Asian Vs Western - Toilet That Is

I have to admit I didn't do a tremendous amount of research for this trip. I knew that the only free time we would have would be in Beijing and Shanghai so I researched those two cities before we left by reading Beijing & Shanghai by Eyewitness Travel.

So I have to admit I was totally unprepared for the bathroom situation in museums and restaurants that we visited. Oh, yes....I had my personal stash of toilet paper. I never travel without a bunch of sheets tucked into a snack sized ziploc bag. That wasn't the issue.

As us ladies entered the bathrooms, we had to decide whether or not we wanted a Western toilet or an Asian toilet. What's a Western toilet? Easy. If you live in a developed country, go into your bathroom. That's a Western toilet and what we had in all of our hotels. We had a bunch of elderly women in our group and that's what they required. And many bathrooms had only stall with a Western toilet.

So many of us, including myself, learned how to use an Asian toilet. Good thing I go to exercise class and have decent leg muscles.