I said I wanted to take a leak. “RM1 per entry, the one I went to just now”, Bernard said with a sigh, referring to the washroom in Lowyat. “RM1 per entry, hmm”, I thought. “I’ll just hold it a little longer”. As we were exiting the complex, I remembered something. The whopping RM400K public washroom nearby! It wasn’t within our sight yet, but it was just a stone’s throw away from where we were. We did some walking and found the washroom that everyone has been talking about.



My first time using this ’sophisticated’ washroom. I didn’t quite understand the pictures displayed on that panel, in particular the one that indicated whether the washroom was in use or not! I didn’t want to spend too much time studying them lest I’d draw unwanted attention. (Read: Looking like a suagu!). Thankfully there was a counter there as well. The lady in there was reading some book when I approached her. “Excuse me Kak, macam mana tengok kalau ada orang di dalam?” (Excuse me miss, how do you tell if it’s occupied?). She extended her neck to take a look and assured me that it was vacant.

Excited now, I inserted a 20 cents coin and the door slid open magically. The first thing I noticed after entering the washroom was the temperature in there. It was a hot Saturday afternoon and if I had my way, I wouldn’t mind taking a nap in that washroom. It was cold in there! I looked around inside and was wondering if the door would automatically close. Holy schmoly I must blog this. I quickly took the camera from Bernard and said “Wait a while, yeah?”.

Bernard was seen laughing when I pressed the “Close door” button to shut the door. The buttons were the same ones we see in elevators - except that you don’t get to choose your floor. The third button had a bell icon on it. The arrow pointed from the top read “For emergency exit press this button”. Yes, in English. Only. I wondered what kind of situation could warrant an “emergency exit”. As far as I can tell, there are usually more “emergency entry” than “exit”. Heh.

Very clean. Dark, marble-like flooring helped add a touch of class. Toilet sensors should come as standard in all modern washrooms. I wondered if my butt could take that icy, cold surface of the toilet. No I didn’t deliberately sit on it just for the sake of trying. I was there to blogtake a leak, not a poop. And I do that standing.

I was so busy taking pictures I almost forgot that I needed to unload. The huge exclamation mark on this notice meant business. “Maximum time usage is 15 minutes”, the first thing it says. I decided to do what I had initially intended to do, before proceeding to take more pictures. “Door will open automatically after 1 minute of buzzer warning”, it warned. That means I’d be seen peeing in public if I couldn’t finish the business on time. I didn’t want to risk that!

Of course, I washed my hands before going on blogging mode again. Honest. That’s when my attention was shifted to the washing area. No taps, only sensors. There were three functions: water, dryer, and I-don’t-know-what (I think it was a soap dispenser).

The I-think-it-was-a-soap-dispenser. Look, the indicating diagram suggested that. I couldn’t be sure. And it wasn’t working. Or maybe it was just me who didn’t know how to use it. Seriously, I’ve never seen an automatic soap dispenser before. Maybe it ran out of soap. But I didn’t hear anything. There was absolutely no buttons whatsoever near it. I gave up. Ah yes, I didn’t wash my hands with soap, doggone it.

The washing area. At this juncture I wondered how much time had elapsed. They didn’t fit a countdown timer in there. That could be helpful - I think. I looked around to see if I’d left anything behind. And then the buzzer came. It sounded like the alarm you would hear when an intruder trespasses a military base. I was worried that the buzzer would be audible outside as well. What if there were people waiting outside? It’d be quite embarrassing to make a grand exit like that.

I was adamant to take a final picture before pressing the “Open door” button. The “Baby changing station”. Pretty cool. There was no time to open it up. There was no need (!) to do so. The buzzer was still on even as I was walking out of the washroom. There was nobody outside, luckily. I found Bernard loitering at a distance away.

We were actually there for the Vista Walk Hunt that day. The washroom was officially launched just two months ago. As far as my experience that day is concerned, the washroom was okay. The air-conditioning was great. 20 cents is very affordable. But the thought of being inside a ticking room terrified me. The 15 minutes usage warning felt like a time bomb waiting to explode. Other than that, I still think such an expensive washroom is a little bit of an overkill. I hope it doesn’t get vandalized any time soon.

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