This entry is somewhat insidious. First in lulls me into a scenery I would very much like to use as a calmative before falling asleep at night and than this Egyptian hotel jerks me right into one of my nightmares (have you ever desperately tried to wake up from deep sleep because you had the feeling that someone's in the room?) Shame on you Mr. Grunberg ;)

Once in a hotel around the Republic Square in Yerevan (Armenia) there were toilets without doors and side walls only 1 meter high … You could make a conversation with your neighbour while on the toilet, like sitting at a bar.
(Pants down, another nightmare?)

Bernard

That doesn't sound like a nightmare to me. Quite the contrary, toilets like that would be perfect for women who, according to my experience, mostly have conversations while peeing, anyway.

@Juliane
Maybe it is different for a modern man? Caught pants down… (I can remember some uneasy dreams)

Juliane and Bernard

The toilets at Kandahar Air Frield don't have doors either, just curtains. If you want privacy at KAF you have to go to a chemical toilet, which has other disadvantages. This experience is based on my trip there in the summer of 2006, perhaps things have improved at KAF.

Arnon

Is the curtain only drawn when someone's occupying the toilet? If so, where's the advantage of a door? You don't get much privacy in public bathrooms regardless of what's keeping you hidden from sight.

Juliane B.

In my experience, toilets with thin dividers that don't quite reach down to the floor are not all that comfortable when one's nextdoor neighbor is engaged in a production rivaling the brass section of a symphony orchestra.

Juliane

There is a curtain in front of the toilet at KAF and when you use the toilet you can close the curtain. This is common sense isn't it?
I'm not sure what public bathrooms you tend to visit but often restaurants and hotels have decent public bathrooms.
The bathrooms on a plane are not always decent but they definitely offer privacy.

I love the doors. pretty usefull. I have plenty of staring-at-the-doors-memories.
i do believe doors can actually make you happy.

Andrea

It depends what's behind the door isn't it?

arnon

No, it doesnt depend on what is behind the door, but what expect to be. This is the thrill about the doors.

Oscar / Arnon

@ Oscar
Most people I know, including men, try to restrict fulfilling any needs that include offending noises (or smells) to their own bathrooms.

@Arnon
I see, I shouldn't have phrased my opening remarks as a question ( I thought the following "If so"-sentence would get my statement across).
But to answer your question, much to my regret the public bathrooms I'm used to are all kinds of Uni loos, loos in trains (long distance as well as regional), those in shops and of course the toilets in my dorm (most of them so dirty, you'd like to hover in the middle of the cubicle). In all of them people in the same room can here you shuffling, peeing etc. etc. That's not much privacy, is it?

@Juliane
Sometimes, to camouflage my orchestral manoeuvres in the dark, I produce some fake noises with my mouth.
You should try it.

Juliane

I have seen plenty of dirty toilets on trains yes but above all in Afghanistan and Iraq. All I'm saying is that there are public bathrooms that are decent. To give a German example, the Steigenberger Parkhotel in Düsseldorf has excellent bathrooms.

"Chance" by Alice Munro is very interesting, also in this regard.