Bathroom Friendly Vacations

I had some trouble before posting pictures taken by my iPhone of the mobile toilet and the portable toilets on the Jazz Fest grounds. Here is a better cropped pic of the mobile toilet. I can only post cropped pics, nothing else is being accepted so sorry about that. Also, the software is not allowing me to shrink the photo as the iPhone normally allows you to do when you email a pic. So this is the best I can do, wish I can show the whole thing because it is really very very J Pouch friendly and there are NO LINES anywhere because the toilets are so plentiful.

That's awesome! I'm nervous just traveling an hour and a half to a wedding this weekend with the one bathroom available. Anytime there's only one bathroom available anywhere, I feel bad when I'm the person always using it... and not leaving it smelling nice. >_< But I am only 1 month post-takedown.

Hello CT can we meet in person this week?

Bergie,

I was in Canada from Thursday July 4 to Monday July 8. The Jazz Festival is over now and I am back in Connecticut. However, I may be back in Montreal in August and I will send you a PM at that time. As I mentioned previously I have family that lives in the area. On this past trip I was travelling with a friend.

By the ways, I had a great breakfast at L'Avenue on Sunday and I would recommend going there, even though we had a 20 minute wait to get a table (which rapidly becomes a 1 hour wait after 10 am on Sundays). They really should move into a bigger space.

I ordered an omelette and asked them to prepare it as scrambled eggs rather than as an omelette. They did it perfectly. It had a bunch of veggies and goat cheese in it.

quote:

Hello CT can we meet in person this week?

Bergie: I just got the PM you sent me which I would have received when I was in Montreal, except someone shut my automatic PM notifications off, so I did not know you sent me any PMs last week. Really sorry about that but I was NOT blowing you off or anything, and I would have responded affirmatively had I gotten the PM before today.

Not sure what a pouch friendly vacation is. I think it is in how you prepare for what ever you want to do.

Baby wipes and zip lock bags can get you through anything. I have done rockclimbing on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, no facilities. You find a rock well away from anyone and off the trail/climb, go, clean up. Put dirty wipes in a baggy, carry out, and dispose of in a trash can.

In China, the squatters were absolutely awful, but I had my wipes, and dealt with it.

Chinese trains were very efficient, but again, the squatters were awful. Wipes to the rescue.

I did a 50 mile endurance run up and down a mountain in national forest in West Virginia two years ago, had my wipes, carried out the dirty ones in a baggy and disposed of them properly.

I can handle anything, as long as I have hot water and a proper bathroom at the end of the day.

New Zealand this fall (30 mile run), South Africa in 2014 (Comrades 50 mile endurance), and Antarctica 2015 (marathon).

I will survive them all. Just prepare. I am 54 presently.

I've never thought of it as pouch friendly or not. I just did it, whatever it was, whatever vacation I took on, or activity I did. This seton has changed things WAY more than my pouch ever did, but I'm determined not to let to get me down. I will survive! Sobrevivire!

That's outstanding hfc! I have never gone on a vacation based on my pouch either. When I do travel I take a few precautions: extra imodium, pepto-bismal, a script for an antibiotic (which I've never had to use), and sufficient underwear packed IN the carry-on. But I suspect coloned people often take some precautions as well.

I hope you have lots of photos to share of your New Zealand, South Africa, and especially the Antarctica runs/marathons!

kathy

hfc and rachelraven

Over the years on this board I have seen numerous threads and posts by persons with J Pouches concerned about going on vacation due to unfamiliarity with bathrooms, access to public bathrooms, bathroom lines, etc. I remember a few years ago an Australian woman started a thread because she was travelling to NYC and had heard it is not the greatest place to find public bathrooms.

Positive attitudes, baby wipes and ziplock bags are great on camping trips but are not going to help you too much in NYC or on any foreign turf. Smartphone apps are likely to be of more utility.

I posted about my Montreal trip with all those posters in mind and especially the Aussie lady who started a thread about NYC bathrooms before her trip.

Also, I don't choose my vacation locations "based on my pouch." That Aussie lady who started a thread on NYC bathrooms clearly had not chosen NYC as a vacation destination based on her pouch. But there is a better comfort level with some destinations than others.

I think what hfc and rr might have meant is that being concerned about being near a bathroom isn't a "j-pouch" thing, it's an urgency thing. Some pouchers have urgency, some don't, just like some people with colons have urgency while others don't.

One of the reasons I had surgery was so that I could backpack again and travel abroad without worrying about having to find a bathroom. I realize it's not every jpoucher's desire to hike 200 miles across a foreign country, but it was a dream of mine and 3 years after surgery I did it. I've added to the list every year; 100 mile hikes through Scotland, Wales, Turkey, Ireland, Patagonia and several trips to 2nd and 3rd world countries (Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Java, Malaysia, etc). I've hiked and backpacked the Sierras and hiked in and out of the Grand Canyon. My jpouch doesn't dictate my travel or my daily life, THANKFULLY.

Sue

I changed the title of the thread to "bathroom friendly travel." By the ways in the past I did see comments both on this board and comments in my CCFA support group regarding clean bathrooms vs. totally gross port-o-potties and I thought I would make that point as well because the ones used in the Montreal Jazz Festival were among the cleanest I have ever seen.

While I don't plan my vacations around washroom facilities I am usually a little apprehensive about what the facilities will be like.

Recently travelled to Washington for 5 days and found them always handy and very clean as one would expect in a nation's capital.

I will be travelling to Italy shortly (Milan, Verona, Venice, Pisa, Florence and Rome) and frankly I am a little apprehensive about what to expect as I have heard some older European cities are not the same as travelling in North America. I have travelled in Spain previous to my pouch and never had any issues so I'm probably over thinking it this time.

(Not sure I would be up for the China squat though - pouch or no pouch - how does one read in such circumstances LOL),

Lew

Lew - Italy has very, very awesome bathrooms. You can stop the over-thinking now and replace those thoughts with the taste of real cappuccinos, gelato, and pasta. And most hotels in Italy come equipped with bidets as well. Very civilized.

kathy

Yes, Italy is fine. Plenty of rest room access between restaurants and museums. Sometimes we'd go into a museum specifically to use the toilet.

If you are taking trains, don't use the toilet while the train is in the station. It is considered rude (toilets empty onto the tracks, even in first class). Wait until the train is moving.

Jan

I like a clean bathroom with hot water as much as the next j-poucher and take advantage of them when they are available. Unfortunately, that is not usually the case when I am travelling. My wipes have saved the day many times.

Portapotties are especially disgusting at the big marathons. I clean the toilet seat before I sit with a wipe. I carry wipes in a baggy in my belt which holds my energy gels, water, racing number.

I also take advantage of going when a toilet is available, whether I need to go or not.

A pepto bismol tab twice daily seems to keep the bowel urges in check. I actually did very well in China for two weeks. I only drank bottled water/beer/soft drinks, avoided all raw veg/fruit.

My wife who signs me up for all of these crazy endurance races and travel all over won't let me slow down!

Thanks Kathy and Jan that puts my mind at ease. I remember Sharon talking about the toilet paper in France and was thinking of taking my own. (As a poucher the quality of the TP has an impact).

Maybe now I can concentrate on finding some great Chianti!

Hfc - I use the Pepto when I travel to help with slowdown. I also find the beer helps with that too.

Ctbarrister - I forgot to mention I was at Bluesfest in Ottawa this weekend to see the Dixie Chicks and numerous others. Even though I live here I was amazed at the facilities (quantity and quality). There were numerous beer, wine and food outlets as well as water stations (for refilling bottles) and washrooms.First time we have gone but truly a great venue with a host of big name entertainment. (Less than 2 hours west of Montreal).

Lew

hfc-

The port-o-potties I have visited in my travels are generally disgusting. In early June I had to take a business related trip to New Hampshire and on the Mass. Pike they had some port-o-potties set up at a rest stop on the highway and although there were a sufficient amount of them, they were really gross. I observed a 16 year old girl walk into one and she walked right out and told her parents she was not using it.

The ones in the Montreal Jazz Festival are unusually clean and do not smell. I don't know if it is because Canadians are more advanced in the area of sanitation engineering or what the reason is.

Generally the biggest problem area for bathrooms in my travels is New York City. Especially if you are a woman. There are consistently long lines to the women's washroom at the lower level of Grand Central Station. I feel lucky to be a guy whenever I am in GCS although I must say those bathrooms are pretty gross and it is mainly because the volume of use is off the charts. There is an attendant there but it is hard to keep it clean when the urinals and toilets are in virtually constant use 24/7/365.

I love camping, but the frequency issue makes traditional camping impractical, so I tried a KOA campground.

THey have some cabins with bathrooms. It's not the same as wilderness camping, but if you just accept it for what it is, it's nice and relaxing.

Well tomorrow is the 4 th anniversary of my J Pouch and I'm off to Italy.

Everyone I talk to say the food and wine is incredible.

Sure hope you guys are right about the toilets!

Ciao!

Lew

Hi Lew,

I don't know if the Sistine Chapel is on your travel agenda but a buddy of mine got in there recently and snapped some photos with his smartphone's camera. Apparently the security guards yelled at him but they did not seize his phone. He sent me the pics and they are pretty cool.

I would imagine that tourist sites like that are loaded with bathrooms.

Have a great trip and let us know how it goes with the food, wine and bathrooms!!!! Take care.

Back from Italy had a wonderful time.

My bathroom issues were not the ones I had anticipated before leaving.

I had anticipated issues with food and drink but both the wine and food were incredible and I had no bathroom issues with either. In fact my system functioned so well I am considering including more pasta in my diet.

The biggest surprise was the variety of flushing systems in use. (At Assissi it took me nearly 5 minutes to figure out how to flush the toilet). Another surprise was the lack of toilet seats away from the hotels. It took a little practice to keep the splatter effect in check! (Fortunately the more explosive times happened at the hotel). Oh yeah - always remeber to have .5 Euros in your pocket to pay for washrooms away from the hotel or the restaurant you are eating at.

I guess the most unusual thing that happened was at one of their service centers. I got locked in the toilet by an unfamiliar locking system. I tried everything and finally twisted the lock mechanism too hard and it broke and fell on the floor with a spring. It might have been funny except that it was 94 degrees Fahrenheit and there was only a 2 inch gap under the door. It was sweltering and of course being a bit claustrophobic didn't help! I tried breaking the door down but it was substantial so I called for help. Fortunately there was an English speaking bus driver who told me to push the key in the door and turn - so I picked up the broken plastic piece off the floor and pushed it in - mercifully the door opened. The fresh air was wonderful!

As if that wasn't enough my wife got locked in the bathroom at a new hotel and I had to call for assistance to get her out.

Perhaps we should quit locking the doors!

Other than those little issues the country and the people were great. We travelled with people from Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the US. They were a great group which really helped make the trip amazing.

I guess the highlights were Venice, Florence, Assissi and Rome but Lake Maggiore, Milan, Pisa and Verona and a dinner evening in Tuscany were also great.

(I highly recommend the trip (just pack some tools for the toilet locks and practice hovering before you go)!

Lew

Wow! Lew,
Your trip sounds fantastic and I am thrilled that your pouch behaved the whole time...European bathrooms require a PHD in door locking, light turning on and bowl flushing...I've lived here for 30yrs and honestly am still surprised at the ingenuity of some of the bathrooms here...yes, I still get locked in on occasion but now, I test the locks a couple of times with the door open before locking them behind me...having a multi-tool on your keychain w/flashlight helps too.
So where is your next trip going to be?
Sharon

Lew, sounds like a fabulous time! We loved Venice so much our first trip to Italy, we went back last year and spent a week there, in an apartment! Heaven!!

Yes, those foreign toilets can make you feel like an idiot. Our first trip to Europe was on a river cruise. When we were wandering around in Dusseldorf I was so pleased to find a public toilet, and there wasn't even an attendant collecting money! It was modern with everything automated by motion sensors. No problem....until I went to flush the toilet. I must of been in there 10 minutes, waving my arms, getting up and down from the toilet, pushing anything resembling a button, even raising and lowering the seat. Nothing.

Finally, I gave up and decided that it was either broken or I was an idiot. I was going to have to leave it unflused. It was the second choice, I was dumb. When I unlocked the door to the stall, the toilet miraculously flushed! I never dreamed that the door lock triggered the flush mechanism!

Jan

The toilets in China and India are truly an experience! Take your baby wipes!