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Published on November 18, 2007

Cat says

I n the past, the bathroom was designed for specific functions, and little attention was given to aesthetic questions of style and fittings. Rather than spending money on renovating the bathroom, most people preferred to put the money towards buying a new car or remodelling the kitchen. Up until fairly recently the bathroom was the last room in the house to get a makeover, but now with rising affluence it's become de rigueur to have all the latest gadgets and trendy fittings.

In recent years, modern bathroom design has become quite cutting-edge, with laser sensors triggering a spurt of water from a tap every time a pair of hands beneath is detected. Nowadays you can get attractive washbasins in all shapes and sizes, showers with multiple nozzles and spray strengths - even fancy bidets for all shapes of bottom! And today's fashion-forward hip designs are more easily available and affordable than ever before.

However, as easy to buy as this new bathroom paraphernalia may be, it's difficult sometimes to find the right balance between cutting-edge style and practical substance.

I must say I love to use nice bathrooms, whether at home or in a hotel. Staying at a hotel, the first thing I do is inspect the bathroom. The Ritz-Carlton in Singapore has the most amazing bathrooms with fabulous views. Here in Bangkok, the Sukhothai Hotel has lovely bathrooms with "his" and "her" wash basins, an essential feature for modern-day living.

Apart from bathrooms en suite in hotel rooms, I also take an interest in my surroundings when I visit the public bathrooms in various restaurants and clubs. I once visited a restaurant on Convent Road where I'm sure the restroom was designed to give customers a Mr Bean moment. I remember spending at least 15 minutes trying to work out where the lavatory flush was and then how to turn the tap on at the basin. Eventually I did manage to locate the carefully hidden lavatory flush on the floor, and the sensor for the water tap under the basin!

Being a hygiene freak, I am always on guard when I use public bathrooms, no matter whether it's in a five-star hotel or an airport lounge. Unfortunately not many bathrooms are equipped for those of us who take personal hygiene to another level. Personally I would like to see toilet seat covers offered in all public loos - it would also be useful to have antibacterial wipes offered.

We are, after all, living in the 21st century; I don't think these requests are too much to ask for.

Nat says

 I n the course of my Internet research on the subject                                                                                 of bathroom sanitaryware, I came across Thomas-Crapper.com, the website for the Thomas Crapper Company. As a public service, I quote the following from the website:

"It is popularly thought that Mr Crapper invented the WC, and that the vulgar word for faeces is a derivative of his name, but neither belief is true. However, etymologists attest that the American word 'crapper', meaning the WC, comes directly from his name."

This valuable datum is followed by testimonials from people with tremendously posh-sounding names who are all clients of the company. You too could own a Crapper convenience.

Whether or not it was Crapper, whoever invented the flushing toilet did the world a great service. Furthermore, I personally would like to thank the person who decided that toilets should resemble chairs instead of slippery ceramic holes in the floor.

I have a friend who disagrees. He insists that if one were to use a public loo, the squatting kind is infinitely preferable to the kind where one has to make bodily contact with the fixture itself. Who knows who sat there before you did?

But like anyone who was brought up in the West, I am filled with a certain dread when confronted with the squatting kind of loo. Blame Freud, but my personal feeling is that falling in would be infinitely worse than having to share a seat with dodgy strangers. If you're afraid to sit on the same loo as an unhygienic previous incumbent, how much worse to accidentally step into the place where that unhygienic person, you know, has left a deposit? No matter how much people have flushed, the hole in the floor can't possibly be as safe as the chair above one.

I think the prize for inventing the best loos goes to the Japanese. Perhaps "invented" is the wrong term. They have refined a tried and tested product. Upscale Tokyo restaurants have toilets where a sensor will automatically raise the lid when you stand in front of it to reveal a seat which has a neat paper cover on it. When you have finished, a remote control-operated attachment directs a jet of water where it is necessary and then a fan blow-dries you with warm air, making reaching behind with loo paper redundant. When you stand up, the toilet automatically flushes, taking the paper that covered the seat with it. Then robotic arms automatically extend a new sheet of paper over the seat in preparation for the next person.

For the most part, however, I don't have to use that kind of public loo. It is a wonderful thing to be able to walk up to a urinal and use it without fear of spraying the seat should my aim be off. Most modern ones flush themselves, too. I just wash my hands and go on my merry way.

Thank God I'm a man.

Want an opinion on something? Cat and Nat can  be contacted at

NnaSWild@aol.com.