- The Casino ‘Ladies Room’
My favorite part of the local casino is the bathroom.
It reminds me of the one in Harrod’s Department store in England when I was there many years ago.
Look straight ahead in the photo and you can see the fine louvered doors to the toilets. You can even see a toilet.
In Harrod’s, they had the louvers a bit more than half way up the door and the rest was glass. I thought this was darn queer. Why would I want to sit on a toilet, grunt, and watch who was coming and going. So to speak.
While I was sitting on the toilet in Harrods, the nice lady who worked in the loo came up, looked in the window at me, waved and asked if everything was alright, and could she get me anything?
I said, “No thank you, I’m fine.”
This doesn’t happen in America. You close the door to the toilet, sit down and do your business, and no one opens the door and asks after your welfare. However, sometimes little children in the next stall will stick their heads under the siding that divides you from their compartment. Their heads are upside down and they stare at you. They never ask if they can be of service by handing you toilet paper or something they just like to watch you pee.
Have you ever considered the different toilets we use?
There was the one I wrote about before in the fish market where a sign demanded that you not stand on the toilets to do your business but if you did, in fairness to the other customers, “Please wipe the droplets off the toilet seat.”
I went to Europe on a tour at least twenty five years ago, and here is what I remember:
Being on the bus all the time and stopping at various toilets. They were either unisex and you all went in together, or the men and women’s were open and side by side and you could watch people relieving themselves.
You also had to pay to pee. At that time they didn’t have the Euro, so you always hoped you had the correct money for the country you were in. If you didn’t have the coin, things could get truly difficult for you.
When you entered, every bathroom had someone who handed you toilet paper or chewing gum or combs and you had to give them money so you could relieve yourself.
Every toilet stop on the bus tour had a shop that sold little petit fore cakes with fruit on top of them. Lots of fruit. Maybe all that fruit that people bought and ate in all these places kept all the toilet stops in business.
In one country and one city while out walking, I had to urgently use one of those round one person bathrooms set up on the street. It cost me money to get in. I didn’t realize that there was a time limit on how long you could sit on the toilet. I didn’t realize it until my time was up and the door popped wide open and there I sat on the throne right in the middle of the city and all the pedestrians.
I took this all in stride because I was in another country and surely people were used to seeing these doors pop open; surely seeing someone sitting red-faced on the toilet or wiping their privates right next to the sidewalk was common place and nothing to notice in particular.
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Tags: casino, Europe, kids, toilet, toilet paper, Tour buses
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You can mostly find separate male/female toilets in the E.U. now.
But yes, they will pop open if you spend too long dallying in there. And, I do love how in the U.S., you never have to pay to pee. But then again, remember when we never had to buy bottled waters either???
The reason there are signs about not standing on the toilet IS there are some countries where that is how the toilet is used. A former supervisor where I used to work was laughing when he told us that when he went to India, that was the hardest thing to get used to…having to stand on the toilet to do one’s business.
Yes, this was an Asian grocery store. If you click on the remark in the article it will take you to our interesting day there with the kids. xo
Thank you, Venus. I am laughing my head off with the image of your shocked face while squatting in my minds eye. Too funny! You know, I think you could make money by selling some of your experiences to those T.V. shows that set up funny things to happen to unsuspecting people. Thank you for being able to share even your most embarrassing moments with us. I love beginning my day this way, roaring with laughter. Love & Hugs
Very amusing to read this. And having the right change for the toilet ladies over here in Europe is still a source of minor stress when planning to be out and about all day.
Boy Venus , I don’t know what I would have done to have the door opened on me, and in the street to boot…. how embarrassing!!! I respect my privacy…. LOL The picture reminds me of the casino’s- -hallways….
Yes with Ms.Venus nothing is off limits!! I love it….its great to look at anything as a challenge instead of a problem, this i am learning , this is great one or is that # 2?
I get uncomfortable when there is someone in the stall next to me! I can’t imaging one where you could see other people, or they could see you. Not that there is much, I mean, women are doubled over when going…anyway…where was I going with this? I might like helpful service, but I wouldn’t want to have to pay!
Rebecca, this happens because people are afraid of getting cooties. That’s why they stand to pee. But how common is that to not clean up after yourself? It’s extremely rude, inconsiderate, and thoughtless. I used to own a flower market and that’s what happened time and again when allowing the customer’s to use the port-a-potty. It happened so much that I just wiped the seat down every time, esp. if I knew a customer used it. That’s why alot of businesses will post “employees only” signs. I’d have done the same thing but it was hard to say no to customers who looked like they would explode. Penis envy, anyone? Plus, it was dark in there and even though there was a urinal, the men even peed on the seat!
My supervisor recently went to Nepal for a Habitat build . . . She related to us her first encounter with a public bathroom: She walked in and there were a couple of holes in the floor with illustrations of feet on each side of each hole, representing where she was to place her own feet as she squated over the hole. And my father told many stories of bathrooms (or the nonexistence of them) in the many countries he visited. On a side note, he developed a bit of an aversion to shaking hands
Venus, once again, you have caused me to laugh out loud, making my coworkers wonder exactly what I’m up to!
Oh Venus! I am just howling thinking of that bathroom door opening! I saw those round stalls around Paris, and was told that there is a time limit. That was enough to deter me! I often wondered how many people got caught with their pants down! I now know of one! Thank you for the belly laugh!
Venus, I really enjoyed this blog. It just flowed…no pun intended. I was at Harrods once, perhaps I didn’t use the toilets because I don’t remember the parts about the glass halves. Although I am the type that will hold it in until I can get home. I hate public toilets. My husband however doesn’t feel too particular about them. Grocery stores, porta-potties…where ever, whenever he’s got to..he will. Not me. I admire people like him…and you too Venus. Such brave souls! x