TOILET TAO : A review of toilets on the Langtang trail.

— Nashiu Zahir

There’s an old tale from neighbouring India that goes like this: a king summoned his advisor, Beerbal, who was immensely clever but very unorthodox, to court to ask him this question: what is the one thing that can make a man most content?

But before Beerbal could answer, several others responded with cries of ‘money’, ‘an obedient wife’, ‘healthy offspring’ and ‘devotion to the gods’.

‘And what do you think, Beerbal?’ his majesty asked.

‘If you will forgive my honesty sire, a good bowel movement when one truly needs to go.’

Maybe only the weak and uninitiated would ponder such trifles as the state of toilets en-route to Langtang Valley but I admit: toilets figured prominently in my mind when I hiked up those foothills the first day. Nevertheless it stands to reason, that the last thing you would want after a hard day’s walk is a crap toilet.

[quote_right]Hygiene: 4
Smell: 3
Comfort: 2
Accessibility: 5
Toilet Tao: 3.5
[/quote_right]

At our first stop in Thulo Syabru, four hours from Dunche, the toilet took me by surprise; it was highly accessible ‘“  just a few steps from my room and a squatter, but spotless.  There were also several hooks for clothes (as it had a shower). The flush pail wasn’t grimy and the little jug inside was not coated with slime. And the moment I stood up I was graced with a view of a sloping, pine-studded hillside beyond in which Lirung stood, surrounded by a host of other snow-clad peaks, crimson in the early morning light. It would have been an exceptional sight anywhere, though the feeling was only intensified by my awareness of where I was.

[quote_right]Hygiene: 4
Smell: 5
Comfort: 2
Accessibility: 5
Toilet Tao: 4
[/quote_right]

My initial misgivings had been dispelled somewhat, and I had certain expectations for our next stop, Lama Hotel. Lama Guest House had two out-houses which I overlooked, but the toilet upstairs was decent. It was closet sized and the toilet and bucket were both blue, which contrasted with the wood of the walls. The cracks in the wood allowed a draft and kept the place well ventilated. And the disposal bin was a hand woven basket; definitely the best of its kind as far as this trail is concerned.

[quote_right]Hygiene: 5
Smell: 4
Comfort: 5
Accessibility: 5
Toilet Tao: 4.5
[/quote_right]

Perhaps the strangest thing found at high altitudes in a country as desperately poor as Nepal is a ‘western style’ toilet. And it’s even stranger when I struggle to find one thousands of feet below. But in Langtang Valley, 3475 metres up at Village View Guest House, the toilet was a wonderful, white, non-squatting affair with plenty of paper and a bin within easy reach. Sure, the flush tank took a while to fill up, but it did not have the smell that many toilets have which made waiting easier. And it was indoors so you were spared from having to brave the elements every time you needed to go.

[quote_right]Hygiene: 2
Smell: 1
Comfort: 2
Accessibility: 3
Toilet Tao: 2.5
[/quote_right]

But five hours from the Valley, in beautiful Kyenjen Gompa, the toilet at Yala Peak Guest House was dark and smelled like the privates of a sadhu. And it was a squatter. But no skid marks. And no space to hang one’s pants either. It was part of the main building but in an open corridor, so a confrontation with the elements was necessary, if only for a moment. The flush pail was grubby and the disposal bin overflowed. Contact with any surface required an extra dollop of hand sanitizer, just to be safe. It was a funny coincidence, however, that the highest point on our trek was accompanied by the lowest toilet tao.

All in all, however, Langtang toilets are well maintained thus facilitating sound bodily functions. It does not take a lot to imagine Beerbal himself enjoying his early morning dump on the Langtang trail.