Thailand, 1990.
My sister and I were travelling round South-East Asia during our university holidays. After weeks of staying in in the most basic accomodation, we splashed out the equivalent of £10 to stay in a luxurious hotel in Chiang-Mai with an ensuite bathroom.
Eating unfamiliar food had taken its toll on my sister and, 24 hours into our stay, she emerged from the bathroom to say that the toilet was blocked. With temperatures in the nineties, this was definitely not something we could ignore so she called down to the hotel desk and sheepishly admitted what had happened.
Ten minutes later a cheery man knocked on our door, saying that he had come to “Fix toilet”. He disappeared into the bathroom, leaving the door ajar, with no apparent tools to assist him other than a large smile.
My sister and I looked at each other. We had to know. In silent mutual agreement, we went over and peeped around the door.
What we saw has since been related at parties, family events and anytime anyone mentions a toilet situation. Our trusty “plumber” was balancing on one leg, with his other foot down the toilet. Clad only in flip flops, he was nudging at the blockage to clear it. After a few minutes of dedicated footwork, he flushed the toilet, swirled his foot in the basin to clean it and said “Clear poo with shoe.”
And that, my friends, is one way to fix a toilet that you will not see on Youtube.
I am part of the <a href=”https://twitter.com/search?q=Blog4Sanitation&f=realtime”>#Blog4Sanitation</a> movI am part of the <a href=”https://twitter.com/search?q=Blog4Sanitation&f=realtime”>#Blog4Sanitation</a> movement setup by <a href=”http://www.splashdirect.com/”>Splashdirect</a> to raise awareness of the importance of global sanitation. <a href=”http://www.splashdirect.com/guide-to-world-toilet-day”>Learn more about World Toilet Day</a>.ement setup by <a href=”http://www.splashdirect.com/”>Splashdirect</a> to raise awareness of the importance of global sanitation. <a href=”http://www.splashdirect.com/guide-to-world-toilet-day”>Learn more about World Toilet Day</a>.
londondoggymama 