Poo-ne calls?

I am not sure about you, but I have always thought that toilet stalls (and lifts, for that matter) were "quiet zones" where any sort of conversation with your neighbours was taboo.

However, in China, it seems that no visit to the traps is complete without a phone and pre-scheduled conference call.

I recognise that the Chinese are not so sensitive to preserving their (or your) personal space, but full volume phone calls whilst relieving one's self is something that after 11 years in China I still cannot come to terms with.   Add smoking to the mix (despite the signs forbidding it) plus the corresponding spitting on the floor next to where they are sitting (do they do this at home too?) and you are left with a most unpleasant bathroom environment, even in modern Grade A office buildings and 5 star hotels.

I am wondering now if "Poo-ne calls" are unique to China or if this is common elsewhere?  Either way, it is one of the few memories that I will happily leave behind in China when I one day return the UK.