You'll be glad to know that Thailand's tourist economy, devastated for a time by the tsunami, is recovering. The Danish Prime Minister was down in Thailand this week, urging tourists to come back. And, in addition, there's the upcoming World Toilet Summit:
Thailand plans to upgrade hygiene in its public toilets to meet international standards as it prepares to host the World Toilet Summit next year, a health official said Wednesday.Yeah, good idea. I hope they're better than Chinese "toilets," also known as holes.
"Toilets are very important for the country's image in the eyes of visitors," said Somyos Chareonsak, a senior official of the Public Health Ministry.But not in the eyes of citizens?
The first summit, organized by the World Toilet Organization, was held in 2001 in Singapore. China, where toilet facilities are often in need of upgrades, hosted one last year."Often in need of upgrades." Having used quite a few Chinese "toilets," I can honestly say that "this place needs an upgrade" is not a phrase that ever entered my mind.
But hey, I'm not the only one having fun with this story. Another AP article on the upgrading of Thai toilets begins, "Thailand is watching its bottom line."
The Aussies, who are calling it the "Loo Summit," have another version of the joke:
Showing scant regard for the bottom line, Thailand says it will improve public toilet hygiene standards as it prepares to host next year’s world toilet summit....Apparently my opinion of Chinese toilets is fairly widespread.
In an effort to sniff out those that are not up to scratch, health officials plan to inspect public toilets at schools, restaurants and tourist venues....
Topics to be flushed out include toilet design and technology, toilet management and hygiene and energy-saving measures.
China, notorious for its odorous and unhygienic public toilets, hosted the same event last year.
And then there's this article, called "Thailand ripe for building," but I think it's on another topic.
No comments:
Post a Comment