How To Use The Bum Gun Or Toilet Hose In Southeast Asia?

Planning on a trip to Southeast Asia and have heard about the bum gun. Well, there is a fairly safe bet that you will end up having to use the bum gun or toilet hose as the majority of places around Southeast Asia use the bum gun instead of the toilet roll. So how to use the bum gun in Thailand or Southeast Asia?

And it doesn’t matter whether you are visiting Thailand, Vietnam, or Cambodia. It takes a while to get used to the idea of spraying your butt with a power hose, rather than wiping your butt with a toilet roll. After having used the butt spray when in Southeast Asia, there is a benefit of using the bum gun after doing poo.

In this post, we will go through how to use the bum gun or toilet hose in Southeast Asia. Let’s get started!

Read More On Our Travel Tips

What Is The Hose Next To The Toilet For In Thailand, Vietnam, Or Cambodia?

The hose beside toilets in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Southeast Asia in general is used to clean yourself after using the toilet. This is used instead of toilet paper. It is often referred to as a bum gun, toilet shower, bum washer, or bum shower.

Why Is There A Hose Next To The Toilet In Thailand Or Southeast Asia?

The hose beside toilets in Southeast Asia is used to clean yourself after using the toilet, where you gently aim the hose at the area that needs cleaning and then wipe and dry.

Are Bum Guns Sanitary?

Yes, it is more hygienic and cleaner than the Westerners’ method of using toilet paper. When the bum gun is used properly it does a better job of cleaning your butt than wiping with toilet paper.

Do They Use Toilet Paper In Thailand?

Yes, there is toilet paper available in Thailand. You will find them in modern hotels and shopping malls but do not flush toilet paper in Thailand.

This is because the pipes that carry the waste from the toilet can easily get blocked when the toilet roll is flushed down the toilet. If you flush toilet paper in Thailand, Vietnam, or Cambodia there is a decent chance that you might cause a blockage. There are plenty of signs asking you to put the toilet roll in the bin which is normally the beside toilet.

How To Use The Bum Gun?

Fortunately, in Southeast Asia, the water is not cold or too hot but the pressure from the toilet hose can vary from hose to hose.

Here are a few steps to make the adjustment to using the toilet hose easier while visiting Southeast Asia.

While sitting on the toilet and you have finished your business. Get the bum gun with your right hand and put it between your legs and aim it toward your butt.
The pressure can vary from hose to hose. Some bum guns shoot water out that could rip you apart. Carefully pull the trigger and find the right pressure.
If you are a man, spray down and move the nozzle around. Use your other hand to wipe your butt, as if you were using toilet paper. Keep rubbing until you feel like it’s clean.
If you are a woman, spray from front to back. Use your other hand to wipe your butt, as if you were using toilet paper. Keep rubbing until you feel like it’s clean.
Stop washing and put the hose back. If there is tissue around it’ll be best to dry your butt. You’ll find the paper won’t be dirty so you can throw it in the bin.
That’s it, all done.

The first couple of times you’ll do this, you may get a bit of poo on your hands but if you do the above steps correctly, it shouldn’t be too bad.

While doing this make sure the water is spraying at both your butt and your fingers, so you’re effectively washing your hands and your arse at the same time.

The main thing is to scrub your hands with soap after. Most toilets in Southeast Asia don’t provide soap or toilet rolls, so it’s a good idea to bring your own toilet paper and soap.

It’s also one of the reasons that the cultural etiquette in Southeast Asia never passes anything using your left hand, eat with your left hand, or touch food with your left hand.

Benefits Of Using The Bum Gun

There are a couple of benefits to using the bum gun. These are as follows.

Does Better Job Cleaning Your Butt Than Toilet Roll – The bum gun does a better job cleaning your butt than wiping your butt with toilet paper?
More Hygienic – Cleaning something with water, especially with a hose is going to leave things a lot cleaner.
Can Avoid Blockages – Using toilet rolls or too much toilet roll can block the sewage pipelines. That sometimes can be expensive to fix or in a hotel, you don’t want to be the guy who blocked the toilet.
Use Less Toilet Paper – You will not be using much toilet roll so you will save money.
Environmentally Friendly – Using less toilet roll means less waste needed to be treated.

The Not-So-Good Benefits Of Using The Bum Gun

As there are benefits to using the bum gun but there are also disadvantages with the bum gun.

These disadvantages are as follows.

Requires Learning – If you are not from a country that uses the bum gun it takes time to learn how to use it properly and to get comfortable using it.
Wet Cloths – Part of the is that you could and will wet your clothes. This is part of the learning process.
You Need To Be Flexible – Trying to get the hose in the right position and not wet all around you requires you to be physically able and flexible.
Not To Be Used in Public Toilets – In public toilets it may not be hygienic to use. As well as that there are problems with the water power from the hose and leaks.

USEFUL TRAVEL RESOURCES

Book Accommodation

Booking.com has a large range of properties from hotels, hostels, guesthouses, and resorts where you will find the best deals. Airbnb and Hostelworld also have a good range of places to stay at good prices.

Booking Flight

Skyscanner is a flight search comparison website that searches millions of flights all at once. Ultimately it is the best flight comparison website online at the moment.

Booking Transportation & Things To Do

Rome2rio and 12Go are useful to plan how to get anywhere by searching train, bus, car, and ferry routes. Especially useful in countries like Vietnam or Thailand. While Klook is great for exploring things to do in each place.

Travel Insurance

Travel insurance is cheap and more than likely you will never need to use it but you will have peace of mind if something does happen, you are covered in case of an emergency. World Nomads have great customer service and competitive prices.

Check out our resource page for the best companies to use when you travel.

Wrapping Up

Finally, as you can see, this is a bit of a cultural thing and is something that you will have to deal with and have to get used to. And, if you follow the above steps it will make it a little easier to figure it out. Just be prepared for a few accidents like getting your clothes wet.

And that’s it for now! I’d love to know if this guide on how to use the bum gun or toilet hose in Southeast Asia has helped you. Let me know if you have any questions or any further tips on how to use the bum gun.