Breakfast and Toilets: Clearing the air

This post titled “Breakfast and Toilets: What to expect” may look a bit weird and upset the puritans but being into the hotel bookings business we understand the importance as well as the confusion that the two can create for both the hotelier and the customers. Perhaps it would be logically fit (health freaks would surely disagree) if we take the issue of breakfast first and then move on to the matters Toilet next.

Lot of our customers prefers a Continental breakfast or an English breakfast.  Infact it has come to light that many people won’t prefer to put up in a particular hotel unless the hotel serves Continental Breakfast as part of the package.

Now at the outset let us clarify that a hotel accommodation based on the Continental Plan (CP) has got nothing to do with a Continental breakfast. It is purely a matter of discretion of the Hotel Kitchen to decide on the kind of Breakfast to be offered to the guests.

Next, there is a lot of confusion between the Continental Breakfast and English breakfast. While Continental Breakfast is an European type of Breakfast (Continent denotes Europe) but England (also in Europe) has its own English variety of what to eat as the Breakfast. We in India sometimes think both are same and end up dissatisfied with the service. It is always advisable to check out if your hotel offers a continental breakfast. Typically Starred hotels provide one.

A Continental breakfast is cheap, convenient ( can be ordered in the hotel room also) and easy to prepare. Perhaps this is a reason Hotels prefer to serve Continental breakfasts. A typical continental breakfast can have selections from the following: chilled Juices, freshly baked Muffins, toast with butter/jam/cheese, Cornflakes with hot/cold milk, pastries, croissants, baked beans et al. Non-veg stuff includes only Eggs(boiled, scrambled or Omelet) and cup of hot Tea/Coffee. This breakfast is ideal for those preferring to stay light and certainly not for those whose next meal is quite sometime away and  their itinerary demands a lot of physical activity like an elaborate sightseeing tour before lunch happens.

On the contrary English breakfast is more elaborate, large on a platter kind  somewhat fitting the Indian concept of a heavy breakfast. It can include a good portion of the following: yogurts, pudding, fruits, fruit salad, grilled vegetables, baked beans, fried mushrooms, Bread Toast with butter, jam and marmalade. Non-veg fare typically includes sausage, ham, fish along with Eggs (Scrambled or otherwise). In the beverages English breakfast provides a choice among hot chocolate, tea, selections of juices, milk and coffee. A good English breakfast consists of 5-course menu. In India a Buffet breakfast is very popular in the hotels and it can be an amalgamation of all varities.

Breakfast over, now coming to the Toilets in Indian hotels there are only two types of toilets Indian and Western.  By default, what is not Indian is Western. Indian style toilets are also known as squat toilets. It comprises a pan that has a hole in the ground level along with two ceramic bars on both sides for putting the foot. Water is available for washing in the tap with a mug. Flush –handle type, push button or the old chain is there to clear off the area before signing off.

Indian type toilets are more akin to toilet styles still prevalent in some European countries and South America. Atleast half of the world population uses Squat toilets in various styles.

A typical Western toilet is the American toilet consisting of a commode, toilet paper, water for cleaning. Water tank for flushing is typically part of the whole piece and Flushing is done by turning a handle or pressing a button.

Readers would think what we are stating is so obvious and reading this a waste of time. Hang on for a second!  The seemingly innocuous toilets can be a cause of concern.  And this problem is not to do with western or Indian style(not stated explicitly)  as a tussling matter usually. One puranitical gentleman with impeccable English actually insisted on European toilets. Taking his demand as that of a western toilet  he was allotted a room with the same. Now this became a matter of heated altercation as what he meant was a slightly improvised version of the Indian toilet only as prevalent in some parts of Europe. Lesson learnt: Ask for Indian or Western and nothing else.