Get flushed in Germany - A visit to the restrooms can be an adventure in itself.

(Photo taken at Munich Marienplatz Neues Rathaus (new town hall)

In most government buildings, pay-per-use public washrooms like these are your best bet. They can be expensive, but they are always clean and well-maintained. I've read that there are locals who would just jump over without paying as a form of protest against the high price. But as a tourist, I would rather abide the law and not risk getting my face splashed on their social media.

#################

(Photo taken at Munich Central Train Station)

These Rail & Fresh washrooms can be found at most train stations. Entry is at a whopping €1 but you can get a 50-cent voucher in return which you can redeem against your purchase at certain shops located at the station. And in some places, you can also top up your water bottle from their water dispenser and charge your mobile devices from their power outlets. 

#################

(Photo taken at Paulaner Bräuhaus in Munich)

Apart from the usual 'WC' wordings or the man/woman universal icons, you will get those marked 'Herren' and 'Damen'. And if you try to use your logic thinking to decipher German assuming that 'Damen' should be Gents since there's a 'men' in it, then you are absolutely wrong. This one gives a good crash course to first-timers in Germany while injecting a little evergreen joke at the same time. 

############### 

(Photo taken at Schmalznudel - Cafe Frischhut, Munich)

Taking the next logical step in shortening the words on the door, much to the frustration of tourists, you will get a cryptic 'D' and 'H'. This establishment did a cheeky painting with two little signposts marked 'Damen' and 'Herren', which most tourists in urgent need to relieve themselves would miss.

#################

(Photo taken at Weihenstephaner restaurant, Berlin)

There are those washrooms with doors plastered in colourful maypole design with the restaurant's name prominently displayed in the middle, leading the unwitting customer to assume that the door leads to the kitchen or VIP dining room at first glance. On closer inspection at the streamers, you will find 'Gents' and 'Ladies' written in several languages and the male and female symbol at the bottom. All vital information hidden in plain sight.

#####################

(Photo taken at Hans im Glück, Munich)

The most head-scratching sign I've seen in a restaurant were these written in a German regional dialect (I think). Thankfully, I've only encountered it once. If you are too shy to ask the service staff which one you should use, you can either wait for a local to enter/exit from either one of the two doors, or if you can't hold it any longer, you still have a 50-50 shot at choosing the right one. Burschn is Gents by the way.

##################

The following are taken in the Gents

##################

(Photo taken at Hutt'n Essen & Trinken, Nuremberg)

This is a thoughtful idea of placing the newspaper tabloid section at the urinals for some communal reading of the latest gossips you can piss at.

################

(Photo taken at Zum Gulden Stern Historische Bratwurstküche, Nuremberg)

Don't think for one second that the extreme right urinal offered the most privacy. If you are done using it and found the middle urinal in use, you would find yourself in the awkward situation of waiting for the guy to finish his business before you can exit and you wouldn't know where to look!

##############

Urinal in a stall? WTF? And of all places, this is located at the German Parliament building, Deutscher Bundestag (Reichstag building) in Berlin. Perhaps this is the German way of telling the world that they are very focused in doing only one thing at one time.

#################

You might be interested to read this:

Five things I learnt in Germany after spending 16 days

Five things I learnt in Germany after spending 16 days

1. Country destroyed due to a ruthless dictator, rebuilt by a resilient populace. And they did a good job restoring dozens of historical buildings back to their former glory before the first bomb was dropped and you can't differentiate the originals from the reconstructions.

2. Since beer can be cheaper than water in restaurants, it is the ideal way to taste the local culture and save money at the same time.

3. All currywurst outlets would say they are the original in some form or another. In a way they are not wrong since they all taste the same.

4. It is wrong to assume that Germans are rude. If they (especially the older folks) can only converse in German, it is tough for them to strike up any decent conversations with foreign visitors. I had the most interesting conversation with a friendly English-speaking retired tax officer in a beer house, while an old couple spoke animatedly in German in a restaurant about how delicious the sausage was and I didn't understand a single word.

5. German punctuality is a myth. While trains do arrive on time, my Lufthansa flight from Berlin to Munich was delayed since dozens of passengers have yet to clear security screening ten minutes prior to take off.

#############

 You might be interested to read this:
Get flushed in Germany - A visit to the restrooms can be an adventure in itself.

Five things I've learnt during the 10-day Osaka-Kyoto trip:

1. You can still get food poisoning in a First World country like Japan if you are unlucky like me. Thus it is imperative to have insurance coverage and a flexible itinerary to make last-minute changes. 

2. All shopping malls and shops seemed to be using the same English CD of Xmas songs this December and I've heard the same Beatles Xmas song more than I can remember.

3. Osaka (and I believe the entire Japan consists of 2 worlds: above ground and underground. Not only can you go anywhere via the extensive underground train network, it is also possible to live your entire life not seeing the sun since everything under the sun is available under the ground.

4. We have all heard the saying that there are no ugly women, only lazy ones. I observed that all young Japanese girls are very hardworking following the same template and thus appearing alike...not that I'm complaining.

5. F&B establishments cater to smokers and/or non-smokers But I don't think anyone has looked into the health effects of secondhand smoke on the poor non-smoking wait staff.

Five things I learnt on a day trip to Batam

Five things I learnt on a day trip to Batam
1. The movie actually starts playing in the cinema before the screening time without any commercials.
2. Watching a Hollywood movie in a modern cinema with good sound system cost less than US$10 for two persons with popcorn thrown in.
3. It is a smokers paradise where you can light up anywhere you like, even inside restaurants in shopping malls.
4. You can buy counterfeit branded bags and soccer jerseys openly but no pirated DVDs can be found.
5. There are two 'Polo' boutiques- the 'original' Polo Ralph Lauren and the homegrown Polo where the latter tried its best to make you think it is the former with zero regard to copyright infringement.


At Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall:
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right down to the logo font. I put the real McCoys below the pretenders for comparison.

9 things I learnt in Seoul after 6 days or how I 'start to stop the keeping warm jar'

I think Japanese are friendlier.

1. Despite the plethora of skin-care boutiques, not all Koreans are blessed with glowing complexion, and it makes you wonder about the effectiveness of those face masks.

2. Real Koreans have single eyelid. Those with double eyelids are happy customers from the dozens of cosmetic surgery clinics that lined the boulevards.

3. There are few eye candies that caught my eyes. The cosmetically enhanced ones are already in K-Pop bands, TV dramas and movies. Tourists can see the real Koreans by visiting the country.

4. Major shopping districts will have multiple shops from the same brand. So it is highly encouraged to have a 30mins cooling-off period and you can make the actual purchases in the next branch within 100m away.

5. Shops here are using K-stars on billboards and blasting K-Pop tunes just like any other countries around the world. Hence even though I'm at the K-Wave country of origin, it doesn't make it any magical or special.

6. There are more coffee houses than traffic lights. Apparently, the country is addicted to caffeine.


7. Based on my totally unscientific findings from my interactions with the Koreans, their level of English proficiency has flat-lined or taken a dip since I was here 9 years ago. And the amount of typos and nonsensical English on t-shirts and ads have risen.

I'm still trying to decode what 'Start to stop the keeping warm jar' means and what's in the jar.

8. Almost all TV and display screens in shopping malls and subway stations are in glorious HD, which made even inane gameshows and commercials a joy to watch. And quite a few TV addicts even fixed an antenna to their mobile phones to watch TV on the go.

9. Though Korea has emerged from the shadow of its coloniser in economy and soft power, their service standard still pale in comparison to Japan by leaps and bounds.

10 things I learnt in New York

1. Almost all major apparel brands have their global flagship stores here. Even the Japanese casual wear Uniqlo.

2. Security at Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building are on par, if not stricter than the JFK airport. 

3. All American set meal portions are as large as the US continent. For an Asian like me living in a little red dot, one set is good for two.

4. Patience is not a virtue found in any drivers in Manhattan. Once the green light is on, so does the honking. 

5. If you get homesick in New York and crave for that familiar taste of home, just look out for the Golden Arches.

6. It pays to change your greenbacks from legitimate money-changers. All my crisp new $100 bills were subjected to scrutiny by the cashiers who would mark them with a special pen to determine whether that Benjamin Franklin is the real deal or a doppelganger.

7. Police officers are useless in pointing clueless tourists to the right directions. Street-vendors are often friendlier and more knowledgeable.

8. McDonald's and sandwich shop Pret A Manger restricted me from taking pictures of their food preparation and display areas respectively. Are they worried that I'd report their poor hygiene practice to the authority or steal their secret recipe?

9. An apologetic smile goes a long way in defusing any awkward or embarrassing situations that NY first-timers find themselves in. Works every time.

10. On the morning when I was in front of my workstation after more than 10 days away on holiday, I momentarily forgot my log-in password. That put a smile on my face knowing that the money was well-spent. In life, we often forget that there are things not worth remembering.


 More on my New York trip:
(Mis)adventures in New York:

(Mis)adventures in New York

Isn't it ironic that for my New York trip:

- I did more research than anything I've done in office.
- I had muscle ache and sunburn within one day more than I ever would in one year in tropical Singapore.
- I was more exhausted in one week here than my month-long company teamwork event that I organised.
It begs the question whether I'd be better off working than holidaying.

*****

Dear New Yorkers,

I speak with a different accent doesn't mean I know less English than you. I come from a foreign land doesn't mean I know less pop culture and current affairs than you. I carry a camera and map doesn't mean I am gullible and easily conned by you. Having said that, though I'm Asian, it doesn't mean I'm smarter than you.

*****

Soundtrack of Manhattan streets

Car drivers' impatient prolonged honking; siren from police car, ambulance and fire engine- all feature different tone and rhythm; and chatter from a dozen different languages. Glad I can temporarily mute this soundtrack at 20 floor above street level in my hotel room and get some peace and quiet from this loud metropolis. NY, please be gentle to this first-timer.

*****

Subway

Managed to commit all the mistakes on the massive and massively confusing Manhattan subway system on the first day here despite having made detailed pre-planning. We attempted to pass through the same toll gate twice by mistake, missed our stop, and entered the wrong direction platform. My tip for first-timers like me: Only a true-blue New Yorker can navigate the maze. For the rest of us, just treat the detours as part of the fun and enjoy the ride!

*****

Spending the entire 24/7 with another person on holiday can be a helluva experience. Here's our typical conversation:
Me: You shop too much!
Wife: You shoot too much!
Me: You spend too much!
Wife: You speak too much!
Me: sigh...

 *****

 *****

It was a pity I wasn't able to meet my family in New York who were in the Chan Bros My Star Guide tour with Elvin Ng. However our truckloads of chocolates bought separately are able to meet at our house. Right now, they are having an emergency meeting to determine the Sequence Ranking of Consumption prior to the family's 2-day weekend feasting. Reese's peanut butter cup looks worried.


More on my New York trip:
10 Things I Learnt in New York