An Inconvenient Truth (Lavatories in Egypt)

[steveharriss]

I don't think racism enters into it. We've plenty of shit kitchens in the UK as well! I've been to Egypt three times now, back there on the 3rd July again. I've never had any bowel troubles but I too was unaware I wasn't meant to be delicately wiping with the paper! Thanks for the top tip

[Scuby]

Originally Posted by Tom D

Scuby - we can share a room again this year, I don't need to 'use' your towel or pillow-case anymore.

[Neill]

proper info here

Travellers' diarrhoea

neill

[Richard Mason]

Originally Posted by BJ

Avoiding any racism, I think that on all the different Egyptian liveaboards I have been on in the last two years (seven) the food hygene standards have been very high. Galley staff wear rubber gloves when preparing food and use alcohol hand-rinse. Egypt has moved with the times. It's likely that passengers are sharing out their bacteria amongst themselves on account of poor toilet hygene.

It's all very well that they are wearing gloves John, looks great to the casual visito - delve deeper though and you may find they are using the same gloves for handling cooked & raw foods; they may be wearing the same gloves for inordinately long periods of time, taking them off to go on a break and then putting the same pair back on etc etc.

Whilst the poor dunny etiquette (or lack of knowledge thereof) by guests is quite possibly an issue, you have to ask yourself where the first ones to get crook and be excreting pasthogens on the bog paper are getting it from in the first place.

Good point about the toilet hygiene thing generally though; I guess the old public health mantra of "faeces, fingers, filth & fomites" is still relevant but it's something that we have taken for granted so much that in practice, we've forgotten these lessons.

Interesting that the heads on these boats discharge straight into the water, and highly unsatisfactory given that they are designed to lay at anchor, for long periods of time, and with divers in the water. One would have thought that they'd have storage tanks capable of holding 48 hours worth of toilet wastewater - (not that big a deal if galley and shower wastewater goes overboard), that way, they could store it until underway and travelling through deeper water, away from land, port, diving areas and divers in the water. Under those ciorcumstances you'd be looking at needing only 30 litres max storage per crew member/guest per day.

We had similar problems with the Sydney-Hobart Race yachts when tied up in Hobart - the marina includes toilet facilities for crews from boats with no storage tanks but the dirty bastards would come back pissed from the QLD and just flush away to their hearts content - not flash when you've got 40 odd boats tied up in a small dock, along with half a dozen fish punts, selling cooked and raw seafood at the quayside - customers not impressed having to look at big georgies floating around whilst munching on their F&C.

Solution was to drop a charge of fluoroscein dye in the marine toilet of each yacht, thereby highlighting the offenders to any passers by and port staff.

[BJ]

Originally Posted by Richard Mason

I
Interesting that the heads on these boats discharge straight into the water, and highly unsatisfactory given that they are designed to lay at anchor, for long periods of time, and with divers in the water. One would have thought that they'd have storage tanks capable of holding 48 hours worth of toilet wastewater - (not that big a deal if galley and shower wastewater goes overboard), that way, they could store it until underway and travelling through deeper water, away from land, port, diving areas and divers in the water. Under those ciorcumstances you'd be looking at needing only 30 litres max storage per crew member/guest per day.

We had similar problems with the Sydney-Hobart Race yachts when tied up in Hobart - the marina includes toilet facilities for crews from boats with no storage tanks but the dirty bastards would come back pissed from the QLD and just flush away to their hearts content - not flash when you've got 40 odd boats tied up in a small dock, along with half a dozen fish punts, selling cooked and raw seafood at the quayside - customers not impressed having to look at big georgies floating around whilst munching on their F&C.

Solution was to drop a charge of fluoroscein dye in the marine toilet of each yacht, thereby highlighting the offenders to any passers by and port staff.

All the Egyptian boats have storage tanks. However, it seems that the engineers prefer to empty them when moored (at dive sites!) probably because it's very noisy in the engine room when they are underway and over deep water. Many vessels have an auto facility that dumps the tanks once they reach a certain level. I was more worried for the dugongs at Marsa Abu Dabab for the effects of sewage than for the effects of divers.

How come I never get ill on liveaboards? Because I don't wipe my arse with paper nor do I piss it up every night! Mohammed had some good and practical ideas for living in the Middle East!

[malcolm smith]

It's hot in Egypt, it's hot in Cairns-------no expectation of the trots here on a liveaboard or at all come to that.

The Egyptians are doing something/not doing something the far north aussies are/are not doing to cause this acceptance that you will get trotted in Egypt.
I expect a++se wiping practises are similar in UK divers be it Cairns or Egypt.

They are trading heavily on being the nearest bit of coral to Europe, and that UK divers in particular accept liveaboards of a spartan nature in UK waters-----and will accept a few days of being chained to the lav to see a lion fish!!

Cheers, Malcolm.