Funny asides

Ok, I was so intent on trying to recreate my travel journal yesterday that I forgot some truly funny stories.

What may qualify as my most embarassing moment involves the infamous "squat" toilets. For those totally confused, most of the toilets in Taiwan are nothing more than porcelain holes in the ground. They flush, but you have to squat over them to do the do. Now, my initial concern was flexibility and balance. Wrong concern...I should have been worried about aim. It's a fairly small hole, and who knew targetting would be an issue. At one of the rest stops early on in the trip (while I was still getting the skills down) my aim failed me, and unfortunately, there was a downward slope out of the bathroom. So, as I'm squatting (I really dislike that word) there peeing, I notice I've missed the hole and my pee is rushing downhill and out of the stall! Total mortification. The only thing that saved me was no one was waiting around outside the stall (whew). Oh yeah, turns out Lonely Planet was right in that you also have to bring your own toilet paper with you everywhere.

I also think I came close to being a Korean bride. There was this congress-type person from Korea that traveled with our group, and he was totally out there. Definitely not my type, but he kept sitting behind me and guessing my age. I swear he spent a good 2 hours telling me why Korea was so great and why I should just go back there with him and not go home. Ummm....not. I have a business card with his pic on it that I'll scan in at a later date.