We’ve all been there. The call of nature has come and you’re stranded out on the street, unwilling to barge into a restaurant or bar and take advantage of their facilities. Thus you turn to one of Hong Kong’s public toilets. Make no mistake, some are exemplars of sanitation. Others though are more likely inspiration for Labyrinth’s Bog of Eternal Stench. Here are the top five to avoid.
RECOMMENDED: Need to avail yourself of filth? Try one of Hong Kong’s poshest bathrooms. Or are you heeding a different of sort nature’s call? Visit one of Hong Kong’s best public parks then.
Welcome to a literal cesspit. You might think that the public toilets just up the road on Jubilee Street would be among the worst in Hong Kong, what with their closer proximity to Lan Kwai Fong, but you’d be wrong. Pushing open any of the stalls here is like opening a gateway to an extremely shit-encrusted hell. Des Voeux Road Central, near Queen Victoria Street, Central.
Abandon hope all ye who enter here. Located right in the heart of Sham Shui Po, Apliu Street’s public toilet performs a noble function for many, but it is not served well by its numerous clientele who leave their mark wherever possible. One of the most malodorous spots in all Hong Kong, you can follow your nose to get here. Also, the ooze on the floor appears permanent. 215 Apliu Street, Sham Shui Po.
Ham Tin ranks as one of Hong Kong’s nicest beaches. Unfortunately, it’s becoming too popular for its own good. During this year’s May Day public holiday, more than 200 tents were counted on the beach and minibuses to and from there were overloaded with passengers. The result? Overflowing toilets and swarms of bugs attracted to the filth.
Ham Tin Wan.
Not for its hygiene is this one of the city’s worst spots to relieve yourself. Rather, rumour has it, it’s haunted. Supposedly the site of a grizzly murder some 30 years ago, the mirror in the male toilet is said to reflect the gruesome act that took place and has repeatedly cracked and shattered ever since. True or not, at least there’s usually adequate toilet paper. Hing Fat Street, near Causeway Road, Causeway Bay.
There’s a special kind of hell in Hong Kong that is any wet market’s public toilet. Java Road’s bustling one can lay claim to being the worst of the lot. If the sinks clogged with vomit from diners who went a bit too hard at Tung Po Kitchen aren’t bad enough then the time a suspected human foetus was found in a toilet here really should be sufficient to make you hold your bladder. 99 Java Road, North Point.
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