Two tiers of countries

[Provost Harrison]

Never had the problem in Peru either. I think people are just enjoying making Americans look like fools

[The Mad Monk]

Touché.

You'll note though that I merely asked the question, I didn't condemn the country as inferior.

But I've only craped in 14 countries.

FTFY

[MikeH]

crapped shirley.

[MikeH]

I have crêped in 3 countries.

[onodera]

Er, I don't know. I generally do so. Should I go digging through trash cans in public bathrooms to find out, or just ask folks, "how do you, personally, wipe your ass?"

This is usually obvious as soon as you open the bin.

[The Mad Monk]

crapped shirley.

No wonder she dumped you.

[MikeH]

I hope that was deliberate punnage.

[Traianvs]

In Egypt, toilet paper is offered at the hotel but there are explicit instructions telling you not to flush.

So there is a 3rd tier then: Where toilet paper isn't used.

Bidets are nice but I refuse to use it as my only means of cleaning after taking a crap. Even the nice toilet integrated with drying action that I had at Hotel Niko in SF left me wanting.

They probably pulled your legs since they're all American-haters

Seriously, I was on the Red Sea coast first, then had some days in Cairo too, and never encountered the prob. Also not in hotels in Jordan a year before, though I there I saw smaller hotels (that were usually not used by "westerners" though) did have lavatories you wouldn't want to use if you could avoid it.

Ah, you did the luxury tour. Toilet paper is sold in the Middle-East, but not in the vast quantities like in the western world. I've backpacked Egypt, Jordan and Syria, staying in shabby hotels with lavatories you wouldn't want to use if you could avoid it. Incidentally, that's how most of the sanitation out there looks like.

I'm pretty sure the water hose is standard option for common people out there. That and the left hand, but that goes without saying of course

[Agent Sox]

Its true there really are two tiers of countries but not like Soviet Union/US style. It's more like those who know the truht and those that don't. There are countries planning for the end and those that are just trying to get by now. Obviously the US is one of the former countries.

[MikeH]

I wouldn't have found no toilet paper surprising. Having it and not being able to flush it I find surprising.

[Agent Sox]

Oh this thread is about toilet paper? Then I guess I kind of look dumb, haha.

[MikeH]

Shows how much of the OP you read.

[Agent Sox]

Well I can't speak to the toilet paper thing because I don't travel a lot. It is too much of a headache for me to bring all my stuff through customs and to find out where to go in case of emergencies and all that stuff.

[BeBMan]

Ah, you did the luxury tour. Toilet paper is sold in the Middle-East, but not in the vast quantities like in the western world. I've backpacked Egypt, Jordan and Syria, staying in shabby hotels with lavatories you wouldn't want to use if you could avoid it. Incidentally, that's how most of the sanitation out there looks like.

I'm pretty sure the water hose is standard option for common people out there. That and the left hand, but that goes without saying of course

We used 4 star hotels as main base, since I had people around saying a middle-east 3 star may be not what we spoiled western brats expect from a 3 star elsewhere. The "hotels with lavatories you wouldn't want to use" I usually encountered when we did trips on our own. Not that comfortable, but moving away from the typical "tourist paths" was otherwise a good experience. Yeah, those things are probably the standard there.