In 2015 my friend Photographer Daniel Herron and I was out doing an interview together. After finishing, we were quite pleased and happy with what we had put together and decided to celebrate with a late lunch. Don’t ask me where we went, but it was a French restaurant around Ploen Chit area.
As we were in celebration mood, we decided to order a bottle of wine. After a fun lunch and the wine, we were both a bit tipsy and in a very good mood. We strolled along direction Asoke and when we passed TOTO, located at Q House, a very nice showroom with water closets, it caught our attention.
Laughing we decided to pay a visit.
Neither one of us had any idea that WCs are such big things in Thailand. We were greeted by a young salesman who looked at us with curiosity, and took us around, explaining the advantages about the several toilets. It was hard not to burst out laughing. It seems to be like with cars, everything from a small Fiat to a luxury Rolls Royce! The very normal toilet and the exclusive toilet doing most of what you could wish for, were available.
Lately, when I have been visiting public restrooms, I always think about Daniel’s and my WCs experience. Have you ever thought about the restrooms in e.g., shopping malls here in Thailand? From Sweden, and I would say, the rest of Europe, even the US, it’s not a big thing to walk into a public restroom, but there are some very special ones. You don’t know what to expect, but most restrooms are very spectacular.
When the Terminal 21 at Asoke was opened, we were facing all kinds of restrooms, named after airports, with fancy decorations, very effective flushing toilets etc. It was like the mall designer was thinking, you have to visit and use the restrooms several times a day, so why not make them unique and welcoming.
While visiting one of the latest shopping-mall, the EmSphere on Sukhumvit, it hit me again. In the restaurant, TRIBE and night club MEGA there are some really exceptional WC’s. Colorful and exotic, it makes you feel you could sit there forever and the toilets are of highest quality. I have realized that the places for “private business” are really important to the Thai people, as well as the Japanese, as their designed toilets are among the most exclusive.
Some rooftop bars and restaurants are also focusing on placing and decorating their restrooms as beautifully as possible. It wouldn’t be a mystery if you have to wait for your male escort while he does “his business”, standing dreaming and watching the skyline of Bangkok outside……
I don’t remember where Daniel once had been “for men” where the view was absolutely amazing and you could have peed for a long, long time. He was fascinated. For us women, the view might not be so easy to watch, sitting makes it a bit more complicated, but I have been to restrooms with beautifully painted ceilings, something for us women to watch.
Let me say, restroom architects from Europe and the US etc. should come for some inspiration in Thailand.
After all, it is much more pleasant to visit an exclusive restroom and having a toilet doing all extra work for you…lol, true?
Restrooms matter!
