When out and about in the US, one rarely thinks twice about bathrooms, unless you’re at an outdoor venue and forced to use a port-o-potty.
In Japan I once stumbled into a unisex bathroom which was a surprise to say the least.
Japanese Unisex bathrooms contain stalls and urinals.
In the airport bathroom in Istabul there was a sign asking people to please not wash their feet in the sink. International bathrooms are full of cultural experiences.
Istanbul, Turkey
You can’t miss this sign at a roadside Mexican restaurant.
Pull over I gotta go.
Living in Mexico in the 70’s gives me a point of reference for baños. It was so much worse then. Public restrooms were hard to come by and toilet paper, as we know it, was not common (newspaper, comic books). A lesson my grandmother taught me, and every woman in Mexico knows, never leave the house without tissues.
In Bacalar.
Today, there are clean functional toilets (most of the time) in Pemex stations where you stop for gas. The trouble is, they charge $3-5 pesos, $.25-.40 per use. It is a clear discrimination against women, since men have no trouble peeing on their tires. I’m not sure what’s up with the whole peeing on the tires thing, but you see it everywhere, pull over and pee on your tires!
Then one day I came across this –
They can’t refuse you service.
Handing a few coins to the bathroom attendant in the bus station, restaurant, government building, grocery store or hotel is the norm. I figure that I can afford it and it’s a way to circulate money to people who’s income it is. It’s the same for the people that pump your gas, sack your groceries or help you park your car (whether you need it or not).
So when looking for the baño in México, remember to bring your tissue and always have a pocket of change, or you too could find yourself peeing on your tires.
A Favorite Laguna Bacalar Picture
Good post, Alex, and ain’t that the truth: Whenever you go out the door, here in Mx, you should have a bano strategy for where ever you may be going.
Cheers!
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Hey Bruce, do they pee on the tires in PV?
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Hahaha, Alex, I have not witnessed that, but have many other “pee” events.
Cheers!
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Oh the stories we have! Thanks for stopping by.
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I want to know more about the peeing on the tires thing! My dogs will do that on walks sometimes and I’ve always found it odd. They at least sniff them – weird!
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I need to do some more research Nancy. I’ll get back to you.
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I love your account of bathrooms in Mexico and abroad. I was once in Ranch 99, an Asian supermarket in Southern California, where I saw a sign on the wall behind the toilet. It read, “Please do not stand on the toilet seat!” Sometimes you only have to travel within the cultural enclaves of your own town.
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Thanks for visiting. I think we could travel the world visit the bathrooms.
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Don’t remember anymore which country or which trip, might have been Cancun? Anyway, I think we were in the airport, a very tall American man wearing a cowboy hat was was pretty much yelling (I’ll give you the phonetic version “Don-dee Esta el Ban-o.” Oh dear. He was trying, I suppose, although he appeared like a loud and pushy American. It felt more like he was making fun than genuinely having to pee. At the time I probably remembered a lot more than I do now of my two years of college Spanish.
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Oh, yeah. In Mexico I always have tissue and coins!
The interstates (at least the ones I drive on) are starting to build restrooms at the coatas, so I stop, use a clean facility that has toilet paper and is free, then climb back in the car and hand my pesos to the person collecting the tolls. In the opposite direction, pay the toll and then use the facilities. I’m loving it! But I still carry TP and change. One never knows.
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So true. Thanks for stopping by Emily.
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You never know! I always tell my kids to go pee before we go out the door to anywhere, and I also always carry a roll of toilet paper in my tote and a bottle of disinfectant gel wherever we go. These are the sort of habits you pick up in Mexico! lol
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Ain’t it the truth! I remember when comic books and newspaper was the only toilet paper available. If you could find a public bathroom.
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