Liz and Jim Patton

I have travelled extensively in Asia for almost 20 years. Plumbing for toilets, sinks and showers is adequate but rudimentary outside of big cities.

But Asians are nothing if not innovative and they love hi-tech, so when they decide to improve, they leap-frog anything available in the US. Witness Japanese toilets, which now have heated seats, automatic spray after-cleaning and even play music. The company To-to is bringing many of its improvements to the US, and if these digital wonders are not popular yet, the more basic types are selling well.

In Ho Chi Minh City our hotel has what will certainly be the next-generation of shower. It’s a self-contained unit, reminiscent of Woody Allen’s Orgasmatron, with glass doors that slide shut encapsulating the user in a combination shower/Jacuzzi. But it’s so much more – there’s no need to leave to see the city. There is an FM wave radio, a CD player, a telephone. For anyone who wants a shower, there is a choice of overhead or hose type, with or without the twelve spray jets from all sides. If your day has been particularly dirty, you can just push the ozone release button to be deodorized. There’s a steam bath also, and an emergency bell. A mirror. A foot massager. The system is run by a control panel with 20 touch pads. They each have symbols on them, but these are a little obscure, so there are detailed instructions posted on the outside of the unit. Jim and I spent about 20 minutes trying to figure it all out, pushing this and that, but in the end, I could only get the hose shower to work. The temperature is controlled by the non-functioning touch pads, so it was a little chilly.

Five years ago I was in Ladakh, dumping a bucket of water over my head in a freezing room. The result was pretty much the same.