Saturday, December 12, 2009

Pay to Pee, Pay to Drive

Saturday, December 12 - Nothing is free. You have to pay to use the internet. You have to pay to use the bridges. You have to pay to use the highways (and it’s not cheap either! It cost us about RM60 to get from KL up to Langkawi!)

But really, the biggest scam being perpetrated on the Malaysian people is that you pretty much always need to pay in order to use a public toilet. Granted, it’s not very much – like RM 0.30 – but it seems kind of ridiculous. There are no gratuities being paid for standard things like taxis, waiters, or barbers – and yet there’s a 30 cent toll for the toilet? On top of that, you have to pay another RM0.30 to buy some tissues/toilet paper if you intend to... you know.

What nonsense.

3 comments:

  1. OK....for girls that HAS to suck! Its double the cost for boys in most cases! Why isnt anyone yelling about that! Id be pissed (punny huh)

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  2. Well, it kind of makes sense though... someone has to clean and maintain the facilities. The only time I had to pay to use the washroom was at several train stations in France. And, according to the mighty Wikipedia, "In the United States, pay toilets were prevalent until the mid-1970s." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_toilets#Modern_times). The article also goes on to say that we have de facto pay toilets here in North America: "this is still accomplished by use of a key system for patrons only and outright denial of access to the wider public."

    But, yes, when you gotta go, it does suck.

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  3. Everytime we come across a free toilet we get very excited, and we take advantage of it. We also learn that gas stations don't charge for their toilet. A tip we're more than willing to share with other travellers and locals!

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