Lesson Learned

Here’s a little story about my very first night in Singapore.

After taking a brief nap in the afternoon on the day I arrived, I was ready to party and see what Singapore had to offer – and by party I mean sleepily eat some dinner and pass out again.  We decided to meet up with some of my boyfriend’s friends to eat dinner and get drinks in Robertson Quay.  After more than a few beers at dinner I needed to use the restroom so I excused myself to find the toilet.

Roberson Quay is a touristy bar area where not every restaurant has a toilet – its kind of like a mall I guess (which all of Singapore is like I will come to find out).  Theres central toilets that all the restaurants share.  I went on a bit of a wander to find the toilets, and happy I did because I was ready to GO!  All the stalls were full except for one, so I go to that one.

It’s a squat toilet.

I was familiar with squat toilets from some of my previous asian adventures but I’d never used one and had only seen them in more squalid places. This was Singapore though: a “westernised” country.  But as it was my first night there I had no idea what type of public toilets they had, so I thought, “When in Rome” and “Might as well.”

After I finished (somewhat successfully avoiding my feet), I walked out to see all the other stalls empty. AND THEY WERE ALL NORMAL TOILETS!

I learned my first lesson of life in Singapore that day.  There is always ONE squat toilet.

Going forward I just wait for a normal stall to open up. (duh)

These’s pictures have nothing to do with that night or toilets, but they are from Singapore.

The Mosque near Arab Street

The View form MBS