Hi everyone!

I am starting to get used to my new life in Shenyang so far. Today, I would like to share what you should pack in your backpack when you go outside in China. Can you guess some of the items?

The first thing to take is toilet paper. Often times you cannot find it in public restrooms like at department stores. Actually, I have experience not seeing toilet paper when I was in the Philippines as well.

When I was in the Philippines, there often would be a big roll of paper that was placed near the washstand. How it works is that people take some, and then enter the restroom.

These are the things that I pack when we go outside with my kids.

For example:

・Toilet paper

・Hand sanitizer

・Wipes

・Toilet seat cover

・Portable hand soap

・Plastic bag

It looks like a lot, but we mostly use the toilet papers and the hand sanitizer.

I’ve seen a squat style toilet (flushing toilet) many times in China. It had been a long time since I used one, but it wasn’t bad! At first, my kids hesitated to use it, but they got used to it now. You cannot flush the toilet paper, you need to throw it in a trash can placed nearby.

When I went to Kolkat, India more than 10 years ago, I had an experience at a public restroom where I was asked to pay. It probably cost about just 50 cents or so before using the restroom. I think it just happened randomly. Public restrooms in the US in general, the height of the toilet seat is taller, and the door of the restroom has so many gaps, so you can see people outside who are waiting to next use the toilet.

It’s so different from restrooms in Japan, but especially living overseas you need to have a flexible mindset to be able to accept the differences in any situation. But I can say…. Japanese restroom is the cleanest in the world… and people who visit Japan for the first time would think “Wow.. why is it so clean, how..!”

Thank you for reading my blog.