Today I was driving home from a visit to the Taj Mahal. (Note: I will share pictures of this very soon.) A glorious building by the way that truly takes your breathe away. But this post is not about the gleaming, white marble Taj Mahal. NO, it is about the hideous washroom incident I had to deal with while in route back to Delhi.
My friend and I, being both females, had the urge to use the bathroom for a number 1 situation (for those not from the states this means we needed to pee). Thus we stopped at the closest facilities on a very barren road between Agra and Delhi. This particular rest stop happened to have some packaged chips and some soda pops. Our merry crowd proceeded to select their needed beverages and snacks for the rest of the journey while my friend and I asked about directions to the washroom.
Here is the literal description of the facilities we encountered told in my own words...
"I asked the service associate where the facilities were and he ushered me back to a small doorway underneath the stairwell. The room had a tiny ventilation window on the dingy brown door. Upon opening the door I noticed that the room had no light inside it, thus once the door was closed the visitor was sitting in total darkness. This tiny washroom was about 4 feet by 4 feet in size and pretty much looked like it had never been cleaned....ever! I quickly also realized that the toilet was simply a disgusting hole in the floor that did not flush and also happened to have a layer of piss all over it. I really had to pee, so I thought through my options. Go outside and piss while 20 or 30 Indian men stared on at wonder at the white lady (no I don't think so) or use the only available toilet. So, I took a deep breathe of fresh air and headed into the dismal accommodations. As soon as the door was closed I was in total darkness. My sandal clad feet slid on the urine that lined the hole and I righted myself before toes touched water...or whatever was down in that hole. I cringed but pulled my pants down and did my business as quickly as possible hoping and praying I was far enough away from the hole that the back-splash wouldn't get me. The tomb was stifling. No air at all was moving in that tiny space. There was no toilet paper and I was running out of breathe. I quickly pushed the door open with my feet and proceeded to button up my pants outside the door because the smell of feces was permeating everything."
My friend went in next doing pretty much the same thing and describing it in a similar fashion.
Disgusting. When I close my eyes I still see that hole and feel that oppressive darkness. Like being locked inside the actual hole itself. I thought to myself what must this be like to only have facilities like this to use every day. Never having a clean spot to use the bathroom. Terrifying. My worst nightmare. Truly.
And wouldn't you know...another mile down the road and there were lovely, sparkly, clean public washrooms. Ugh!
My friend and I, being both females, had the urge to use the bathroom for a number 1 situation (for those not from the states this means we needed to pee). Thus we stopped at the closest facilities on a very barren road between Agra and Delhi. This particular rest stop happened to have some packaged chips and some soda pops. Our merry crowd proceeded to select their needed beverages and snacks for the rest of the journey while my friend and I asked about directions to the washroom.
Here is the literal description of the facilities we encountered told in my own words...
"I asked the service associate where the facilities were and he ushered me back to a small doorway underneath the stairwell. The room had a tiny ventilation window on the dingy brown door. Upon opening the door I noticed that the room had no light inside it, thus once the door was closed the visitor was sitting in total darkness. This tiny washroom was about 4 feet by 4 feet in size and pretty much looked like it had never been cleaned....ever! I quickly also realized that the toilet was simply a disgusting hole in the floor that did not flush and also happened to have a layer of piss all over it. I really had to pee, so I thought through my options. Go outside and piss while 20 or 30 Indian men stared on at wonder at the white lady (no I don't think so) or use the only available toilet. So, I took a deep breathe of fresh air and headed into the dismal accommodations. As soon as the door was closed I was in total darkness. My sandal clad feet slid on the urine that lined the hole and I righted myself before toes touched water...or whatever was down in that hole. I cringed but pulled my pants down and did my business as quickly as possible hoping and praying I was far enough away from the hole that the back-splash wouldn't get me. The tomb was stifling. No air at all was moving in that tiny space. There was no toilet paper and I was running out of breathe. I quickly pushed the door open with my feet and proceeded to button up my pants outside the door because the smell of feces was permeating everything."
My friend went in next doing pretty much the same thing and describing it in a similar fashion.
Disgusting. When I close my eyes I still see that hole and feel that oppressive darkness. Like being locked inside the actual hole itself. I thought to myself what must this be like to only have facilities like this to use every day. Never having a clean spot to use the bathroom. Terrifying. My worst nightmare. Truly.
And wouldn't you know...another mile down the road and there were lovely, sparkly, clean public washrooms. Ugh!
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