense stomach pain in the middle of the night.

As I headed to the restroom in a daze,
the lock was broken and the door only closed halfway.

Huh? Seriously? I thought, but
this was a situation where every second counted. My stomach took priority over shame.

I didn't have the luxury to worry about being seen by other guests passing through the hallway,
so I held the door shut with one hand and overcame the desperate battle.

I thought, "Why don't they fix the broken lock..." but
at that moment, for some reason, I could laugh a little.
It was like I had let go, or perhaps exceeded the limits of human endurance.

I think there's a theory that stomach pain can be eased by your mental state.

■ Summary: Becoming strong with restrooms = The first step for a traveler

I miss the days when I used to complain about restrooms.
Now, if there's toilet paper, I think it's a "decent restroom,"
if there's a lock, I'm "super lucky,"
and if the water flushes, I consider it "divine territory."

Traveling might just be the place that cultivates a human's "tolerance for the bottom line."