Sarah, Michael, Blake, and I hopped in a taxi this morning and thus began a 40K adventure from Ho Chi Minh City.
As soon as we arrived at Vuonxoai -Mango Garden Resort- it began to pour (of course). We booked it for the cafe across the street until it let up. Now... not only would we be ostrich riding... but we would be wet, muddy ostrich riding. :P
I'm not sure I agree with the term resort in the name... but this place was great! So peaceful... so big... and so different than the city.
There are so many different areas... tennis courts, a swimming pool, an amphitheater, huts to sit in, grass skiing, lakes, alligators, bears, BEARS!
Once we found the ostriches we learned there's a weight limit for riders... Michael and Blake weren't able to ride. They were pretty upset over this news... clearly...
Now it was just Sarah and I for muddy ostrich riding... so we bought our 15,000 dong tickets (...about 75 cents!).
Ostriches are funny creatures. The more I looked at them the weirder it all became... prehistoric in a way.
Once I stood on the platform, I wasn't so sure about this... (neither was the ostrich!)... I'm not sure which of us was more frightened...
My legs went under the wings and I held on to each wing... although a more natural handle would've been its neck! The guy then pushed me way back, which only made the position feel more unstable...
...And we were off! (...but I am already slipping hahaha)
Aaaaand the after shot...
Next up!... Sarah...
I love this one...
She rocked it! Sarah says she was too afraid of falling to let go but she did amazingly well. She made it to the end of the track and then performed a graceful dismount... landing on her feet! Well done Sarah, well done. :)
I did not fare as well...
I ended up trying it a 2nd time...
I had a different ostrich this time... much nicer. (The 1st one only had about 1/2 its feathers... and seemed pretty irate from the beginning.)
I was on! ...and this time I was determined to stay on.
Until... the ostrich started slowing down... then stalled... and SAT DOWN in the middle of the track! hahahaha
Ride. Over.
After our ride... it began to rain again so we took cover.
Michael by the lake...
Even the ostriches settled in to take a break during the rain.
The elephant ride in Dalat is something that I'm so glad I did... but once is enough. Ostrich riding is something that I'm so glad I did... and would totally do again! :P
Overall? ...Hilarious.
FABULOUS, Stacia - sounds like it was hysterical. I remember walking by the ostrich farm on Creek St. years ago. They were the strangest looking creatures! Glad to hear you had fun.
ReplyDeleteI am still loving reading your blog. What a great "diary" it is going to be for you to re-live your experiences.
I think of you often. Keep up the good work.
Love, Aunt Helen
As Jen and I are reading this post, Jen said she wanted to try and ride an ostrich. My uncle use to raise them and got pecked many times by those crazy things. He even served us an ostrich roast - everyone thought it was a regular cow roast!! He didn't tell us we were eating ostrich until after dinner was over. Hugs, Kim
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