Blog Tour Post #4: Jan Rayl

One of the things that I love about traveling is the differences in the common everyday ordinary things. My best example of this is toilets. You have to “go” and in another country this means figuring out a couple of things before you can “go.” First what kind of sign are you looking for? Not every place uses the international male/female symbols for signage. Banos, Toilette, Water Closet – WC, Loo, Banheiro, Privy, Necessary, and Lavatory are just a few of the common words for bathroom seen internationally.

So now you spot the sign, WC, in the corner and you are off to take care of business. But wait you need to check for a couple of things before you get down to business. Do you need to pay to enter the bathroom? Many times there is a dial on the door that reminds me of the old fashion gumball machine where you insert a coin turn the dial and then the door clicks open.

Once you are safely inside now you need to look to see if the important paper is present. Many places you either bring your own paper or you purchase a few sheets for a few pennies. It pays to carry one of those small packs of tissue in your purse when traveling overseas. In many countries they do not use paper they use water so you will definitely need to supply your own if you want to use it.

Ahhh relief now you have to figure out the method of flushing. Flush devices are most commonly on the floor, wall, or on the tank. On the tank I see many countries have the small flush button and the large flush button for use depending on what it is necessary to flush away. If you look at the photo above, a WC in Ireland, the paper is behind the seat on the wall. The flush is actually a chord just visible in the right corner coming down from the tank.