THE AMAZING RACE ASIA 3: Off to a good start

The race started in Bangkok, Thailand. The 10 teams’ first challenge was to rush off to the backpacker-favorite Khao San Road and chow down a bowl’s worth of fried bugs, frogs and scorpions. All in all, it was a bit nerve-wracking that the first leg already included elimination. And so far, I’m convinced it’s going to be a tough race.

Being a big fan of last season’s The Amazing Race-Asia, I made sure to catch the weekend replay of last week’s first episode. It was a rush to the, er, show time myself, as I missed it maybe four times owing to my messed up body clock. Despite programming my alarm clock to ring on all four replay times, I still dozed through them all. But, as I’ve said before, cable television is really nice to part-time couch potatoes who don’t work eight-to-five jobs, so I finally caught up with the race last Sunday, when I was supposed to be out, having dinner and enjoying my own company.

The race started in Bangkok, Thailand. The ten teams’ first challenge was to rush off to the backpacker-favorite Khao San Road and chow down a bowl’s worth of fried bugs, frogs and scorpions. Now, this segment alone highlights the difference between the United States production and the Asian one: we were treated to a lot of vomit shots. Boo for “sympathetic vomitters” like me; I had to quickly grab a Snickers chocolate bar to keep from chucking out dinner myself. But note to the remaining Team India, the father and son team Niroo & Kapil: You might not want to watch this episode again!

Beauty queens Natalie & Palin, who represent Thailand, showed a high level of “We’re Beauty Queens” awareness by saying to onlookers, “Who says beauty queens can’t eat bugs?” This would be a little hilarious later on, in the second task, which would have them cleaning a 22-seater double-decker bus at a Caltex station, in the rain, mascara streaking. 

The other Team Thailand, Mai & Oliver, has already started showing some signs of breaking down, despite being the first team to arrive at the pit stop. More on their being first in a bit; first, let’s discuss the juicy squabble between friends. Apparently, Mai, an actress, admits to having a privileged upbringing. Her buddy Oliver, who’s obviously no pauper himself, took it upon himself to carry her bag, which, in his own words, is “too hardcore.” I’m not quite sure when Mai & Oliver’s post-leg interview was done — I would think they’d only be too happy to have arrived first, if it had been shot after the leg — but it was more of a lengthy clip of them cussing at each other (yes, bleeps galore for the F word) over the carrying of bags. Now I understand why they say the idea of being romantic with each other was too “blech.”

In reality, Team Philippines Geoff & Tisha were the first team to arrive. Running behind them were Mai & Oliver — or Mai, to be precise, who, backpack and all, found it hard to catch up with Oliver who really raced to the mat. Geoff & Tisha made it to the mat first as a team, but they decided to give Mai & Oliver a chance at the mat with a rock-paper-and-scissors game. The mat, of course, came with a bonus prize: $5,000. “The way we see it,” Tisha explained, “we got to play the game fair. It was Thailand and they were helpful to us in getting around.” Too nice of them, I think. This, after all, is a contest. Then again, The Amazing Race is not without its fair share of good and bad karma.

Once again, Team Philippines has a Pinoy touch to it, in the form of Philippine-flag designed bandanas. No funky shirts so far, like what Marc & Rovilson wore last season. I really hope they represent us well this time, too!

The first to be eliminated were cousins Neena & Ramit from India. Once again, the editing wasn’t suspenseful enough, but it was still a little bit nerve-wracking that the first leg already included elimination. So far, I’m convinced it’s going to be a tough race. There’s still a lot to be desired from Allan Wu’s hosting and the overall editing, but it’s off to a good start.

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