where is the toilet?

as some of you may know, china is filled with holes in the ground. some of these holes are actually used for the deposit of feces. you can find western toilets, they are around, but sometimes you just have to go. the first time i used a squatter was the beginning of october. i was in a small town, small meaning 500,000+ residents, and my stomach had not adjusted to the spicy food here yet. i was far from my homebase, so i had to use the restroom at the restaurant. luckily, it was not too dirty. sometimes they are filthy. no need to get into details, but let's just say i missed. i come out and there are two ladies who work at the restaurant in the hallway. my chinese was terrible at that time, so i try and tell them i am very sorry and i can clean it up. they don't even seem to give a shit (no pun intended). they just say, "welcome to our restaurant". so i got the hell out of there. i really believe they did not mind. this would at least give them a good story to tell their husbands, or kids, or something. "hello ping, how was your day?" "well, today i cleaned up a foreigner's poop". "a foreigner's!" "surprisingly, it looked just like yours baby."

anyway, i have gotten pretty good at using them. of course, i would like to sit down if i have the option. you know, read the paper or the back of the toothpaste. sometimes, the restrooms offer no privacy, because bodily functions are not a big deal here. but here is a photo of a clean, private one. maybe you can imagine how disgusting they can get.