Once Time in Our Lives

The rumors are true. We rode ostriches.

Once we heard there was ostrich riding in Chiang Rai, we knew we had to do it. Out of everyone in our large HELP group, we were admittedly the last to finally get around to it (not that we waited until our last possible opportunity or anything..) and it didn't disappoint!

We paid a driver to take us there, and once to Wana Farms we were hustled down and in to the ostrich pen by Thai cowboys. It was a strange merge of cultures.. 

I went first. A blindfold over the ostrich's head so it doesn't freak out, and a stool for me to climb up.

They tried their best to explain in broken English to explain what to do: wrap your legs around its front, hold on to the wings with your hands, lean back, and DON'T let go! It's more tiring and weird than I thought it would be. I was holding with all of my strength because other people in our group actually fell off when they came!

Happy? Terrified? Weirded out?
All of the above.

Justin soon followed. Oh how hilarious he looked!!!

Getting the hang of it.

Sometime a Thai man must put his hand on your bum. Essential in ostrich riding.

And loving it. Justin is a natural.

We had absolutely no control of the ostrich's movement. They went wherever. They stopped extremely close to the fence. They ran away from the ostrich man when he chased them with a stick. Oh yes, the Thai people LOVED my screams when my ostrich took off running! It was such a weird experience. Justin loved watching it's teeny head bobbing in front of him as they walked/ran along. Hopefully the pictures do the experience justice..it was the strangest thing in the world.

So many thoughts going through our heads:
'Wow!'
'What??'
'Uhhh..'
'BAHAHA'
'So..strange..'

Just like the sign says!

It was weird to feel every little jolt that goes into an ostrich's strut..

Quite possibly my favorite picture. Same face! hahaha

Justin is loving this

I should have never let them know I would be a squealer. The ostrich man found a lot of humor in chasing my ostrich to make it run, and to make me scream.

Happy to be on the ostrich and not on the ground at this point!

It was actually quite terrifying when they ran!

Justin's ostrich has a sense of humor, apparently

What in the world is going on?

Justin's ostrich ran into mine and he didn't want to get pecked in the face by my ostrich, so it was time to be done!

Unfortunately this experience was not all bright and shiny. We ended up getting ostrich blood on our pants, which sadly meant that most of the tourists here do and the animals get pretty hurt. We're glad we got to try it once, but I doubt I will ever do it again. So really, 'once time in your life' is exactly accurate.

Sorry, ostrich friends!

This feels just like Southern Utah! haha

Only in Thailand.