My two-hour bath at Mt Kenya Safari Club

By Jacob Otieno

Nanyuki, Kenya: One time while engaging in banter after savouring a 48-dinner course at the Mt Kenya Safari Club, an employee teased me to a bet that I considered a big joke.

The official said he would buy me a bottle of expensive wine if I took 20 minutes or less in the shower.

Given my job as a photographer, I am an early riser and I spend few minutes in the shower. The wine was mine for the taking, so I thought as I retired to bed.

The following morning at about 6am (I must have overslept because of the coziness of the luxurious bed), I heard someone knock at my door.

I reluctantly woke up to open my room only to find a peacock at the door. I had fed the pretty bird biscuits and groundnuts while whiling away time the previous night. It never occurred to me that the birds are used to visitors feeding them with cookies. Luckily, I had been warned about it and had placed an order for cookies to be brought that morning.

I thanked the peacock and woke up to check out the unbelievable bathroom. I entered the bathroom while looking forward to the expensive wine. 

Sunrise

The rooms have an amazing view; overlooking the well-manicured lawns of the hotel with the snow-caped Mount Kenya in the horizon — a fantastic sight at sunrise.

I thought I could have a quick bath and be the first one on the breakfast table. As I stepped into the washroom, I realised it was a two-roomed bathroom partitioned by a sliding glass. I slid the door and made some few steps down the staircase.

I was already about knee-deep when several taps lined on the wall caught my attention.

Curiously, I turned on the first tap and hot water splashed out.

I went for the second tap and this time it splashed, not with the same force, but a thin spill from the lower part of the wall of the room.

Over 10 minutes had lapsed as I enjoyed the bath.

Water jetted out of the taps in various temperatures; hot, warm and cold, depending on which tap I opened. Soon, I realised the bathroom was quickly turning into a pool.

It took a call from my colleagues who were already having breakfast for me to come out of the bathroom — two hours later.