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Way to Russia Talk Lounge Forum Index -> Russian Contexts, Myths and Truths

Author	Message
krasatulya VIP Joined: 29 May 2005 Posts: 590	Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 5:39 pm    Post subject: Bathrooms I didn't encounter this in Moscow or St. Pete, but once I went south to Krasnodar and the Black Sea I noticed that a majority of the public restrooms (especially outdoor ones) were simply holes in the ground, which were separated by short walls in between. Do these appear up north, or is this something found more in the countryside? I have to admit I was pretty shocked the first time I had to use one of these, especially since I was with my brother-in-law's girl friend. I highly recommend people to bring a supply of toilet paper with them and a small bottle of anti-bacterial hand sanitizer!
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surfguy Lounge Wizard Joined: 13 Apr 2006 Posts: 6979	Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:00 pm    Post subject: Well that's how it is in most of the world...no luxury!
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krasatulya VIP Joined: 29 May 2005 Posts: 590	Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:32 pm    Post subject: I know it sounds naive, but I had no idea I would see that. I heard about these toilets in China when my relatives went there, but I did not see them in Spain or the Czech Republic, so I didn't expect to see them in Russia, either.
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surfguy Lounge Wizard Joined: 13 Apr 2006 Posts: 6979	Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:34 pm    Post subject: Well usually hotels and private homes don't have these but most public restrooms will
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Zach10791 Moderator Joined: 19 Mar 2005 Posts: 815	Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 8:00 pm    Post subject: Do they have outhouses in Russia? There not very luxurious but they are at least better than a hole in the ground!
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krasatulya VIP Joined: 29 May 2005 Posts: 590	Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 9:13 pm    Post subject: My in-laws have an outhouse in addition to the regular bathroom in the house. Not quite sure why, although the men seem to prefer the one outdoors
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mediashark Moderator Joined: 04 Nov 2004 Posts: 1599	Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 10:44 pm    Post subject: I kept hearing horror stories about public toilets in China (yes, in the city), that during my visit as a small kid, I always went just before I left the hotel and wait for the 'toilet reports' from the ladies. If it didn't have any doors (most don't!) I just would not go! Are you in-laws from Krasnodarsky Krai too?
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krasatulya VIP Joined: 29 May 2005 Posts: 590	Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 11:10 pm    Post subject: Why yes they are! How do you like the area? I found Krasnodar to be a very nice city, certainly not comparable to the likes of Moscow or St. Pete, but I found it to be very enjoyable. I also prefer Kuban borsch to that up north.
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yorbcbud Lounge Wizard Joined: 17 Feb 2006 Posts: 4903 Location: Сорренто, Британская Колумбия, Канада	Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2006 7:11 pm    Post subject: mediashark wrote: I kept hearing horror stories about public toilets in China (yes, in the city), that during my visit as a small kid, I always went just before I left the hotel and wait for the 'toilet reports' from the ladies. If it didn't have any doors (most don't!) I just would not go! Are you in-laws from Krasnodarsky Krai too? You should ride a train in China, in places like Taipei, the bathrooms are basically holes in the floor, and the waste goes right out onto the tracks. And many public toilets have no separate stalls. It's a community dump.
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Zach10791 Moderator Joined: 19 Mar 2005 Posts: 815	Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2006 8:01 pm    Post subject: Many places in India have a "communal dump" so to speak too.
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surfguy Lounge Wizard Joined: 13 Apr 2006 Posts: 6979	Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2006 8:14 pm    Post subject: I been in some pretty bad ones in Niger and in Afghanistan...I actually found that going behind a sand dune in the Sahara far better than any public place!
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krasatulya VIP Joined: 29 May 2005 Posts: 590	Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2006 8:37 pm    Post subject: That's the point I was at, too, Surfguy. It wasn't so much as the embarassment of getting used to going in front of people (I know, I know, guys are used to this but most women are not!), but I couldn't tolerate the smell any more. I was much happier finding a nice tree or bush to hide behind
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MrSpice Lounge Wizard Joined: 14 Jul 2003 Posts: 3431	Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2006 10:19 pm    Post subject: krasatulya wrote: That's the point I was at, too, Surfguy. It wasn't so much as the embarassment of getting used to going in front of people (I know, I know, guys are used to this but most women are not!), but I couldn't tolerate the smell any more. I was much happier finding a nice tree or bush to hide behind I assume you did not have to do it in Moscow or St Petersburg, right? How did you like/find St Petersburg?
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surfguy Lounge Wizard Joined: 13 Apr 2006 Posts: 6979	Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2006 10:35 pm    Post subject: One of the most memorable showers was taken in the middle of the Sahara Desert with bottled water, no one around and the most amazing sunset! Yes the flys at some of the public bathrooms that I had the misfortune of being subjected to-oh my God. Lucky I didn't get sick! Russia wasn't so bad when I was there. I brought TP over and it was far better than the card board that they had/have. Little treat for my then GF.
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krasatulya VIP Joined: 29 May 2005 Posts: 590	Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2006 11:11 pm    Post subject: MrSpice wrote: krasatulya wrote: That's the point I was at, too, Surfguy. It wasn't so much as the embarassment of getting used to going in front of people (I know, I know, guys are used to this but most women are not!), but I couldn't tolerate the smell any more. I was much happier finding a nice tree or bush to hide behind I assume you did not have to do it in Moscow or St Petersburg, right? How did you like/find St Petersburg? Ha, thank goodness, no. That would have been quite the public display Luckily, I mostly encountered these bathrooms at the Black Sea. Although I'm not sure, it seemed to me that we were at a pretty remote spot (Utrish), so I guess these facilities were to be expected. I loved St. Pete; very pretty city. We were lucky to have nice weather all three days we were there. I read in our travel guide that StP has about 30 sunny/cloudless days per year (hard to believe, does that sound right?), and we were able to experience two of them. The first night we were there, my husband and I ate at a restaurant called "New Island", which is a ship turned restaurant. I thought the meal was very good and the best part of it all was that we went on a 1.5 hour excursion up and down the Neva River. It was a great way to take in the city at night. The other days we climbed to the top of St. Isaac's Cathedral, visited the Hermitage (which was amazing), walked through Peter & Paul's Fortress and took another smaller boat ride through the canals. All and it was a great time, and there was a lot more we could have seen/done, but after 3 days of walking everywhere, we were exhausted. It was nice to head to the in-laws from there to enjoy a few days just sitting around and eating
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