Dreaded eastern European Squats.
Excerpt from "Not So Innocently Abroad" (Chapter: 'The Straight Poop') now available in paperback and Kindle) on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and selected Independent book sellers in the United States.
"According to travel blogs the overall condition of eastern European “public accommodation” is enough to scare even the most daring traveler. In her online article, “Public Toilets in Russia and Eastern Europe,”* Kerry Kubilius warns: “In airports or train stations, and even in some universities, the state of disrepair and lack of maintenance of the toilets will leave you breathless—literally.”
There is no dispute that many public toilets in Russia and Ukraine could best be described as “ripe.” The men’s room on the secured side of Simferopol Airport (SIM) in Crimea comes to mind. Strangely enough, it was extremely clean, yet it reeked so badly I could have sworn a planeload of Mexican-food-eating geriatrics had recently used it. Let’s just say the last person who used the men’s toilet prior to me compromised the integrity of the room. As far as my nostrils could deduce during this quicker-than-usual pit stop, the culprit for the pong was probably forced-air heating and no working exhaust fans.
Russia’s squat toilets aren’t an urban myth. For the uninitiated, squats are empty stalls with a hole in the ground. It looks quite primitive until you spot the strategically positioned floor indentations on either side of the hole that enable optimum foot placement for taking care of business. I walked into a squat only once, but I believe the emotional insult of it was so heinous that almost all memories of the adventure were eradicated. I just remember closing my eyes and going to a special place ..."
