as rare as hen’s teeth

This is a rather delicate matter, so please bear with me.

On the 25th of September 1665, Samuel Pepys wrote in his diary that he spent the night in a lodging house. 

He woke up ‘mightily troubled with a looseness  …. and feeling for a chamber pot, there was none…….’  

The lack of a chamber pot and the fact that he is in an unfamiliar room, in an unfamiliar house, would cause him a good deal of embarrassment. 

I won’t repeat what he says he did next, except to say that if he did that in my fireplace, I would be extremely put out.  As would the fire.

I too, have woken up in an unfamiliar room, ‘mightily troubled with a looseness.’   And looking for a toilet roll, found there was none.  What I did find was a short length of hose connected to a spray nozzle.  

My point is this; if you contemplate travelling to this part of the world, you should be aware that many of the smaller hotels and beach bars do not have toilet paper in their wash rooms. 

So as well as packing the suncream and mosquito spray, it might be worth popping a few rolls of the soft stuff in your suitcase or rucksack.  

The spray nozzle can be challenging, especially if you have arthritic knees.