June 24, 2019

"When you look at social media feeds of people who visit the Sahara Desert you see beautiful images of sand dunes, camels, and sunsets."

"This was not even close to what we experienced on our Moroccan desert tour.... We paid for a tour that (supposedly) provided a proper bathroom, but upon arrival, we were told that in order to use the bathroom you had to dig a hole in the sand. We were then advised to look for pieces of toilet paper sticking out of the sand to avoid using the same 'toilet' as another guest; oddly, we were also not told to bring any toilet paper...."

From "Bad Travel Experiences – Travellers Tell Their Worst Travel Tales."

59 comments:

Howard said...

People from turd world countries expect it is common knowledge to always carry your own toilet paper. They did not want to insult their guests by explaining the obvious.

paminwi said...

Rule of thumb: travel in Africa/Middle East ALWAYS have your own toilet paper.

Fen said...

I think I understand now why Barbarians especially enjoy sacking cities.

MadisonMan said...

As noted already: Not told to bring toilet paper is far far different than told to not bring toilet paper.

Don't rely on someone else if you want a lot of comfort. You'll be disappointed.

David Begley said...

Shit hole country?

Fen said...

What I remember most about 3rd World cities is their particular smell, a combination of cooking fires and some kind of incense(?). Each one has its own flavor. Not like in the states.

Weird how many Global Warming cultists haven't seen a 3rd World village at night. Everyone is cooking wood, to stay warm and to prepare food. Smoke trails EVERYWHERE, like the whole place is on fire. That's what socialism will do - take us back to the days of burning driftwood to stay alive.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

I carry a roll of toilet paper in my car for travel in the U.S.

gilbar said...

They SAID that there would be 'proper bathrooms', what's 'proper' for that area?
I'm guessing, a shithole.

Like LeftBank, i always carry a small roll of toilet paper in my car (inside the tube, i have a bottle of waterless cleaner, that fits it perfectly: very useful!
Lately, i've learnt the wonders of baby wipes, and keep a thing of those too; not only do they work for bathing without water, they'll even work as toilet paper if there's nothing else.

whitney said...

Always pack toilet paper. I even keep a roll in my car. And a towel

MadisonMan said...

Having now read that entire linked article let me add: People are stupid. Worst travel incident is not getting a stand-by seat on an overbooked flight and having to buy an actual seat. Let me weep hot wet tears for you! I ate some fruit that I didn't wash and I got sick. How sad!

gilbar said...

MadMan made me go and read the linked article; and...

Jesus Fucking GODDAMN Motherfucking Christ!
The people on that site, need to go find out what a Really Bad Time is !

Maybe, Just Maybe; if you wait until the day your Visa expires, and you haven't bought a ticket home yet; Maybe you SHOULD have planned at little?

Someone didn't know about exchange rates? JFGdMfC!

stlcdr said...

Expect ANY foreign country to be not like what you see on the internet. There's a reason people want to come to the US, even from supposedly 'civilized' countries.

If you want an 'internet-looking' destination, be prepared to pay a shit load of cash, so that the US can move with you.

Fernandinande said...

It was too hot to sleep inside of the tents so you were forced to sleep on top of the feces and it was EVERYWHERE.

Hole + shit = shithole.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

a Moroccan Fyre Festival !

"What did Socialists use before shit-holes? Toilets!"

and now, a little Maria Muldaur -- kick up a little dust

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlrKETxwRvM

Mr. Groovington said...

You should all try a nice safe beginner’s shithole, like Varanasi, and see what you’re missing.

John henry said...

My wife and I stayed at a Motel 6 in Spokane week before last.

John Henry

Oso Negro said...

Only an idiot eats fresh fruit or salads in the Third World. Still to boiled, fried, or baked to avoid the usual consequences.

John henry said...

In one of PJ O'Rourke's books he tells of going on a group junket to east Germany.

The tour was to demo the glories of socialism and apparently everyone else was a true believer.

If socialism is so great, he asked, why are we told to bring toilet paper?

John Henry

Michael said...

The Sahara picture makes clear it was a trip for idiots. There is an entire desert in which to take a shit. It is not necessary to to go to the “dirty sand” when you need only walk 40 yards.

traditionalguy said...

Frankly, anybody stupid enough to decide they will take a tour of the Moroccan Desert deserves to be tricked.

John henry said...

I kid about Motel 6. If all you need is a place to lay your head for a night, there is no better chain.

Never fancy but always clean and comfortable.

John Henry

Mr. Groovington said...

The residents of Buenos Aires think most American cities are shitholes, the residents unsophisticated and the table manners porcine. By comparison, they’re mostly correct.

tcrosse said...

If there's no local toilet paper, what do the natives use? Sand?

AllenS said...

OMG, those shit hole countries are turning into San Francisco!

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

@tcrosse
it rhymes with 'sand'

jaydub said...

"The residents of Buenos Aires think most American cities are shitholes, the residents unsophisticated and the table manners porcine."

Believe this! Argentinians know a lot about shithole countries, having created one from scratch. It never fails to amaze how socialists can ruin a city like Buenos Aires while destroying the economy of a country blessed with such natural assets. But they do. Every time.

Swede said...

I've been to Iraq 3 times.

Always bring toilet paper to the desert.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

Sandpaper!

@allenS -- funny! even our camel laffed!

Wince said...

How do you like to do it? Do you like to wash up first? You know, top and tails... whore's bath?

Personally before I'm on the job, I like to give my undercarriage a bit of a how's-your-father.

Gahrie said...

If there's no local toilet paper, what do the natives use? Sand?

Their left hand, which is why it is an insult to offer someone something with your left hand there, it's the unclean hand.

Wilbur said...

On my first visit to Brazil, I was surprised to learn that in most homes and public buildings it is forbidden to put your used TP in the toilet. The pipes and flushing mechanism are too small to handle it. A basket is provided in which to place it.

Mr. Groovington said...

Blogger Wilbur said...
On my first visit to Brazil, I was surprised to learn that in most homes and public buildings it is forbidden to put your used TP in the toilet. The pipes and flushing mechanism are too small to handle it. A basket is provided in which to place it.

The idea is to fold it up nicely.

rcocean said...

It reminds me of my father saying "No, we're not going to a rest stop. You got the whole San Joaquin valley - find a bush."

Why bring a porta potty to the Sahara Desert? The TP thing is odd though.

Anonymous said...

tcrosse said...
If there's no local toilet paper, what do the natives use? Sand?


as Gahrie said, though in some places, a bucket of water and a sponge is available for common use by your left hand.

rcocean said...

Lots of toilets in the 3rd world are just holes in the floor. Finding it in the pitch black night was an adventure.

rcocean said...

Why would anyone go to the Sahara? Its just sand dunes. And its hot. Some places have flies.

Ice Nine said...

I'm a very experienced seat-of-the-pants world traveler. One hundred countries - including Morocco - and some of which would make Morocco seem like Des Moines. Being long past the stage of naiveté manifested in the article's stories (actually, I don't think I was ever there) I could only shake my head at it.

I loved the one where the woman had learned to wash her fruit before eating it. She so hip now. She has yet to learn that the water she uses to wash the fruit will often be more pathogen-laden than the fruit itself. But she will learn that one too, by and by.

Here's the deal: You do not eat anything that you cannot peel or that you have not seen cooked. Street vendor food is, granted, wonderful - and the intestinal version of Russian Roulette. You only drink carbonated, bottled drinks (beer, soda, and sparkling water). Bottled water? - they refill those with tap water sometimes.

Always carry bananas - you can generally get them in those places where you will need them. They're cheap, portable, clean (peelable), tasty, filling, nutritious - and they do a pretty good job of bunging you up if you are feeling a little "loose." I of course *always* carry Lomotil as well.

And always - ALWAYS, do you hear me? - carry toilet paper!

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Another reason not to travel.

chickelit said...

This what I hate about modern travelers: the compulsion to visit out-of-the-way places -- all for bragging rights on social media -- and then to come back and complain about not having a warm safe place to shit. Moreover, they never even think twice about leaving their shit in pristine places. Fuck 'em all.

rcocean said...

Ice Nine is correct. The number one priority is not getting dysentery. You can also bring along tablets that will purify the water, but they taste terrible. I've never gotten sick because i avoid all veggies and fruits except oranges and bananas. And other people have gotten sick from vendor food they saw cooked in front of them. Its no guarantee.

Ice Nine said...

Affirm on your last, rcocean; it's no guarantee. But then none of it is. The meat could be undercooked, the plate could be contaminated, the cook's hands could be too. But, ya gotta eat; you do what you can.

Vegetables - I love the people who order salads in the lesser countries! Geez, just go outside and lick a dog turd and cut out the middleman!

walter said...

Don't you know we're riding on the Marrakesh Express

DavidUW said...

1) the Sahara is mostly rock. There are few dunes and frankly they’re not that big. At least in the Moroccan portion
2) you’re out in the middle of the Moroccan Sahara. There aren’t roads, why do you think there will be a toilet?
3) Moroccans are big on the western toilet scam. If you go, the hotels with western toilets are overpriced and filthy. The traditional riads with squat toilets are cheap and clean.

I even discovered all of these facts before getting with my (half) Moroccan better half.

Narr said...

I never read anything that makes me want to go to places as hot or hotter than where I live; I never read anything that makes me want to go to Muslim countries, no matter what pre-Islamic (or post-Islamic) history they have.

I read travel writers like Magris, Theroux, Raban, and Thubron; and older ones like Leigh Fermor. I'll never go to a hundredth of the places they know well.

Narr
But it's the next best thing

tcrosse said...

Is there used toilet paper among the turds on the sidewalks of San Francisco? Or do the bay breezes blow it away?

bagoh20 said...

A handful of sand does an adequate job, and then more sand to wash your hands. Ah sand, glorious sand. What can it not do?

walter said...

That's gonna mess up your thong presentation, bagoh

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

Wim Wender said there were angels on the streets of Berlin

now do San Fran, Vimmy

Love and hope and shit and dreams
Are still surviving on the street
Laughter, joy, and loneliness and shit and shit and shit and shit
You got rats on the west side
Bed bugs uptown
Pride and joy and greed and shit
Pile it up, pile it high on the platter


Shadoobie!!

MadisonMan said...

Ah sand, glorious sand. What can it not do?

Dissolve in water?

Achilles said...

oddly, we were also not told to bring any toilet paper...."

Barbarians use toilet paper.

Baby wipes are the right answer.

Achilles said...

bagoh20 said...
A handful of sand does an adequate job, and then more sand to wash your hands. Ah sand, glorious sand. What can it not do?

If you posted this seriously on a site there would be people who would try, once, to wipe their ass with sand.

Original Mike said...

Blogger Wilbur said...
"On my first visit to Brazil, I was surprised to learn that in most homes and public buildings it is forbidden to put your used TP in the toilet. The pipes and flushing mechanism are too small to handle it. A basket is provided in which to place it."


That explains the signs we see in New Zealand instructing people to put the toilet paper in the toilet. The other common sign instructs (as best we can decipher it) not to stand on the toilet.

ccscientist said...

In Japan on the train I was amused to see that the single person toilet (with no lock) had a window in the door (looking right at the toilet) so you could see that someone was in there and not disturb them. Clean though.

In China 22 yrs ago, I was always glad to see that the fish (carp) we were going to eat in the rooming house was alive, sitting in a bucket in the kitchen, because they considered refrigeration below 50 degrees F to be either wasteful or impossible (not sure which).

In Romania, they insisted on X-raying our film (yeah, film, a long time ago). All ruined and probably the operators died soon after also from leaking x-rays. It was Bucharest right after their revolution and the airport was all shot up and full of shady looking characters and guards with machine guns.

Narr said...

OM@532--

Is the "no standing" sign maybe a warning, to those who come from where standing over the opening (hole in the floor) is common, not to try that?

Narr
It's a theory

Original Mike said...

I think so, Narr, and we kind of figured that out. Until today, however, I didn't understand why people needed to be instructed that toilet paper belongs in the toilet.

I wonder how many have been injured standing on the toilet seat.

Unknown said...

You need a tag #millenial@heart for these posts. Too funny!

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