I found myself celebrating my 25th birthday in Nha Trang, a touristy beach town on the South China Sea 500kms outside of Saigon. 25?! Quarter of a century! I decided I had to go all out, so Kris and I headed over to Vinpearl Island aka Vietnamese Disneyland. For a mere 300,000 Dong (about $16), you take a 15 minute cable car ride from the mainland to the island where you can hit up a waterslide park, amusement park and an arcade which was all included in the entrance fee. Upon arrival, to our delight, the waterslide park was empty, the rides were empty and there was nobody in the arcade to fight me for the Time Crisis 3 machine (Time Crisis 4 was unfortunately out of order). I think I’ve spent more than $50 back home on Time Crisis 3 alone. To top it off, we saw a super cruel animal “circus” comprised of 4 dogs and 4 monkeys. Although it is nowhere near as spectacular as Disneyland, I still had a pretty rad day at Vinpearl.
I lost a bet, a bet about ostriches
Once I had an adamant bet with someone that you could not in fact ride an Ostrich. It wouldn’t work. People are too big, ostriches just can’t support you, they’re mean, they can peck you from any angle, and no sane person or law would permit it. Besides, I had either seen a cartoon or read an article online that clearly outlined how impossible it was.
That was a bet I lost.
There is no rhyme or reason to an ostrich
As it turns out, for just under $1 you can ride an Ostrich in Vietnam for as long as you can hold on. The real problem with this is that Ostriches do not want you to ride them, and in fact I’m pretty sure they don’t want you near them. However due to the dedication and harsh grasps of a team of handlers you can climb on top and receive a full 4.3 seconds of instruction in grunted sign language in how to ride before they kick start the Ostrich down a hard dirt path.
You ride at speeds ranging from a gallop to a sprint until the Ostrich suddenly stops and throws you onto the ground.
I cannot think of another time I’ve been happier to lose a bet, or had more excitement for a dollar.
Helllllllllllll yes
Hell yes ostrich riding.
With cultural integration comes understanding, friendship, peace, generosity, enlightenment and… roller coasters?
Thailand
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