Having been to Beijing and Xi'an, I'll take US seated flush toilets any day.

I took a picture of the MacDonalds squat toilet with handbar and flush handle in Xi'an. It was nice,clean and worked, the best squat toilet I encountered in China. The toilets at the Great Wall in Beijing are the worst I've ever encountered including Europe, Mexico,and Latin America, and truck stops in West Texas.

Maybe the US isn't converted to water toilets (which by the way I've rarely encountered bidets in B&B's and staying in friend's homes in Europe) but I've never had to figure out how to urinate squatting without hitting my shoes and simultaneously suppressing the urge to heave from the smell and detritus. China gave me a whole different level of appreciation for sanitation in the US. And I've camped, used the ammo box, and cat holes so primitive is no stranger.

After 10 years living in Japan I HAD to bring home a washlet, which is the combo toilet seat with heated seat/bidet etc.

I was so looking forward to installing it. I knew there'd be some issues because it requires electricity to operate, and any North American toilet I've seen never has an electrical outlet as close as would be necessary to plug it in, as is standard in Japan.

After running into problems with several electricians who wouldn't install the outlet where I wanted it, the washlet sits unused. Though reading this article has inspired me to perhaps drag it out, and see what I can do about getting it hooked up.

Someone up above (or is it down below?) asked how it dries you after soaking you. Theres a blowdryer function.

I lived in Bangalore for a month and Bombay for two months this year. I have seen the sanitation problems first hand among the poor in those cities and agree that it is a critical, deal with it now, problem.

On another note, the middle class in India have an ingenious alternative to the bidet. They too believe that toilet paper is unsanitary. All middle class homes have a hose and spray valve attached to the wall near the toilet. You use the spray and your left hand to clean yourself and then you use a bit of toilet paper to dry before pulling up your pants. And then, of course, you wash your hands. It's a great solution, because you don't have to spring for a whole other fixture, the bidet, which would be costly. And your butt's actually clean.

I found it hard going back to paper when I came home.