"We don't need to air condition the bathroom" was a common phrase uttered by my father over the years we lived in Indonesia. I remember rolling my eyes, in my best snarky teenager way, as Dad would constantly close doors to air conditioned bedrooms and reprimand us lazy kids.
I now say the exact same thing.
"We don't need to air condition the bathroom."
Our bathrooms here in our apartment are a little different than what we are used to back in the States. Like other countries around the world, many bathrooms in India are what is know as "wet" bathrooms. There is no enclosure around the shower area. There are drains in the floor and your shower water sprays every which way, eventually making its way to a drain. I accepted and dealt with this for a few months, but got a little fed up with constantly damp toilet paper. One day, we found ourselves at a furniture store where we saw two shower curtain tension rods. We immediately bought both. We hadn't seen them before, or since. Now, we have two slightly less "wet" bathrooms and blessedly dry toilet paper.
To deal with the fact that bathrooms here are generally wet places, they must be well ventilated. And so, we find ourselves with louvered windows in all our bathrooms, thus giving us a steady stream of "fresh" air. So, when a bathroom door is left ajar, with the AC running, all that lovely cool air goes straight out the window. We don't need to air condition the bathroom OR India at large. Our poor windows aren't adjustable, so there is no way to clean their exteriors. Hence, this is what our bathroom window looks like.
The windows certainly provide the visual privacy that is required, but that is about it. Living in a large apartment complex, our louvered-windowed bathrooms are above and below all our neighbors similarly louvered-windowed bathrooms. Sometimes, I enter the bathroom to find myself enjoying the melodies of our whistling neighbor. It makes me smile, but feel slightly self-conscious. More often than not, when I'm getting into the shower in the morning the noises aren't so pleasant. A cacophony of "nasal cleansing"greets me, and continues throughout my shower. How so many people could produce so much mucus is beyond me. This morning, I actually spent a good hour contemplating whether or not I really needed a shower, because I just couldn't face the grossness this morning. Snort-cough-spit, snort-cough-spit. Just be glad there is no accompanying photo.
We've been in India for three months now. Apparently, this is when the "honeymoon" phase ends and irritations rise. My feelings about the bathroom are the first sign....
I now say the exact same thing.
"We don't need to air condition the bathroom."
Our bathrooms here in our apartment are a little different than what we are used to back in the States. Like other countries around the world, many bathrooms in India are what is know as "wet" bathrooms. There is no enclosure around the shower area. There are drains in the floor and your shower water sprays every which way, eventually making its way to a drain. I accepted and dealt with this for a few months, but got a little fed up with constantly damp toilet paper. One day, we found ourselves at a furniture store where we saw two shower curtain tension rods. We immediately bought both. We hadn't seen them before, or since. Now, we have two slightly less "wet" bathrooms and blessedly dry toilet paper.
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| And don't you love our mirror? It's bedazzled. |
To deal with the fact that bathrooms here are generally wet places, they must be well ventilated. And so, we find ourselves with louvered windows in all our bathrooms, thus giving us a steady stream of "fresh" air. So, when a bathroom door is left ajar, with the AC running, all that lovely cool air goes straight out the window. We don't need to air condition the bathroom OR India at large. Our poor windows aren't adjustable, so there is no way to clean their exteriors. Hence, this is what our bathroom window looks like.
The windows certainly provide the visual privacy that is required, but that is about it. Living in a large apartment complex, our louvered-windowed bathrooms are above and below all our neighbors similarly louvered-windowed bathrooms. Sometimes, I enter the bathroom to find myself enjoying the melodies of our whistling neighbor. It makes me smile, but feel slightly self-conscious. More often than not, when I'm getting into the shower in the morning the noises aren't so pleasant. A cacophony of "nasal cleansing"greets me, and continues throughout my shower. How so many people could produce so much mucus is beyond me. This morning, I actually spent a good hour contemplating whether or not I really needed a shower, because I just couldn't face the grossness this morning. Snort-cough-spit, snort-cough-spit. Just be glad there is no accompanying photo.
We've been in India for three months now. Apparently, this is when the "honeymoon" phase ends and irritations rise. My feelings about the bathroom are the first sign....
Great post! Our bathroom window is only a few feet away from the bathroom window of our neighbor who lives behind us. I recently noted that after 4 years I have become so accustomed to the "snort-cough-spit", that I honestly can't imagine getting ready in the morning any other way! I'll have to record it sometime because it is truly unbelievable, we can compare notes.
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