Thursday, October 22, 2009

1x08: Krabi, Thailand

The teams take to the water! Well, eventually they do.

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Previously on Lost In Translationalising: Seven teams flew from Queenstown to Singapore to do absolutely nothing that wound up having any consequence on the episode as a whole, as well as nothing of any interest in general. Said waste of episode time included making suggestive gestures with a car (San), washing the very same cars (everyone except San), and dancing in a fountain like Friends did circa-1996 (nobody, but wouldn't it have made the episode more fun?). From there, everyone took a midnight joyflight to Bangkok, whereupon they collectively decided to sue whoever deemed it a "joyflight" as false advertising. Bells were tinkly. Teams somehow managed to be so polluted with Ugly that I wound up having to add another whole page to The List. Handy and Laura's only real issues were with each other as opposed to their Thai compatriots, and they unsurprisingly finished first. Zabrina and Joe Jer, probably the least Ugly of the remaining five teams, rocked up last and were thankfully saved by a non-elimination, leaving us with a glimmer of hope about having a likable pair of winners. Zabrina shrieked in response to being considered likable. Six teams still remain. Who will be eliminated... TONIGHT?

Credits. Head-turn, head-turn, head-turn! Head-turn like you mean it! Please don't make me Yield you! [YIELD!]

We open on a solitary tree, which represents Bangkok in the Thailand of WuWho's Mind. A Buddhist monk walks around, trying to ignore the shameful lack of complete and total poverty. WuWho tells us that Bangkok is filled to bursting point with streets and markets and traffic, and we DID watch the last episode, you know. "Dotted amongst the frenzied activity" are a ragtag assortment of Buddhist temples, each devoted to celebrating religion and Richard Gere movies. One of these temples in Wat Pho, where the only Pretty Woman is one who walks in off the streets to worship at the giant lazing Buddha statue. Wat Pho was the seventh Pit Stop, and the final six teams must leave it in the same order they arrived, but apparently not twelve hours after they did so.

Handy and Laura will be the first team out, and they'll be doing it at the convenient time of 1:00am. I wonder whether they can manage to keep their lead! Laura reads the clue, which tells them to take a taxi to the Southern bus station, and then head by bus to Krabi. WuWho's expositional introduction to Krabi adds nothing except for some pretty shots, reminiscent of the last time the race was in the area back in the very first American season, and the detail that the teams will have to find some flagged longtail boats on Nopparat Thara Bay. Laura snatches the cash, because Handy can't be trusted not to waste money. Just look at all the money he's spent on Laura! Jump-cutting all over the place, they get to the bus station in record time, and Handy tells us in a voice-over that their plan is to not have a plan, thus defeating the entire purpose of having a plan.

1:05am. Antsy. Admiral Whinypants reads the bit in the clue clarifying the difference between "travel by bus" and "travel however you damned well feel like". He voices over that he thinks Handy and Laura are going to Yield them, because they've finished first "twice in a row" while Antsy have been second. See? The Queenstown leg, in which Handy and Laura were second and Antsy fourth, was so bad that he's completely repressed it from his memory! Also, it turns out that "everyone's playing games at the moment". In a competition? On what is pretty much a game show on wheels? Never!

1:11am. Howard and Cirran. We learn they've been told not to find Nopparat Thara Bay, but to get themselves to a specific beach which I'm not even going to try and spell, because it's got one of those names that'll sound like I'm taking the piss if I get it wrong. Even more than usual, I mean. Cirran voices over that he and Howard are so exhausted, they don't even know what day or time it is. I'm going to take a stab and say it's probably nighttime, what with the complete lack of sunlight and all, but... you know. I'm not a weather guy, I might be wrong.

At the bus station, Laura tells Handy that there are going to be two buses down to Krabi -- one leaving at 7:30am, the other a full half-hour earlier. She knows that it's going to be a long ride, so suggests that they head for a nearby hotel to catch something approaching sleep.

1:36am. SanFran. Fran tells us that everyone else seems to think that San is a physical threat, because he "has the willpower to just push on through". Not like the other five teams, each of whom have all quit a RoadBlock already -- Howard quit the shark tank in Sydney, while the other four teams are the four beach-dig quitters who survived the Bali leg. So to recap: SanFran are the strongest team left in this competition, for the sole reason that they're completing the tasks to begin with.

Antsy and Howard and Cirran have both reached the bus station, and seem to find a bus leaving at 5:30am. Score! Howard wants to try and figure out where it's going to. I can see how that might be an important little detail to check out. They learn from a random helpful local that the 5:30 bus must be for some other place, because the 7am bus is the earliest one to Krabi. Howard believes that Handy and Laura are cowards and went back to the Pit Stop hotel rather than spend the night sleeping on a bus station floor. At the hotel, Handy and Laura do a little camera-aware bit in which they try to decide whether to go into the hotel or spend the night on the mosquito-filled streets of Bangkok. But since they've already taken the taxi back to the hotel, it's sort of an anti-climax. What will they choose? What, I ask you? WHAT?

1:55am. Super Marsio Bros. They tell us in a shared hotel-room confessional that they're trying to finish somewhere in the middle of the pack, because they don't need to win yet, so that it will be more of a surprise when they "strike" "like a dragon". They laugh, because the idea of attacking dragons are never not mildly funny. In their cab, they briefly debate the merits of advanced Jungian psychology. (...Fine. They actually argue about money a little, before coming to the conclusion that whatever money they were given when they were leaving the Pit Stop should cover them until the end of the leg, unless they get lost.) It turns out that in the absence of airport leg massager chairs, they've decided to spend much of their money replacing their big heavy backpacks with smaller, lighter models, and are suitably miffed that they're only being given forty bucks to get themselves down to Krabi. Honestly, it serves them right, really.

The Super Marsio Bros. find the other teams, still waiting. However, we suddenly jump-cut to Howard and Cirran and Antsy, in the same location, without the Super Marsio Bros. in sight. The fuck? They decide that instead of going to the hotel, they'll work together to get to Krabi as quickly as they can. Strangely, the quickest way seems to be by switching buses in a place called Prachuap, which may or may not even HAVE buses to Krabi. These two teams and the Super Marsio Bros. all board the Prachuap bus.

3:27am. Zabrina and Joe Jer. Wow, that wasn't even close last week, was it? And yet they still managed to make it seem tight -- it's a sign these editors actually know what they're doing, even though there are jump-cuts all over the shop this week, and we're only six and a half minutes in. We do not get to see them tell us how much money they'll have to make up to be on something approaching even footing with the other teams.

Bus to Prachuap. Howard is happy to have a seat and air-conditioning. Three cheers for arse comfort!

Zabrina and Joe Jer get a montage of them standing around and sorting through the money all the other teams have given them, and then of them begging random people for cash. So, as usual, the penalty they got at the end of the last leg means nothing for them, but does mean the other teams and a bunch of locals are a few dollars poorer.

Bus. Marsio has learned that there aren't any buses to Krabi from Prachuap. Probably should have looked into that before you got on the bus, huh? Admiral Whinypants and Howard try and work out whether they should stop and go back to the bus terminal. They don't know.

SanFran display the first moment of racing ability we've seen this episode, by telling us that since they found out before getting to the bus terminal that the counters wouldn't be open until 5am, they went straight back to the hotel for some sleep. They and the girls (nickname pending) search for tickets. Handy and Laura soon arrive and follow. Zabrina and Joe Jer are shocked to learn that travelling halfway across Thailand by bus will take most of the day to do.

Prachuap bus. Howard's ultimate decision is to sit tight and "enjoy the journey". Because that helps you get to Krabi faster? I don't know how that could possibly be considered a good strategy. Either head back to Bangkok and catch the bus to Krabi, get to some other stop on the line to Krabi and head from there, or work out how to get from Prachuap from Krabi while you're on the bus so you don't have to waste time when you arrive. God. There's being a laid-back racer, and then there's complete and utter failure to understand the definition of the word "race". And guess which category this decision falls under?

Bangkok. Laura tells us she knew there was another bus, so Handy decided to check what times the other buses left. Which will make a difference while you're on the first bus... how? Laura tells Handy to sit back down, because she doesn't want to have to miss the bus they're already on -- which is leaving in "three minutes". Handy basically tells her to be quiet, because the grown-ups are talking, and walks off to check anyway. Aren't the team partners supposed to stay with each other at all times? I thought that was one of the basic rules of this show. Laura claims that this "could be fatal, absolutely fatal". SanFran are happy to be on the bus, but annoyed at how long it will take to get to Krabi. They think the other teams have either found a better way of getting to Krabi, or are "just taking their sssssweeet time". Handy comes back, telling Laura that the next bus will get to Krabi at the "same time", six o'clock that night.

The Amazing Yellow Squiggle slowly makes its way down from Bangkok to Krabi, with a little assistance from the Amazing Red Squiggle.

Four hours in, the Super Marsio Bros. sit patiently in their seats, while the other teams on the "local bus" sleep their day away.

On the "express bus", Zabrina and Joe Jer tell us that the three non-Prachuap-ing teams are on their bus, while SanFran play with their food, and Handy and Laura try to make it to Krabi without wanting to decapitate each other. Joe Jer thinks that the Local Bus teams are "really intelligent".

Thus explaining why, after 5 hours, they are getting off the bus in Prachuap with no plan for getting the rest of the way to Krabi. They learn that there actually IS a bus from Prachuap which will get them to Krabi... but it's still going to take them another ten hours from the time it departs. The Super Marsio Bros. are not happy to learn about this, and perhaps they should have done their own work instead of blindly following the other two teams who didn't even check to make sure the bus would go where they needed it to go. Howard tries to look on the bright side, saying that at least they get a chance to stretch their legs. Cirran looks like he could cut someone at this point.

Commercials. This week's Andy Hallett Memorial Award goes to Andrew Günsberg. Fuck or pass?

Prachuap bus station. Howard provides a quick interview explaining that everyone who boarded the Local Bus of Stupidity is going to have to wait around for another two-and-a-half hours before they can even get onto the ten-hour bus trip to Krabi. So, to recap, the direct route to Krabi will take the other teams eleven hours. The route these guys are taking through Prachuap is going to take them seventeen-and-a-half hours. Go productivity! He thinks the Express Bus teams are going to get in about four hours ahead of them. Syeon monotonously voices over that she would rather race with all six teams than with only three. But the problem is... she is racing against all of the other five teams. It's just that three of them don't suck the bag. Shut up, Syeon.

Admiral Whinypants has found a bus with a driver saying he's headed to Krabi, even though the guy at the counter tells Howard it doesn't. After 6 hours of travel time in total, they board it and head off, apparently to another city with another bus statino and plenty of ways to get to Krabi.

Express Bus of Not Sucking The Bag. Handy and Laura tell us that either they somehow managed to get an earlier bus to Krabi, or they're on the direct bus from Bangkok, which was supposed to leave an hour later and still arrive at the same time as Handy and Laura's bus.

The bag-suckers arrive in a place called Chumphon, and immediately begin looking for the Krabi bus. Turns out there doesn't appear to be one. Mardy tells us he thinks everyone "made a big mistake by leaving early". It sort of seems as though the teams themselves got off their bus early for no logical reason, even though they were sure they could get to Krabi from where they were headed. Not that that should surprise you at this point. They have trouble both getting their point across and finding the bus stop, but soon get onto a bus to Muang Mai. A "Travel Time: 9 Hours" graphic shows up, to remind us how stupid these teams have been today. Apparently, from Muang Mai there's definitely a bus to Krabi. Well, it's about time they started heading to the right city.

As Howard tries to sleep, with his head sticking out the window (yes, I'm serious), the Super Marsio Bros. tell us their decision-making skills sucked. At least we agree on something.

Express Bus of Not Sucking The Bag. Handy and Laura hit upon the right answer with regards to the other teams, wondering whether they got an earlier bus somewhere and decided to try and "wing it" to Krabi, "doing change after change after change". Joe Jer tells us that it's either "a very intelligent, very cunning move; or a very stupid move." One point for her.

At the Muang Mai bus terminal, the bag-suckers arrive and learn that they can get a bus at 2:30 that afternoon, which will arrive in Krabi at 8:30. Mardy yells at Marsio to stop eating. Marsio sort of just waves him off.

Express Bus. Laura tells us how the bus has been "reasonably comfortable", and raves about the choice of entertainment.

Muang Mai. Cirran tells us that the bag-suckers will wind up having to make yet another bus switch before they get to Krabi, because the bus coming down from Bangkok is full. So now, they're all taking a six-hour trip to Phuket, and will have to wait there for three more hours before they can even get on the final bus. Andrew thinks they're "in trouble". Well, yes, dear. Kind of. What gave it away?

The Amazing Map turns back up, with the Amazing Squiggles finally approaching Krabi. The Amazing Red Squiggle is now littered with yellow dots showing the changeover points in Prachuap, Chumphon, and Muang Mai, all unlabelled, which is sort of funny. As it zigzags down to Phuket, the Amazing Yellow Squiggle head straight to Krabi. Rather than comment on the extra time transferring through Phuket will use up, WuWho chooses to mention the extra 200 kilometres of road teams will get to stare out of.

12 hours. Howard explains the situation for the third time in ninety seconds, and complains about how "crabby" he and Cirran are.

Express Bus of Not Sucking The Bag. San tells us that, after only eleven hours, the bus is almost at Krabi. And right on cue, with Handy fidgeting like a five year old who needs to be taken to the toilet, the bus has arrived. WuWho interrupts my celebrations at finally getting to the end of the Less Than Amazing Bus Ride section of this recap, by telling us that the teams will have to take a songtheow (basically, the love child of a military Jeep and a panel van) from the bus station to Nopparat Thara Bay.

All three teams have no trouble getting songtheows, but Fran ventures uncomfortably back into Ugly Racer Mode for a moment. In theirs, Laura bitches about how they didn't pick the right "bus", because it's old and slow. She thinks this is picking the wrong bus? Boy, is she taking part in the wrong episode. Fran tells San that she hates not knowing whether she's heading in the right direction. Because, you know, SanFran are so good at reading maps. The girls' (nickname pending) are in a songtheow adorned with a couple of painted American flags. Apparently, there are only twelve stars for twelve states. Eat it, the rest of you! Laura tells Handy to "get on with it" when he dares to talk about fixing something, but it's not entirely clear what either of them means. Switching songtheows? I'm really not sure. San says he and Fran are going to "sit back and wait and see what happens". Well, I'm no expert on winning races, but I have to say that even I know that "sitting back" and waiting won't exactly get you to the end of the race very quickly. Or at all.

The three teams have found the Visitor's Centre they apparently need to go to, and have learned that it's closed. Therefore, all the bad racing we've had up until this point, and there has been a LOT of it, is entirely worthless, because all the teams are going to catch up by 8am the next morning, which is when it opens. I get that this would have happened even if the teams had all been on the same bus, but still? Fuck that shit. Zabrina wants to find somewhere to stay.

15 hours into the Bus Rides of Bag-Sucking. Cirran, official Spokesperson of Suck, tells us that the loser teams have managed to get their driver to call another driver, and arrange to switch buses "halfway between Phuket and Krabi", so they can cut off most of the travel time they'd had left. Cirran is just a little bit excited to finally have a bus headed to Krabi. On the new bus, Marsio says he "has no idea" where he is, other than that he's in Thailand. Cirran thinks the loser teams will "still have a chance" if they get to Krabi quickly.

The leading teams book hotel rooms, with the Tinkly Music of Slight Humour playing in the background. Fran wants a hotel with air conditioning. Handy provides a nice, less-than-subtle plug for the network. Shut up, Handy. The girls and SanFran share a room, and San is officially the happiest man in Krabi right now.

Not for long, though, because the bag-suckers have finally arrived, after sixteen whole hours of bus travel. The Super Marsio Bros. soon realise that after they pay for their songtheow to the beach, they won't have any money left at all. Syeon tells us that Antsy, in all their lack of understanding that they are not the other teams' parents, have given the Super Marsio Bros. some money so they can get to the beach. Howard laments the day he's had. The Super Marsio Bros. point out that it's 7pm, and they've been in a bus since 3am.

The bag-suckers arrive at the Visitor's Centre, also learning that it's closed. Just like the leaders, they all decide that they need a hotel for the night, because whoever heard of camping out? Only savages do that. Savages, I tell you! Mardy and Marsio, of course, have to beg for even more money before they can get one. They confessional from a beach that it's hard for them because they were born well-off. Because begging just comes naturally to poor people, apparently. I sort of understand where they're coming from, but... I just wish they'd expressed their sentiments a bit better, you know? They eventually decide to start selling stuff, like Mardy's hat from New Zealand, because they know it's not going to be easy to finagle money off of people when they're so fat. Did you know they're fat? They would like to remind you again.

The next morning, the sun rises, which is a bit of a shocker. At 8am, the teams sprint along a dirt path to the cluebox. Admiral Whinypants is ridiculously fast, which I'm sure will mean he'll find a reason to whine about Syeon not being as quick as he is. Inside the yellow Detour envelope is not only the Detour itself, but also a Fast Forward, which sort of make it feel like it's been demoted even farther than it has been in the past to Third Detour Option, when it should really be so much more. It was bad enough when they cut it down to two a season, and picked tasks only one team at a time could attempt. But anyway.

Fast Forward. WuWho struts along the beach, with his black shirt unbuttoned halfway, and his sleeves rolled up. He looks as though he's sort of trying to strip, but forgot that his shirt doesn't have velcro bits going up the arms. He explains the basic Fast Forward administrivia, about how only one team can win it and whoever does gets to go straight to the Pit Stop and choosing when it's a good idea to try and yada yada WHATEVER. In this one, teams take a longtail boat to Pranang Bay to find the instructions, next to a set of kayaks. Then they've still got to do whatever's in the cluebox before they win the Fast Forward.

Admiral Whinypants orders Syeon to choose whether to go for the Fast Forward. You'll note that none of the teams left have won the Fast Forward before, and, since this is probably their last chance to win it, there's even more reason to go for it, even if there is an even larger risk to be taken. SanFran ignore it and see the Detour.

From the same beach and with the same not-a-stripper shirt on, WuWho explains this Detour, with its two tasks and numerous pros and cons and this is seriously too much syntax in too short a time. This time, the teams have to get to a little tiny island called Koh Poda, where they'll find the two tasks, which have been named Smash and Grab. Because Thailand? Full of thieves. In Smash, you get a hammer and a pile of 75 coconuts, and you've got to keep busting them open until you find the only coconut filled with red ink. In Grab, you put on snorkels and search 100 buoys with clues attached to their anchor ropes, right near the shore, for one of the ten with correct clues. So, basically, the tasks are exactly the same hideous creation, with your only real decision to make being, "Do I feel like going on international TV in my Speedo?"

Unsurprisingly, after we have to sit through the teams all reading the instructions for Smash, and being indecisive for a little while, we learn that only one team will be swimming. Sadly, that team is not SanFran, but Antsy. For some reason, everyone loves the words "smash the coconuts". (By the way, Smash The Coconuts is totally going to be the name of my new novel set in the world of Japanese gameshows.)

Everyone gets in their boats. Fran thinks the coconut-smashing will take longer, but hopes that she and San will be able to finish it quickly. Because, as you know, it's always a good strategy to do the task you know will take you longer.

The boats speed across the water, Thai flags flapping in the breeze. Zabrina is happy to be overtaking another team. Mardy asks Marsio if he wants to go for the Fast Forward. Marsio wants to watch and see where the other teams are going first. Logical. Howard tells us there's "a bit of a risk" in trying for the Fast Forward, because of what happened with Journey way back in Jakarta. Boy, it feels like forever ago, doesn't it? The Super Marsio Bros. ask their driver which direction the Fast Forward is in. Antsy think they probably should have done it, because they think it's a rock climbing challenge, and they both go rock climbing all the time. Rock climbing? With kayaks? (Also, Foreshadowing.) When the Super Marsio Bros. learn that the Fast Forward is only "ten minutes" away, they decide to head for it.

Commercials. The world is a terrible place, Agent Mulder.

Not commercials. Marsio confirms that he and Mardy will try the Fast Forward. Admiral Whinypants notices that only five of the teams are headed for Koh Poda, and tells Syeon. For whatever reason, Admiral Whinypants seems to like obsessing about the other teams and where they are. Perhaps he could try focusing on his own race for once, because after yesterday, it's quite evident Antsy's strategy really needs some improvement if they want to survive much longer. Marsio thinks the others will be confused when they don't show up at the Detour. Yeah, not so much. Cirran marvels at the beauty of the islands, some of which he's about to get un close and personal with.

The teams arrive at Koh Poda en masse, and begin running to the tasks, which basically could not be closer together unless the coconuts were physically attached to the buoys. Handy and Laura bitch some more, this time about how Handy always talks to Laura like she's a child. I would have an easier time feigning sympathy for her if she wasn't such acting like a heinous bitch in her own right. Coconut-smashing occurs, with Howard and Fran watching as San and Cirran smash, even though Zabrina and Joe Jer show that each team gets two hammers. Huh.

In the water. Syeon voices over that Admiral Whinypants is a fast swimmer, so she was just trying to keep in his general area, lest he whine that she's not keeping up. Just out of curiosity, have we even seen Syeon do anything aside from following Admiral Whinypants yet? Aside from the RoadBlock's she's had (one of which she quit anyway), she has done practically nothing in the eight legs she's been racing. It's sort of one of those things I wouldn't normally bring up, but since she's been talking about it a little bit over the past few episodes, it's my job to mention it, you know? Anyway. They find a "Try Again" envelope.

People smash coconuts, some with more force than others. (Remind me not to get San in a bad mood.) Antsy are still swimming, and come up short again. (Get it? Because they're little? Oh, never mind.) Howard wants Cirran to watch what he's doing, because you know what helps you get the task done faster? Working at half of capacity.

The Super Marsio Bros. arrive at the kayak beach. Reading the clue, they learn that they'll have to paddle around the edge of the cliffs to find the Fast Forward. WuWho reminds us that the first team to find it wins, just in case you thought otherwise. Mardy tells us he's never kayaked before, as though we care.

Handy and Laura have finally reached their coconuts, while San and his very, very small singlet (yay!) continue to smash. Fran has to remind San that they're not looking for a coconut with a clue inside, they're looking for one with "coloured milk". Zabrina and Joer Jer confessional that San was making the coconuts spray like a fountain, while they themselves were hitting them limply. But on the plus side, though, they did take advantage of the free coconut milk on offer. San tells us that, being "a lot more fitter" [sic], he could keep going without the need for a break. Everyone smashes some more.

Antsy swims.

The Super Marsio Bros. have not chickened out of their Fast Forward, but also haven't started to kayak yet, because they're still trying to figure out how to get on the damn kayak without falling over. Heh.

Laura realises the coconut-smashing "isn't gonna be easy". San wonders whether it'd be better for them to swim. Surely, out of all the people on the beach at the moment, he'd be the one person who shouldn't even consider switching, given how well they've been going.

Antsy have found one of the correct clues. Even Joe Jer notices.

Cirran has only managed to open one coconut. Handy and Laura tell us that once they knew the coconuts still had their husks on, they figured that smashing them open was going to take a while. Add in Antsy finishing the swimming so quickly, and it's no surprise that Handy and Laura decide to be the first team to switch to swimming.

The Super Marsio Bros. tell us that, because they're so fat, it's harder for them to balance. Because, as you know, sumo wrestlers fall over much more often than stick-thin waifs. They talk about how they kept tipping over. Given that they haven't even reached the cliffs yet, let alone started to paddle around them, I have to wonder how fast the producers expected this Fast Forward to be.

Antsy high-five. Meanwhile, Laura bitches about how tight her snorkelling mask is, because it's toooootally Handy's fault. (Also tight? Her grandma-style bathing suit.) Antsy open the clue, and it's the RoadBlock.

WuWho explains, but not before giving us the stock-standard one-person-does-it speech. This time, the teams have to head to the Raile East 123 Wall, which WuWho tells us is popular "amongst rock-climbing enthusiasts". And monkeys, it seems. There, the chosen person has to rock climb up the cliffs to a hanging clue. That's... actually a pretty decent task. The RoadBlocks this season have tended to be pretty sucky, all things considered, but this one is awesome. Mostly because the others have either involved little or no skill on behalf of the person doing it, but still. Even the two of them that actually were difficult -- the beach dig and the aquarium -- were horrible ideas. This one? Not so much. It's already my favourite RoadBlock we've had so far this season, and we haven't even gotten to see it yet.

We cut back to Antsy, who decide from the "Who wants to rock?" clue that Admiral Whinypants will do it, and make Syeon even more superfluous in the process. There's a bit of writing beneath the hint reading, "This challenge is physical and requires a steady nerve," which make the hint itself entirely pointless.

Mardy and Marsio continue arguing about who's in charge or rowing and who's in charge of balancing. They do not seem to realise that it's possible to do two things at once, unless one of those two things is being snitty with each other.

San keeps smashing.

While Handy and Laura keep swimming, Laura voices over that they were extremely lucky to find a clue quickly, because they could have had to swim around to every single buoy before they found one. Except... no. Wouldn't there still have been nine correct ones after Antsy left the water?

Ashore, people keep smashing to their heart's content. Soon, we learn that neither option is good for the players' bodies, with Andy having a stitch from the swimming, and Howard getting blisters from the coconuts. Howard confessionals that he and Cirran thought the coconuts they'd have to chop would be like those fake looking ones they had on Gilligan's Island. Because they would like a little less physical activity in their race, if that's all right with you. Handy has a bunch of jellyfish stings. Ouch. San hits a coconut so hard with his hammer that the coconut rolls away and he breaks the hammer. Heeeeeee hee hee.

Handy and Laura read the RoadBlock clue. Handy apologises, apparently for taking the task away from Laura. So, instead of rock-climbing in Thailand, Laura will have to rock-climb when she returns home to... Thailand. Not seeing why he has anything to apologise for here.

Howard tells Cirran that they're going to have to switch tasks soon, because Howard's hands are all sore and "ripped up" and making him whine.

Fast Forward. The Super Marsio Bros. have finally made it to the cliffs, and are now paddling around.

While the trailing teams continue to Smash, Handy tells the camera from his boat that he thinks the others are going to be put off their game seeing Antsy and his own team finish Smash quickly. Or, possibly, it'll encourage them to switch to it and finish faster, but what do I know? I only mock people in big gigantic blog posts.

Commercials. Motion to fill the hole in the ozone (however large it is) with the cumulative hot air spewed forth by climate change alarmists?

Detour. Cirran wants Howard to just grab some gloves from somewhere and come back to help him smash through the rest of the coconuts. Howard, on the other hand, just wants to swim. I would probably find this argument a lot more interesting in terms of a racing strategy viewpoint if we hadn't already seen the end result in last week's previews for this episode. Cirran's basic argument is, and I quote, "Howard, don't waste time." Of course, he's right, in that they should be trying to finish one task or the other, but the fact that he's actually stopped smashing to argue really detracts from what he was trying to say.

SanFran don't have very many coconuts left. The girls realise that the Super Marsio Bros. must have taken the Fast Forward. Of course! It all makes so much sense now!

Fast Forward Of Slowness. Marsio can't find it.

Beach. Fran snots, as someone will always do if there's a luck-based challenge like this, that it's always the last one you try that winds up working. Well, of course, dear. Why would you keep smashing more coconuts when you've already found the right one?

Antsy sit around in their boat, smiling. Life-changing television, this.

San finally smashes open the red-milk coconut, cheering as he rips the rest of it open with his bare hands. Took him long enough. Suddenly, Cirran wants to swim, and Howard bitchily remarks that he just offered and Cirran didn't want to, so now they're going to stay and do the boats.

Fast Forward. Now, the Super Marsio Bros. can't even decide which side of them the cliffs are on, despite being right next to them. Oh, yes. I'm serious. While SanFran read the clue, the Super Marsio Bros. dock at a cave and enter it in search of the clue.

Howard and Cirran continue to argue passive-aggressively about whether to switch. There's a whole bunch of Killer Fatigue (ie. teams getting so burned out by the race they probably won't be able to recover until they're eliminated) going on with these teams at the moment, and most of it seems to be coming from Howard and Cirran. Don't get me wrong, the other racers (particularly Fran, as well as Handy and Laura) are certainly well on the way, but right now? These guys are leading the pack in terms of my desire to say "OMG! What a couple of dicks!"

Zabrina tells Joe Jer that the coconut-smashing "is really hurting". She confessionals that the only reason they stuck with it for as long as they did is because, after "the last time" (by which I assume she means "after Bali"), they wanted to keep going until they finished. But eventually they switch anyway. As SanFran board their boat and head off for the RoadBlock, both of these teams head out into the water to swim.

Fast Forward. The Super Marsio Bros. still can't find it.

San is giddily excited about going rock-climbing. He is adooooorable with his childlike innocence sometimes. I just want to pinch his cheek.

Antsy think some of the teams will "forfeit" if the rock-climbing is on something like an actual cliff. Nice to see some respect for the other teams and their abilities, isn't it? They and Handy and Laura (who can see a clue on the cliff from their boat) arrive at the wall. It seems as though the six clues on the wall are on six different climbing paths, and the teams get to choose which one they want to take. Nice. Handy and Laura, of course, can't even get off their boat without sniping at each other.

Detour. Both remaining teams are still in the water. Howard gives us a rundown of the situation, telling us that they'd essentially started from opposite ends of the search area, and that the girls were able to find one first. Woo! They read the clue, as Admiral Whinypants picks his wall.

RoadBlock Rock. Laura wants Handy to choose the climb with the lowest clue, even though "it's inverted" and there's practically nothing for Handy to hold onto, which will make it harder than, say, a very simple climb to the highest clue. This. RoadBlock. Is. Brilliant. So unbelievably well thought-out. If only the producers of this show -- and the American version while we're at it, because let's face it, the task planning sucks nowadays -- put this much effort into the tasks as opposed to trying to manufacture contrived drama, then the drama would create itself and wind up being infinitely better than the umpteenth rehash of "Dating couple! Racing to see whether they're right for each other!" We don't need ridiculous twists. We don't need the teams to come with "hooks" to get us to care about them in the near-absence of competent editing. What we need are interesting, well thought-out challenges that show off why the location was deemed Amazing enough to be worth visiting, and the quality locales to match. As far as I'm concerned, if you can't create an entire leg's worth of decent tasks, then hold off on wherever it is you've chosen until you can, or hire some fresh eyes to work on task planning. Don't insult your audience by resorting to offensive stereotypes and stupid, Wipeout-style tasks that have nothing to do with anything. (Also, while I'm at it, American version? Get out of Europe and Asia. It doesn't even seem to be budget cuts that are forcing it to happen. If it was, we would have had at least one leg in Canada or Central America recently, and yet the entire continent, Pacific-Ocean-bordering American states aside, has been all but ignored since the Family Edition. Which is a shame, because the best legs of said monstrosity of a season were the non-US legs, and the two on the eastern coast of the US. Learn from your mistakes. Don't make me have to rant about them again.)

...I can't believe I'm ranting like this after a GOOD task. Right. Moving on, shall we?

Detour. Howard and Cirran are still swimming around aimlessly. Well, as aimlessly as you can be when you know exactly what you've got to do, that is.

RoadBlock Rock. Admiral Whinypants begins climbing up the cliff.

In their boats, Joe Jer and Fran work on bandaging San and Zabrina's fingers. Wow. That Detour was brutal. Poorly designed, yes, but brutal nonetheless.

Slow Forward. Super Marsio Bros.? Still searching.

Fran reads the additional information for the RoadBlock, which includes a section telling them that they "must wear the safety harness and saefty equipment provided". Just in case someone actually decided to climb up the side of the cliff without it. It would make abseiling a lot quicker, though.

The stunt whore yells out for Admiral Whinypants to stick his "right hand high" above his head, and Syeon feels the need to repeat this. I wonder if she realises just exactly how bloody useless she seems to be. Handy has "nothing to hold onto", and Laura tells him "this is not worth rushing". Of course it isn't. It's not like Handy and Laura are in any kind of race. Laura is happy she's "not doing this". Probably because she knows Handy would be telling her what to do as though she was five years old.

Admiral Whinypants has his clue, and it seems there are two clues hanging up on his particular climb. Oh, well. It's still a great task. Handy gets to the midpoint, with sore hands. Laura orders him to "start working [his] way to the left".

Zabrina and Joe Jer marvel at the natural beauty of the area. And... yeah. This place really is pretty.

Admiral Whinypants returns to the ground, and Syeon makes like a war bride. Laura mocks Handy for the "very flattering angle" made when he spreads his legs to balance. Heh. Admiral Whinypants title-quotes that his "legs are shaking like jelly". Mmmmm, jelly. Handy continues climbing. Admiral Whinypants wonders aloud how the girls are going to climb, given how difficult it apparently was. Because girls are weak, apparently. Damn vaginas. Never mind that all the women in this race (except for Syeon and the Portable Posse, of course) have proven themselves extremely capable in all sorts of challenges; women are still weak, apparently. There are so many people on The List right now that I'm not even sure if Admiral Whinypants was on it, but if he wasn't, he is now. Syeon reads the clue (she found something to do!), which tells them to take their longtail boat to Koh Hong lagoon, where they'll find the next clue. WuWho adds approximately nothing of any importance, as per usual, but does translate "Hong" into "Room" for us non-Thai speakers. We learn from the visual evidence that someone decided to put the cluebox on stilts or something to stop the race flag underneath it from getting wet. Heh.

Marsio has finally found the Slightly-Fast Forward. Yay!

SanFran have arrived at RoadBlock Rock, just as Antsy are leaving in the background. Syeon congratulates Admiral Whinypants on how fast he did it, and he uses the praise as an opportunity to whine about his shaky legs some more. Laura says she's getting "dizzy just looking up" at Handy. Handy voices over that he tries to complete every single task as quickly as he possibly can. Thus explaining why they didn't even try for the Fast Forward, apparently. Fran tells us that San will be climbing RoadBlock Rock, even though he apparently broke his hands at the Detour. 'Cause you know what helps you recover from broken hands? Rock-climbing. Handy is almost done, causing Laura to say the words "humpy bit" and giggle like a twelve-year-old. An immature twelve-year-old. San has apparently picked what looks like it's the inverted path that Handy refused to take.

Marsio returns to the Super Marsio Bros. kayak, but manages to tip it over before they can go anywhere.

Howard and Cirran are still swimming around, watching their chances of winning drown in waist-deep water.

Fran tells San he has to go in the direction the instructor tells him. Handy has finished going in the direction he needs to go, grabbing the clue.

Howard finally finds the clue. About fucking time. He voices over that it took them "a good half-an-hour" to do so.

Handy lands back on the ground, as San gets his clue. Boy, that was fast. If we were in Mexico at the moment, there's no way in hell I wouldn't be changing his nickname to Speedy Gonzalez.

Howard forces the RoadBlock onto Cirran's shoulders. Hmmm.

The Super Marsio Bros. are paddling back to the beach. The teams who've just finished their RoadBlock are returning to their boat. This is a little bit of why I hate the water-based episodes -- although it's entirely based on the teams' abilities to complete the challenges, as opposed to the extraneous stuff, there's also so much stuff in the episode that you can get rid of without losing much of the sense of story. I mean, we've already lost over a third of this episode just with the bus rides and the hotel stuff, and we're still getting these bits in the rest of the episode. If this was a land-based episode, I doubt we'd be getting as much. I love the water-based episodes in concept, but in practice? They always wind up sucking pretty bad.

Howard and Cirran, still at the Detour beach and seemingly not even trying to catch up, tell us that even though Howard's hand will be fine in the long run, he can't do the RoadBlock. Thus, Cirran will be doing it. Oh, boy. This is going to be fun.

The girls pass Handy and Laura heading in the opposite direction, and both teams wave to each other. Way to show your competitive spirit, Handy!

Mardy is so excited to have finally finished rowing the damn kayak that he literally throws the paddle onto the beach. Heh.

Zabrina thinks that RoadBlock Rock is "a bit intimidating, actually". Of course it is. This isn't Australian Survivor.

The Super Marsio Bros. read the Fast Forward clue when they get back on to the beach. It directs them to Ko Pak Bia. Is it a transliteration thing that some Thai islands start with "Ko" and some start with "Koh". WuWho tells us that the last team to arrive WILL be eliminated. At this point, I'll be happy with the result as long as it's not SanFran or the girls. It's kind of weird how so many teams have managed to become barely tolerable over the last two episodes -- definitely Killer Fatigue. Which is weird, because usually it doesn't turn up until they cross the imaginary line somewhere between the Middle East and India. Go ahead, watch any season of the US version and tell me that's not where Killer Fatigue starts. Happens every time, without fail.

Joe Jer calls Zabrina a "spiderman", as she climbs up the same run as San went on. Nice to see she's not restricted by the usual boundaries of gender. (What? I totally meant that as a compliment.) (Also, since you really can't mention one without the other these days, "Spiderpig, spiderpig, does whatever a spiderpig does. Can he swing from a web? No he can't, he's a pig. Look out, he is a spiderpig.") Zabrina tells us after the fact that she was having trouble even standing up on the wall, because the Detour was so exhausting. I think she might have had a little too much coconut milk to drink. She flounders on a particularly hard looking section of the wall, doing the whole "Can't grab onto wall! Will grab onto rope and spin around for a little while!" trick all novice climbers seem to do at least once. (Still, I can beat that. I've been indoor rock climbing once before, and somehow managed to get into a situation like this so badly that I literally managed to push off from the wall and careen into a wall clear on the opposite side of the room, because there so much distance between me and the top of the wall that there was still enough slack for it to happen. Needless to say, I haven't been back.)

Howard exposits from the boat that they picked the wrong Detour, and because of it, Cirran will have to do the RoadBlock. San tells us he's been rock-climbing before. I bet he managed to avoid knocking himself into an entirely different wall.

Mardy is hungry. So use your time at the Pit Stop to eat (and sleep, and mingle with the other teams, just like in the olden days), and quit ruining the episode.

Zabrina grabs the clue. Yay! Joe Jer could not look happier if someone showed her a basket full of puppies and kittens. Joe Jer thanks the stunt whore "for saving [her] friend's life", and that really should have been the title quote. That is possibly the funniest thing I've heard all season long.

Howard and Cirran have found the wall. They seem shocked when they see how high the clue is.

Commercials. Guess what? I'm going to be recapping all of The Amazing Race Asia 2 after I finish this season, and I want your help. Very simply, I'm giving you guys, the wonderful readers who put up with my lax schedule and bad sense of humour, the chance to nickname a team for next season. If you've already seen the season, and want to come up with a nickname, just comment on this blog post with your suggestions, as well as your thoughts on the episode/recap, and I'll take a look at it. You can choose any team you want, you can choose any nickname you want. If I like what I see, I may use it at some point in the next season's recaps. The world isn't waiting for you. Good luck. Travel nowhere. GO!

Howard had to tell Cirran that the clue isn't very high at all. Well, not compared to Neptune or Gallifrey, it's not. Howard reminds us that Cirran has a little bit of a problem with heights, and here's where, if this was the American version, we'd be filling some episode time with some pointless grayscale flashbacks to the mall and to the Sky Tower and to the Nevis Platform. Thank God it's not. Howard tells the stunt whores on Cirran's behalf that he hates heights, and one of the stunt whores, who sounds like an Aussie, offers him a helmet if he wants it. Heh.

Marsio mentions how beautiful the cliffs were. Go, natural beauty!

Cirran is having trouble climbing right from the moment he starts. Howard tells him to "remember all those trees [he] used to climb at [his] grandparents when [he was] a kid", and suddenly Cirran slides even further down the path to full on mental breakdown. He keeps having trouble climbing, expressing his shock at having to move to the left even though it's quite literally the only way he actually can move from the position he's in. Howard expresses his admiration, as Cirran manages to stop himself from slipping all the way back down.

Antsy are looking for flags. It would probably help them find the flags if they were actually looking from the lagoon itself. Guys, read the clue. It says "Koh Hong lagoon". There wouldn't be any need to mention the lagoon if you didn't have to go into the lagoon. You're eight legs into the race, you really should know better at this point.

Cirran is still climbing, and is still scared. But I'm bored of this latest meltdown already. He claims to be "petrified", before falling down a little bit, right near the clue. Gasp!

Handy and Laura are approaching the lagoon. So are SanFran. The Super Marsio Bros. are twenty minutes away from the Pit Stop.

Cirran grabs the clue. Thank God. He voices over the usual "I'm scared of heights, but I beat my fear by doing one thing related to it rather poorly!" sentiments. They read the lagoon clue.

Antsy have made it to the lagoon entrance, a natural archway in the cliffs, but of course they discuss whether jellyfish can swim into the lagoon.

Cirran is a blubbering mess as he and Howard walk away from RoadBlock Rock. At least this time he saved the full-blown cryfest until he was back on the ground. Howard rants about how Cirran "did fantastically". Whatever. I'm just ready for these two to go at this point.

Antsy wade through the knee-deep lagoon water for the clue, and they're so short they can barely reach the clue. Hee. The clue once again tells them to take their boats, this time to the Pit Stop. Because they were totally going to magic up some aqua-bikes to ride. We are spared another explanation from WuWho. They leave as Handy and Laura and SanFran arrive. Wow, this is tight, considering everything that's happened so far. San really made up some time on the RoadBlock. Antsy watch as everyone else wades through the lagoon to the clue. It seems as though both team members have to be right at the cluebox before they can open this one, because San waits for Fran while Handy and Laura walk away.

Cirran? Crying like a baby. Shut up, Cirran.

The teams who just ran across the lagoon can barely get back in their boats.

Howard tells Cirran he was "like a gazelle" going up RoadBlock Rock. Is that a compliment? I have no idea.

Zabrina and Joe Jer get the lagoon clue, all tinged in yellow for some reason. So now there are five teams headed for the Pit Stop, and one team still headed for the place where they'll get the clue telling them to go to the Pit Stop. I wonder who will get eliminated! Soon, Howard and Cirran are at the lagoon.

Antsy appear to have stopped for no reason, next to some islands which don't appear to be the Pit Stop island.

Howard and Cirran get the Pit Stop clue.

Pit Stop. It's weird. It's entirely obvious from the way the last few minutes have gone what the finishing order is going to be, with possibly Handy and Laura and SanFran being the only switch, and yet this is still somewhat tense. I can't explain it. The Super Marsio Bros. arrive and are greeted in both Thai and English by a moustached older man in what looks like a white version of a priest's white shirt, without the little collar thing. Obviously, they're Team Number One.

The next three teams all see where they need to go, but apparently all have trouble telling their drivers where to go. Convenient. WuWho and the greeter watch on.

Howard and Cirran complain about their injuries some more. At least they'll have something to remember the race.

It turns out all the teams who were pointing were pointing at the wrong island anyway. Idiots. Handy and Laura voice over that they wanted to not do very well in this leg, so they wouldn't be seen as a threat. They are still Team Number Two. So much for that plan. They kiss.

SanFran arrive at the Pit Stop. Welcome, SanFran, you are Team Number Three. San "Whoo hoo hoo hoo"s, and they hug in what is possibly the least affectionate way possible.

Antsy arrive. Welcome, Antsy, you are Team Number Four. WuWho asks about "the long faces" and... they're not horses, WuWho. The joke doesn't work. Admiral Whinypants put his arm around Syeon, who seriously looks like she's checked out of the game. Her absence will not be noticeable.

Zabrina and Joe Jer! Howard and Cirran! Pit Stop! Who! Will! It ! Be!

Well, Zabrina and Joe Jer, thank God. Joe Jer says that they won't be giving WuWho any more money. Heh. Welcome, Zabrina and Joe Jer, you are Team Number Five.

Howard and Cirran step on the mat. They are sixth, they are last, and they are eliminated. Oh, well. Cirran brags about how much he and Howard have learned about themselves, and how they did some stuff they didn't particularly want to do. Howard says they're "just not ready to be out of the race." Well, that makes two of the three of us then. I'd like to say I'm sad to see them go, but... I'm really not. Bye, guys!

Executive Producer? Michael McKay.

Next week: India. Eating challenge. Oh, boy.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

1x07: Bangkok, Thailand (via Singapore)

The race heads to Singapore for no real reason, before going to Bangkok, where everybody compounds acting Ugly by racing poorly. It's a good thing it's a non-elimination, because it's hard to choose which team truly deserves to be booted this week.

====================

Previously on iBungy 2.0: Seven teams decided that while New Zealand as a whole is awesome, Or Clend really isn't worth spending much time in, bringing the entire debate of why Or Clend gets used every single time the race visits the country to the forefront. Andy lost his licence to drive, but apparently not his licence to be an insufferable little bitch, or his licence to complain about their incompetence being due to "bad luck". Some of the teams got what WuWho calls "a bird's-eye view" of Queenstown, which is weird, because last time I checked birds don't have safety harnesses or wires, or fly in a pendulum formation. People got their quadbikes mired in what I assume was mud, but I was too bored by the episode to pay attention to what it was. Someone in production decided that "Mo' Bungy Jumping!" is an acceptable way to advertise the wide and varied culture and lifestyle of everyday Kiwis, and I was understandably unimpressed. So were the people who got freaked out by the idea of dropping over a hundred and thirty metres in eight seconds. For the first time this season, the team with a local actually won the leg, and for the first time this season, a likable team was eliminated, unable to be saved by the additional producer-mandated speeding penalty Andy earned himself. Now, only six teams remain. Who will be eliminated... TONIGHT?

Credits. It's a good thing this show doesn't resort to using existing loosely-related-to-the-subject-matter songs for its theme music like other reality shows do, because Livin' La Vida Loca doesn't have nearly enough [POMP.]

The gondola to last week's Detour introduces us to this episode, and back to Queenstown, which WuWho appears to think is home to only two things, extreme sports and vineyards. I wonder if the presence of so much alcohol has anything to do with the sheer number of places where it is possible to hurl yourself into a canyon. The sixth Pit Stop in a race around the world, the Chard Farm Winery alone is probably responsible for skydiving. As always, the teams are leaving after their mandatory rest period, which may or may not allow them to eat, sleep, and mingle with the other teams.

2:54am. SanFran. We learn that it's finally time to leave New Zealand and its hobbits behind, so it's off to Singapore, where the hobbits may be just as annoying, but at least are forbidden from chewing gum. When they arrive in Singapore, they have to find themselves a taxi to take them to the [Arco] petrol station on MacPherson Road, where they'll have to indulge in an activity that apparently represents the culture and landscape of the clash of cultures that is Singapore -- washing [Holden] cars. Can't we have at least one decent leg in Singapore? The last one there was an absolute disaster (find the TV star in the wackily-located apartment? Swim across a zoo enclosure? Run around a fountain?), and this one's already even worse.

3:15am. Zabrina and Joe Jer. In their car, Joe Jer reads the additional information, which tells them that they must fly [Etihad].

4:05am. Antsy. In their car, Admiral Whinypants wonders whether Handy and Laura will make the flight.

4:22am. Super Marsio Bros. Marsio tells us in a confessional from the winery Pit Stop that they've "come to understand [their] differences", and are working on overcoming them. First stop is apparently getting a glass of champagne to hold.

4:25am. Howard and Cirran. They seem excited to be going to the mythical, mystical land of "Sing-guh-POOR".

6:05am. Handy and Laura, which means their penalty must have been a LOT more than the 92 minutes we were informed about last week.

New Zealand's clouds, while white, do not appear to be very long this morning. Let's sue them for false advertising.

SanFran confessional that they're always making sure that they know where they're going before they go. I can see how that might be a bit of a help. At what their car's clock tells us is 8:23am, they pull into the airport. How did it take them six whole hours to drive there? It's a mystery alright, but not as much as this signpost we see. It's one of those ones that has a bunch of major world cities on it, with the distances so high you'd swear the only way to get there would be to fly. It makes sense for it to be at an airport, I suppose, but... like, it's got places like London (19039km away) and Rome (18083km) and Singapore (8161km) on it, as it should, but then it's also got Brisbane (2365km) and Norfolk Island (1345km). Lovely places, sure, but major world icons? Hardly.

All the teams get on the same flight, even though the ticket guide mistakes SanFran's being last in line somehow (probably got lost, like they have every other time they've driven anywhere on this race) as being "patient". It will not surprise you to learn that the flight to Singapore connects through Or Clend. For some reason, the Amazing Graphically Inserted Plane is not in the background of The Amazing Globe this week, and I for one am disappointed. Why lose a couple of seconds of episode time when you had such an ingenious way of gaining them back?

On the flight, Zabrina and Joe Jer voice over that they are happy to have achieved their goal of being the last all-female team left, and how they have a new goal: to be the last Malaysian team still racing. They might be racing for a while, then, because Antsy is one of only two teams left to have never reached a route marker (or finished a task) in last place. The other, for all you pub trivia geeks? The Super Marsio Bros., which is a statistic I am shocked to learn. Admiral Whinypants himself voices over that the "other contestants are lagging", and aren't up to his standards with regards to competition.

The teams arrive in Singapore, piling into a bunch of taxis. I am curious as to what this "egg delivery challenge" mentioned in the on-screen competition ticker is, and why there would be a trivia question about it. (Of course, then I remember that hey, I've seen this episode before, and I already know, but still. Why spoil your own show when you don't have to?)

Anyway, Fran tells her driver that they're racing, and to "run, run, run". One would assume that the point of racing would be to get there quickly, and that taking the taxi would be slightly quicker than crossing half of Singpore by foot, but what do I know? I only write the recaps. The sun is setting as Howard and Cirran find the petrol station. Cirran confessionals that he's "more than proud" of Howard for having "excelled" at everything he's encountered on the race, and how he's "conquered" a bunch of stuff. Like sharks. In an unrelated confessional from the same place, a room full of wine barrels, Howard tells us that it doesn't matter if you get somewhere first, but you want to stay in the top half. Because apparently if you finish in the top half, you won't have as much chance of getting eliminated as the people who finish, say, dead last. Who knew?

Laura goes through the "wax on, wax off" routine from The Karate Kid with Handy. Lesson: Asian people know how to wash cars. Thanks for that wonderful moment of cultural awareness, Laura! She voices over that as the race goes on, people are going to stop being polite and start getting real, even though these particular people, in her eyes, lack the "competitive edge". I think she's one of those twits who thinks that if you're not yelling at each other, you're not being competitive. Shut up, Laura. As SanFran pass them, Andy whines that he and Laura always "get the slow taxi driver". Unlucky! In their cab, Fran talks too fast for me to understand exactly what she's saying, but the gist is "What the hell makes petrol stations representative of Singaporean culture?" And she's got a point.

The Super Marsio Bros. are the first team to arrive at the petrol station. SanFran drive past a station they realise isn't the one they need, but Howard and Cirran decide to stop. As always, this is a case of not reading the clue correctly -- we've already heard in the episode that the teams were given the exact address for this one, so I can't feel sorry for them at all. Admittedly, it would have been hard for me to feel sorry for Howard and Cirran anyway, but whatever. SanFran arrive at the right place, just as Handy and Laura get stopped at a red light. Unlucky!

Music that sounds like it belongs in a jazzy, upbeat porn film plays as the teams begin washing their cars. Some of the shots are even semi-pornographic. Seriously, watch the bit at the start where San thrusts while he's cleaning the bonnet. Or the bit where San tries to clean the windscreen wipers by fingering it. Or the bit where... let's just say that San probably would not be out of place in said jazzy, upbeat porn film -- he's got the technique, now we just need to find out whether he's got the equipment.

In the meantime, Andy tries to claim to one of the task judges that the colour of the car makes it more obvious that their car isn't clean. Of course, since there isn't anything even approaching a mud brown car here, I'm not sure what he's on about -- if he hasn't done his job properly, that stain's going to be there regardless of whether they car they picked was blue or white or yellow with hot pink polka dots.

Antsy are first to finish The Most Culturally Irrelevant Task Ever. Howard bitches that they're not finished even though he thinks their car looks better than Antsy's. Perhaps he could ask one of the task judges to check whether his car is finished. Just a suggestion. Admiral Whinypants reads the clue, which tells them to find the Fountain of Wealth. Not this again. Please no running, please no running. The little clips playing over WuWho's clip tell us that there will indeed be no running into the fountain, with the cluebox just sitting in the surrounding area, and that the Fountain of Wealth Board of Promotional Advertising are not exactly keeping the "world's biggest fountain" thing under wraps. As Antsy leave, Handy and Laura bicker some more, and the Super Marsio Bros. get their clue. Howard and Cirran's judge is unimpressed, but SanFran get their clue, proving that a little bit of mechanical foreplay is always a good thing. The Super Marsio Bros. want to go to the "Fountain of Youth". Heeeee hee hee. Soon, though, Howard and Cirran, Zabrina and Joe Jer, and Handy and Laura all get clues.

Antsy are at the Fountain already. There's some sort of light show going on, which is a shame, because the teams are going to miss it while they're flying to Bangkok. As Admiral Whinypants stumbles over the name of the place they're going to have to take a taxi to when they arrive, Syeon helpfully adds "temple" as her one contribution to doing anything. Even the little graphic doesn't know how to spell it, preferring to call it -- Wat Niwet Thamaprawat, for those of you playing at home -- "Bangkok Buddhist Temple", even though we just heard, and are reminded by WuWho, that it's located in Ayutthaya, an entirely different place. Anyway, once they arrive at the place, wherever it is, they'll have to take a ski-gondola-like thing across the river to the temple, where they'll search for a cluebox. Sound easy? No? Well, it's even harder than that. You see, there are a bunch of different clueboxes, and only one has the actual next clue.

In other news, the hell? You come to Singapore to wash a car, and then leave basically straight away? You don't even try to make a better leg than the sheer crappiness we saw last time the race visited Singapore? That's just ridiculous. Shut up, show.

Antsy leave just as SanFran arrives. The Super Marsio Bros. get the clue, but Marsio apparently does not hide well enough to stop SanFran from seeing the cluebox. SanFran themselves are very excited to be going to Bangkok. Howard and Cirran arrive next, right as the light show conveniently displays a globe. Don't quote me on this, but I'm beginning to think world travel might be a little bit of a theme on this show. Mardy is happy about going to Bangkok, because he "can pray to [his] Buddha". Is there some sort of rule against praying to Buddha in any of the other places this race has been so far? I doubt it, considering that the American version visited a Buddhist temple in Malaysia one season, and that one of the largest Buddhas in the world is in the Borobodur in Indonesia. But... you know, it was a little funny, even if it was slightly culturally offensive. San remarks on how funny it is that they "came all the way to Singapore just to wash a car". Cultural irrelevance is hilarious! Hahahaha! More tasks like this, show! (Except not.)

Andy and Laura think they're in last place when they get to the cluebox, but since Zabrina and Joe Jer are lost somewhere in the general vicinity of the fountain, they're actually in 5th place. As Laura remarks in her cab that they're going to their home country, and gets prepared to treat Bangkok's cabbies like her personal butlers, Zabrina and Joe Jer grab the clue.

When the teams arrive at the airport, the first five teams all have no problems checking in to their flight on Product Placement Airlines. Unfortunately, Zabrina and Joe Jer get dropped off at the wrong terminal. And since Changi Airport isn't a tiny airport by any stretch of the imagination, it's not surprising that by the time they finally do make it to the PPA desk, the ticketing guy isn't even sure whether they can make it onto the flight. Oh, no! Not my favourite team! This sucks! Right?

Commercials. This week's Andy Hallett Memorial Award goes to Cory Monteith. Fuck or pass?

Of course, as is always the case on the race, things are never as bad as they seem right before the commercial break, and Zabrina and Joe Jer do indeed manage to get on the flight. I have to wonder if they'd have got on if PPA wasn't a sponsor of the show who wanted good publicity. But anyway, they're on, and San is shirtless on the plane, and I think I need to lie down. WuWho informs us that all six teams are flying from Singapore to Bangkok. This announcement is accompanied by the Amazing World Map and the Amazing Yellow Line, just in case you're a visual learner.

Everyone arrives and gets into taxis. Shocking, I know. All the hovercrafts must have been busy or something. SanFran immediately tell their driver to follow the departing Super Marsio Bros. In their cab, Marsio starts telling their driver to go fast in Thai, and has to explain to a questioning Mardy that that's what Handy said was the right word. Right on cue, we cut to Handy and Laura's cab, in which Laura is using the exact same word to get their driver to go fast. So much for Andy's talk about the "competitive edge". Fran kvetches about how they're losing sight of the Super Marsio Bros.' cab. Fran hits herself over the head with the clue, and says she "hate[s] countries like this". Oh. My. LORD. I know she's tired and everything, but if I didn't already dislike half of the remaining teams (Antsy, Howard and Cirran, and Handy and Laura), she would have just made The List. She's definitely just lost herself 500 points. San confessionals that "you can't blame the cab drivers for not knowing where they're going just because you can't speak the language". If anyone knows any reason why I should not propose to San right here, speak now or forever hold your peace.

Oh, he's straight, you say? And dating her? Damn. Carry on, then.

Of course, Fran has not finished joining the Hall of Ugly Amazing Race Moments, both with mouthing the words "Yes, you can! Of course you can!" (or something similar) while San is talking, and then, back in their cab, yelling at their driver when he tells them he doesn't know where Ayutthaya is, before telling San to "just deal with this". Fran, honey? It's an entirely different city, and he's a Bangkok taxi. Just because Thailand isn't the size of America, he's supposed to know every road in the country? Getting a Bangkok cabbie who knows the streets of Ayutthaya would be the equivalent of getting a New York City cabbie who can take you around Boston without getting lost. Why would you expect him to know where he's going once he gets out of the city he lives in? Shut up. Fran confessionals, much more calmly, that the driver had no idea where he was going. In the cab, San suggests switching to a new one.

Handy and Laura think it'll take about 40 minutes to get to the temple. Meanwhile, Fran is using some of her 40 minutes to bitch some more about how slow their driver is. Helpful! And necessary!

Zabrina and Joe Jer have made a nice recovery, and are the first team to arrive at the temple, at what looks like it's the same time as Handy and Laura. Both teams learn that the temple will be opening at 6:30am, since no Buddhist temple accessible only by cable car could turn any sort of profit at this time of night -- it's 2am, y'all. For some reason, the hours-of-operation sign, clearly placed by the production crew, is accompanied by a second sign with a large X on it. Someone start drilling into that post, there's bound to be some good treasure in there.

SanFran are finally switching taxis. Fran is being her usual self, San is being his usual self, and I am seriously trying not to wonder how he got stuck with a girl like Fran.

Antsy and Howard and Cirran arrive at the temple. Zabrina and Joe Jer and Howard and Cirran decide to camp out, immedaitely scoring them both 60 points. Zabrina and Joe Jer were so far ahead of any non-Sandy racers at this point that their points don't even matter any more, but at least Howard and Cirran are almost not in negative numbers anymore.

Fran sees a sign for the temple and directs her driver to turn around so he can follow the map. Oh, goody.

It turns out that all of the teams have decided to not go to a hotel, either staying on the cable-car platform or in their taxis, and thus San moves into the same scoring echelon as Mother Teresa, Barack Obama, and Zabrina and Joe Jer (because I loves them thaaaat much). Meanwhile, Handy and Laura move up into the same scoring echelon as Schapelle Corby, Entertainment Tonight, and foot fungus.

It's a new dawn, it's a new day, but there's no Michael Bublé. I can't think of a single show in history that wouldn't be improved with some Bublé. But that's beside the point right now. Cirran brings Howard a coffee from the temple Starbucks or something. Because you know they totally have one. He confessionals that the hardest thing about the race is the lack of clean toilets. Howard drinks his coffee and bitches about how bad their night's sleep was. As far as I'm concerned, if you had the opportunity to go to a hotel and gave it up in favour of keeping your place in line, then you also forgo the chance to be a whiny little jerkwad. Shut up, Howard. He does not, and tries joking with Cirran about the word "Ayutthaya". Well, at least he's not going with any Bangkok jokes, I suppose. Cirran politely tells him to cram it.

The cable car starts running, and the teams go over one at a time. Handy voices over that they "all had a gentlemen's agreement" that the first team to get to the temple got to go over first. It's a fair deal, but it doesn't show much competitive edge, Handy. Fran points out, in case San hadn't noticed from all the teams standing in front of him in line, that they're going to be the last team to get across.

The teams start crossing, and Joe Jer sees a cluebox almost immediately, speaking loud enough we can hear her across the other side with Howard and Cirran. Speaking of, Cirran instructs Howard on where they will be searching for their clue. Zabrina and Joe Jer are surprised to find out that their clue isn't a clue. I don't think they were told about this twist in the task, which is just a little bit cruel, but still fun to watch. Handy and Laura run around, while Howard and Cirran note which direction they're running from in their cable car. Joe Jer has decided that, for some reason known only to her, it is appropriate to search the interior of the temple by standing in the doorway and hopping on the spot. As you do. The Super Marsio Bros. cross the river. Handy and Laura also find an incorrect clue. Howard and Cirran too. The Super Marsio Bros. have found a clue right in front of a statue of what I assume is Buddha. They decide to pray, which is entirely unnecessary and a little bit patronising, but... I appreciate the effort, you know? And it's not the right clue, anyway. Zabrina and Joe Jer, behind for so much of this leg, have found the right clue, which is located inside a little gazebo on the edge of the river. Antsy seems to think that someone's found a clue.

The girls, having walked away from the gazebo to not make it obvious, read the clue. And this time, when I say "clue", I actually mean "clue", as opposed to "a map with detailed street instructions, seating plans, and a chauffeur-driven limo to take you there". They've been given a Thai coin, and need to find a taxi to take them to the landmark that's featured on the coin. WuWho informs us that the landmark they're looking for is the Golden Mount temple, all the way back in Bangkok, and calls the coin a "local Thai coin" in order to differentiate between all those local Belgian coins and local Peruvian coins that Thailand has. Zabrina and Joe Jer get back to the cable car just as Antsy are arriving, and the girls tell them which way to go. I don't know whether this shows a lack of "competitive edge", or whether the girls just want some competition up there at the head of the pack. Perhaps Handy could tell me. Antsy confessionals that because of this favour, they hope that they'll "make it today". Maybe I'm just reading too much into this, but since they're all relaxed and whatnot, it seems as though they're saying this after they've arrived at the Pit Stop, but before the girls arrive. Way to not spoil your own show, show.

Antsy are indeed second to get to the clue. Right after SanFran's cable car arrives, Howard and Cirran are at the cluebox the Super Marsio Bros. found. It still isn't correct. Andy and Laura also try that cluebox, as Zabrina and Joe Jer make it back. Syeon, waiting on the cable car platform with Admiral Whinypants, tells him she needs to go to the toilet. He asks why. Does it matter? There are only a couple of things you would need to go to the toilet to do, and none of them are the sort of thing you can hold off until you reach the Pit Stop at this point. Remember, even though this leg has already been going on for forever now, you still have to do the Detour and the RoadBlock. SanFran are next to find it, running past a group of monks in the process. The Super Marsio Bros. are at another cluebox with another Buddha, and are praying again. I wonder if it's coincidental that the correct cluebox is the only one we've seen so far without a Buddha statue near it.

Antsy get on their cable car, having apparently not stopped for Syeon's nanna-bladder. Handy and Laura are lost, but the Super Marsio Bros. are finally in the right place. Instead of praying to Buddha this time, they've decided to comment on how pretty the palace is. Guys, you've lost enough time. It's a pretty palace, but for the love of Buddha, RACE!

Antsy argue about going to the toilet on the cable car. Sigh. Laura shouts at Handy to stop shouting. Because it's only adorable when she does it, you know. Syeon is still wondering where the toilets are when their cable car arrives. Laura seems to think it's "daft" to look for the clue. She can find her way to the Golden Mount without being told to, thank you very much!

SanFran are back. Joe Jer cheerily encourages her driver to go fast. Laura has taken over from Handy as Chief Luck Whiner. While the leaders try to determine whether their cabbies know the Golden Mount, and the Super Marsio Bros. board the return cable car thinking they're in last place, Handy and Laura are still searching for the cluebox. In their cab, Admiral Whinypants mimes Donkey Kong as a substitute for "fast", which surely can't help Syeon at the moment. Handy and Laura have finally found the clue. Three cheers for them! (...No, how about two?) (...Okay, one?) (...Half a cheer?)

Syeon is still whining about needing a toilet. Admiral Whinypants puts his hand on her thigh in support, unfortunately doing it as she says the words "it's hard to hold". Handy and Laura also think they're last, which makes me think the temple is much bigger than it looks, because Howard and Cirran are still searching. Surely they would have known if the others were leaving. Meanwhile, the girls' driver does at least know that the Golden Mount is in Bangkok, which is a help. Howard and Cirran run around and talk about being in last place and do pretty much everything they can do without finding the clue.

Commercials. iSnack 2.0 sounds like something designed to fix anorexic computers.

We return with Howard and Cirran still searching. Howard tells a silent Cirran not to panic. I... didn't think he was, Howard. A dog watches them search, as other teams get back to their cabs. Howard tells us it took them "half an hour" to find the clue, which they've already worked out is the right one before they open it, what with all the others' clues being missing and all. So now Howard and Cirran are on their cable car back, and everyone else is on their way to the Golden Mount.

Syeon is still busting to go, but that doesn't make a port-a-potty appear in the middle of a Thai highway, odlly enough. So, of course, she whines louder.

Cirran complains about being in a slow taxi after they spent so long at the temple searching for the clue, and Howard snidely retorts that there's no way they could have finished quicker. Aside from working with another team? Aside from secretly following another team who doesn't want to work with you? Aside from asking the monks if they've seen clueboxes? Aside from walking in the right fucking direction to begin with?

Eventually, Admiral Whinypants just tells Syeon that she might just have to go on the roadside. She asks where, and Admiral Whinypants' reply is, and I quote, "It's Thailand. No one's going to give a shit." Except for Syeon, that is. (I can't believe I just stooped that low to mock someone. Sigh. See what being around these people has turned me into? DO YOU?) They stop, and thankfully we cut to the much more bladder-competent SanFran, who are also complaining about a slow driver. Back in her car, Syeon is apologetic yet proud of being able to drop trou in some poor paddock.

Golden Mount. Zabrina and Joe Jer. A wooden elephant blocks a cluebox with a sign giving operating hours from 8am to 5:30pm on it, making me think that whatever the task is is going to be fun and elephant-related. Unfortunately, it is a RoadBlock with the hint "Who rings a bell? Patience and perseverence may be needed.", and the task will be anything but. WuWho is on the roof of the Golden Mount, walking around a bunch of tinkling windchimes. He reminds us of what he always does (RoadBlock! One person!), and tells us that this time, whoever does it has to climb to the rooftop and search through 560 bells for one of 100 clue capsules. So, you know, great odds, especially given that all the bells are practically next to each other. However, only six of the 100 capsules contain the "correct clue", which is literally just a congratulatory message, thus making the task at least worthy of not being called the Worst Task In This Episode, even though it's still pretty close to the car washing in terms of inanity, and is definitely the Least Difficult RoadBlock Ever. Joe Jer takes it.

Somehow, Antsy and SanFran head down the same stretch of road (or so the identical camera shots will have you believe), with Antsy ahead, and yet SanFran reach the clue first. Somewhat ironically given her behaviour throughout this episode, Fran takes the task specifically requiring an amount of patience higher than "zero", and even she notices. Antsy get the clue in 3rd, the Super Marsio Bros. in fourth, Handy and Laura in fifth, and Howard and Cirran in sixth. Syeon and Marsio take it. We spend a hilarious little moment with Handy and Laura in which neither of them wants to own up to having a shred of patience, just staring at each other, waiting patiently for someone to take the task. Heh. Handy does.

The temple, which apparently was closed, opens amidst bell ringing, and the five RoadBlockers we've got at the moment sprint up the stairs. Syeon seems to think she has to check the big bells for the little tiny clues. Soon, everyone is up on the actual rooftop searching.

Cirran sees some red and yellow race flags somewhere in a group of two yellow flags and two Thai national flags. Is Facebook paying to get it's Thai-flag-blue logo put onto all the race flags now?

Just like that, Handy is done with the Least Difficult RoadBlock Ever. The normal temple visitors go about their worshipping in peace, while the crazy reality TV contestants fiddle with their wind chimes and make a helluva din nearby. Heh. Sometimes, you don't need smart wordplay or people racking themselves in order to laugh, and this is one of those times.

Howard and Cirran are arriving at the temple, in case you cared. And, in fact, even if you didn't.

Syeon gets her clue. Back down with Laura, Handy reads the clue, which is a Detour. Y'all know the thing about the two tasks and the pros and the cons, right? Good. From in front of a weird pink-bricked structure, WuWho informs us that this time, their choice is between Bacon and Eggs. Aren't they legally required to offer a vegan option? In Bacon, you take a taxi to a group of marked tuk-tuks (Yay! Tuk-tuks!), choose one, and direct the driver through the streets to what the show calls the "Pig Monument". They can ask for directions from anyone who isn't the driver. In Eggs, you go to a market so big it's been on the American version before, find a particular egg stall, stacks 20 trays of eggs onto one of those wheely things you use for moving whitegoods around, and take them through the crowded market to another stall. If you break any eggs, you have to go back for replacements before you get the clue. You know, this is one of those rare Detours in which both tasks seem to have the same pros and cons. They're both navigation heavy, so teams who can communicate with the locals will do well, but they're both in Bangkok, which means moving around will be pretty slowgoing, all things considered. Still, it's a nice task, and the tuk-tuk navigation beats the pants off of those trannies the American version got to sing karaoke in the back of cabs when they did a similar task.

Laura demands Handy choose which task they do, thus confirming he was indeed the right pick for the Least Difficult RoadBlock Ever. Handy and Laura take Eggs, Antsy take the Bacon. It kind of surprises me that Handy and Laura don't go for the option that will presumably require dealing with the language barrier.

Howard and Sahran are both lost and last, ticking off two boxes in the Things You Don't Want To Be While Racing survey. Cirran confessionals that he "just wanted to reach across, you know, over to [the driver], hold him, and slap him", complete with hand motions. Cirran, you know how they have those Please Do Not Feed The Animals signs at zoos? Well, the only reason they don't have Please Do Not Slap The Driver signs in cabs is because it's kind of assumed. Back in the cab, Cirran asks what the driver's "waiting for. A sign from God?" I doubt it, given the whole Buddhism theme running through the Thailand portion of this episode.

Fran gets her clue, as Marsio finds his capsule. He gets the clue, and the cluegiver guy has to actually call him back so he can go back down to Mardy through the door next to said cluegiver guy. Some people just don't pay attention, now, do they? (In reality TV circles, we call them "casting producers".)

Marsio takes more time to Buddha on his way out. We get it. Move on. SanFran do indeed move on, having selected Eggs as their entree du jour today. Joe Jer has not moved on, and is still searching for the capsule. She tells us she was panicking after everyone else had no problems finishing the Least Difficult RoadBlock Ever. Remember, though, that since only six capsules had the right clue to begin with, there are only two left for her and either Howard or Cirran to find, so she might be here for a little while.

Howard and Cirran are fretting about whether the place they're at is the place they're looking for. Meanwhile, Fran thinks it's so cute that she can get a pink taxi. The Super Marsio Bros. pick Bacon. Howard and Cirran arrive at the RoadBlock cluebox. As Zabrina finally gets her clue, Cirran takes on the task of searching through all those dozens of bells for the one and only correct capsule. It's probably not as hard as it sounds, given that the other teams presumably all took out some of the fake capsules, but still? Not great odds. I hate these tasks that make the teams in last place fall even farther behind.

Andy and Laura try directing their cab driver to the exact address of the Egg task. The Super Marsio Bros. make pig noises, not realising that they're not yet trying to get to the pig, they're trying to find the tuk-tuks. Read the damn clue, guys. I don't dislike you as much as I dislike some of the other people left here, nor very much at all, but my Non-Denominationally-Specific Deity you're dense sometimes. The girls take Bacon, not feeling like carting eggs around. In their cab, the Super Marsio Bros. have a driver who knows where the "Pig Memorial Monument" is. Helpful. If only they were supposed to be going there right now.

Cirran is searching the bells. Antsy have passed the market and are annoyed, even though their task is the one that doesn't involved the market. Laura is telling Andy they should walk, because all the streets are one way. Zabrina is telling Joe Jer they should have walked. Cirran finally has the clue. Joe Jer points out that, in relation to that "women can't drive without getting lost" myth (which has still yet to be completely busted), "it's the male taxi drivers in Thailand who don't know anywhere". I would be curious as to how many of the taxi drivers in Thailand are female, and what experience Joe Jer has to back this up, but in general? "Taxi drivers get lost sometimes" works for me. Zabrina threatens not to pay her driver if he doesn't get them there quickly, and that'll be more than enough of that, thank you very much. I still want to entirely like at least one team by the end of this episode. Howard and Cirran take the Bacon.

Handy and Laura ditch their cab so they can make it to the right stall on foot, and Laura wonders why Handy would bother thanking their driver.

Zabrina voices over about how the local cab drivers would rather take you around in circles than admit they have no idea where they're going. The only thing about this exchange that makes no sense is why she's providing a confessional when it's the Super Marsio Bros. we see getting lost. Soon, though, everyone else (including the girls) is having trouble communicating with their driver. And they haven't even reached the tuk-tuks yet! Antsy and the girls ditch their cabs.

Handy and Laura have found the egg stall, which looks like it's on the edge of the road. So, you know, probably not ridiculously hard to find, as far as "Find The Market Stall" challenges go, even if it's plenty crowded and chaotic at the market itself. As the Super Marsio Bros. and SanFran continue to make themselves frustrated by staying in their cabs, Handy and Laura bicker childishly about whether it's a smart idea to put the egg-carrier on the ground before or after they stack the eggs on it. Hmmm. I wonder. Their argument features the "I was just asking!"/"I was just telling!" exchange most people grew out of when they were, like, eleven years old. Shut up, the both of you.

SanFran arrive at the market while Handy and Laura stack, but their cab driver decides that the reality contestant's baggage really can't be that important to them, and so drives off without it. Honestly, I'm not sure which side to take here. Either their driver knew their bags were in the cab and drove off anyway; or SanFran are idiots for leaving their bags behind. Both arguments work well, but there doesn't seem to be any way we can tell which is "right" in this case. In any event, they get the bags back without an issue.

Antsy and the girls (who I am only calling "the girls" because it's quicker and easier than typing out "Zabrina and Joe Jer" a hundred and fifty times, and not to do with any "Women suck!" sentiments, because these particular two are in fact the least sucky team here by a long way) are lost. The girls laughingly tells us that people just point in random directions when you ask for help, rather than trying to figure out where you want to go. It's just like the way I react with people who are lost. So, even if it is My Favourite Team This Season: Go, Thai locals!

Commercials. I am the very model of a modern Major-General, provided a modern Major-General is pretty much the exact opposite of a traditional Major-General.

The girls get directions from a tuk-tuk driver, then a cop, not realising that it's possible to actually, you know, travel to a tuk-tuk task in a tuk-tuk. Mardy snits that Marsio isn't "conveying" what he's trying to say, and Marsio snaps at him to have a go, so he can be a jerk when Mardy fails. This, my friends (and other people I don't know or care about), is surely the beginnings of Killer Fatigue. Good old Bangkok. Never change. But do share the spotlight 'round a bit, okay? We don't want you turning into another India or China. The girls get directions from a random guy who appears to know exactly where they've got to go. Meanwhile, the Super Marsio Bros. ditch their cab. It's that sort of day.

Antsy have spotted the tuk-tuks, but by some bizarre fluke of nature, luck, and happenstance, Howard and Cirran are the first team there. Soon both teams have figured out that it's going to be impossible to direct the driver to the Pig Monument. Oinking ensues.

Handy and Laura appear to be doing just fine with the task. SanFran, on the other hand, are headed in the wrong direction, realise it, and keep going for the fun of it. Or something. Fran says she's "going to scream".

Laura is trying to stop the eggs from breaking with... cabbage leaves? Huh.

Antsy realise that they're going to need some sort of plan to help them get to the Pig Monument. Howard proposes going to a hotel for directions, but Cirran realises that they're still going to have to get directions to the hotel in order to get directions to the statue. In any event, both teams leave, with Admiral Whinypants still trying to figure out where he is, and with Cirran telling Howard to "look out" for the monument, in case they pass it on their way to a hotel.

Fran is going to cry. More Killer Fatigue!

Handy and Laura voice over yet another shot of them arguing that they don't think they fight much, because this is exactly how they are all the time. And... like, I sort of get where they come from, because I'm no stranger to arguing with certain people, but perhaps if you bicker like this so often you've become desensitised to knowing when it's happening, and should probably ask yourselves whether you're the right people to be in a couple. Both they and SanFran are still asking for directions.

Antsy are also asking for directions in their tuk-tuk. They get a guy on a motorbike to help them as he drives past. I'm impressed the tuk-tuk can keep up, really. Cirran thinks he and Howard are "doomed". I'll say.

Handy gets even crankier when Laura tries to stop the eggs breaking, saying that she's "pushing it into [his] arse". Let the record show that Handy hates having things rammed in his backside.

Fran is still bitching about being lost, complainging that "it always happens". Well, yes, dear. Strangely enough, when you continue walking knowingly in the wrong direction, you will get lost. She decides the one way to get herself out of her current situation is to impersonate a chook.

Handy bitterly snaps that something (what, we don't know) is "really funny". You know what I think is "really funny"? How deliriously happy I'll be if you guys don't win. Handy confessionals that it was apparently harder to find the delivery stall than it was to find the pick-up stall. Back in the market, they are so busy arguing that they almost aren't paying attention when they approach the right place. Lucky for them (but not for me), they do indeed manage to open their stress-clouded eyes for long enough to see the flag.

Antsy and Howard and Cirran are still making pig noises, but at least Howard and Cirran seem to have gotten someone to write down the name of the monument in Thai, which will undoubtedly help them get there a bit quicker than impersonating a constipated hog will. They confessional that they've since learned that the Thai word for "pig" is "moo", which is going to make Old McDonald's farm even more crowded than it already is. Both they and Antsy get directions.

Handy and Laura unload their trays of eggs at the delivery stall, and learn that since ten of their eggs are broken, they'll have to go back and get ten more. Fran confessionals that even though the place they were looking for was "two minutes down the road", it took them three quarters of an hour to get there. Suddenly, Handy and Laura are bringing a bag containing ten eggs back to the delivery stall, which is apparently much easier to find now. And guess who they find there? SanFran, who have decided that when the clue says "go here, and then go here", they can skip the first part and just travel to the end of the task. Handy and Laura decide to tell them where the shop is. Go, competitive edge! Laura confessionals that they only told them because they didn't want to have to deal with all the "hostility" lying would result in. Because they're totally the most popular team there at the moment, apparently. SanFran always looks on the bright side of life, cheerfully pointing out that at least they won't have trouble finding the delivery stall.

Handy and Laura read their clue, which sends them to the Pit Stop at the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. Very, very pretty shots of the temple accompany WuWho explaining why the temple, known as Wat Pho to locals, but as the Temple of the Coin-Dropping Fast Forward to fans of the American version of this show, was chosen. Turns out there's a big reclining Buddha in the temple, and it's Thailand's largest. WuWho tries to build up suspense by telling us that the last team to turn up might possibly be eliminated, but since we've got three eliminations left to spread over the next seven episodes, that's about as likely as President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize after eight months in o... about as likely as David Letterman getting busted cheating on his w... about as likely as George W. Bush saying something coherent. (Also? In the event of a tie, whichever team can paintball the most sheep in thirty minutes gets to stay, even if they'll get charged with animal cruelty afterwards.)

Since the last team might be getting the boot, it's time to check up on the last two teams, neither of whom we've really seen much of since the last commercial. They are both headed on foot to the tuk-tuks, and are both having trouble getting directions.

SanFran have finally found the egg pick-up stall, and San gives us what I think is his first "Woo hoo hoo hoo!" of the episode. Welcome back, nobody missed you. They both realise fairly quickly that having to lean the egg-carrier back is probably where the eggs will break, if any of them indeed do.

Handy and Laura arrive at the Pit Stop and begin running, while SanFran gingerly cart their eggs. As Handy and Laura continue running, they tell us that they think the concept of a home team advantage is a lie. Well, the team who's quite clearly about to win a leg in their home country would say that. The greeter is all golden and glittery as she welcomes them to Bangkok. They are, unsurprisingly, Team Number One. The first thing Handy does is cheer about winning the leg in their home country, and exclaim "Thailand rules!" in a goofy voice. Thailand wonders whether it's too late to deport him. As it turns out, they also win what is possibly the second lamest prize ever, after those damn cameras -- a year's supply of engine-cleaning petrol.

Zabrina and Joe Jer arrive at a chilli stall, still lost. The Super Marsio Bros. try and decide whether they should catch another cab.

Howard and Cirran have found the Pig Monument, which looks like some drunken frat boys have been tampering with it. While SanFran are still carting their eggs, Howard reads the Pit Stop clue. As they leave, Antsy pass them on their way in. SanFran could not possibly be going any slower without actually already being eliminated. Syeon wants to know how many clues there are at the monument, which is stupid given this isn't one of those Detours in which it's entirely obvious which task all the teams are going to take as soon as they reveal what said tasks are. It's a brilliant Detour -- both tasks are much more difficult than they sound, and it wasn't clear immediately that one task would be much quicker. Fran, clearly sick of everything they've had to go through during the task, tells the delivery stall lady that if any of the eggs are smashed, the delivery stall lady broke them. We do not see her slamming her hand down on all twenty trays and asking them to deliver more. It turns out they only need four more eggs.

Admiral Whinypants calls the pig statue "a stupid monument", because it was just a pig, and the pig wasn't very big. Syeon wonders why they would even bother building a monument for pigs, and Andrew doesn't know. As a simple Wikipedia search tells me, it's there to celebrate people born in the Year of the Pig, not for the actual delicious animal itself (and thus, both Israel and Miss Piggy are very happy.)

SanFran grab their extra eggs and run back, carrying the eggs in their bare hands. They manage not to squish them, and the trivia question about them turning up at the wrong part of the Detour first scrolls along the screen again as they read the clue. So, to sum it up, they, Howard and Cirran, and Antsy are on their way to the Pit Stop, while the other two teams haven't even found the starting point for the Detour yet. Howard and Cirran think yelling at their driver will help him move through a traffic jam quicker. Ugh. Shut up, you two.

Commercials. Does anyone actually remember what the rest of the Chicken Tonight jingle is?

Howard and Cirran are still cajoling their cabbie, while Antsy get out of theirs. Fran tells us having to sit in a taxi "is enough to make [her] want to shoot [her]self." Yes, well, watching everyone be jerks this week is almost enough to make me want to shoot myself, so I guess I know how she's feeling. Antsy manage to get lost between their taxi and the mat, while Howard and Cirran arrive in their taxi. Fran tells us that she starts freaking out as soon as she realises that not everything is going perfectly. Really? I hadn't noticed. Huh.

Antsy, running. Howard and Cirran, running. Who! Will! Survive! Well, both, obviously. Welcome, Antsy, you are Team Number Two. Howard and Cirran, running. SanFran, running. Who! Will! Survive! This time! Again, both, obviously. Welcome, Howard and Cirran, you are Team Number Three. Welcome, SanFran, you are Team Number Four. All three teams are giddy with excitement.

The Super Marsio Bros. and Zabrina and Joe Jer are still lost. On the plus side, the locals get to eat while they watch the TV stars look like idiots, including one guy who actually IS selling pad thi. Hee! I thought that was just something that Thai restaurants in the Western world came up with as a way of introducing the world to the local cuisine even though the locals never eat it, sort of like beef vindaloo or a Bloomin' Onion or edible English food.

The girls get a taxi soon thereafter, and show the driver where they need to go on a map they have, which sort of begs the question: Why didn't they use the map when they were lost? It might have helped them not wander around aimlessly for however long it's been. Marsio voices over that the girls are "one of the most competitive" teams, because "they never give up". He's got a point. Imagine if, say, Mirna or Adam were in the situation these two have found themselves in today. They totally would have given up all hope of survival, and wandered in to the Pit Stop sometime after dark. Tomorrow night. Anyway, the Super Marsio Bros. notice the girls in their cab, and Marsio tries to get their attention, calling for the mythical "Jo Jo" to appear. They drive off. Heh. Marsio tells us that the girls don't want to work together with anyone when they're racing, and... why should they? They're not racing for you.

Both teams have now found the tuk-tuks, and now they can resume getting lost in Thailand. The Super Marsio Bros. leave first, with their cartoon picture of a... I'm not exactly sure what it is, but the label of "pig" is completely wrong. One of the Super Marsio Bros. claims that they're "totally doomed" if they've been given the wrong directions. Quit being so damn melodramatic! WuWho isn't going to have anything left to do! The All-Purpose Racing Music plays as the teams navigate through the streets on their tuk-tuks. It's worth noting that, even though this is otherwise an outstanding piece of editing here, we never actually see the two teams in the same shot like we see Team Guido and the Frats together when they went around Beijing on those bicycle rickshaws. So, you know, I really have no idea how to recap how tense it is, aside from telling you to go and watch it yourself, because it is THAT good. Anyway, the Super Marsio Bros. arrive at the monument first, even though Mardy has to be convinced that the statue is of a pig. Really? The pig is ugly, I'll grant you that, but it's not exactly a cubist piece of artwork. It's just a pig like any other pig, except not moving and made out of gold or whatever it is. As they read the Pit Stop clue, we get a completely random, blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot of the Pit Stop, where WuWho and the golden greeter are still waiting. The girls get their clue shortly afterwards, surprised to learn that there are three clues in the box. Of course, one is their clue, and the other two belong to the two teams who did the egg task, but... whatever. Zabrina thinks it's good that there are still some clues left, and the snarky editors choose that exact moment for the graphic reminding us that they're in last place to fade in. Heeeeeeee hee hee. It's nice to see these guys are reasonably competent, which is sadly more than I can say for whoever's editing the American version at the moment. (Also: Survivor.) They read the Pit Stop clue.

Pit Stop. The Super Marsio Bros. are arriving, just as Zabrina and Joe Jer are leaving. However, they appear to get lost (it's been a recurring theme throughout this episode, see), and the girls arrive. So now both teams are at the Pit Stop, but are having trouble searching for the mat. Suddenly, the Super Marsio Bros. are running up to the mat. It seems strange to get rid of almost all of the tension from this when the Detour was so well done, but whatever. Welcome, Super Marsio Bros., you are Team Number Five.

The Sad String Music of Reflectiveness plays. Clouds whizz by. The girls get to the mat. Welcome, Zabrina and Joe Jer, you are the Last Team To Arrive, and WuWho is sorry to tell you that. He is not sorry, however, to tell you that this is, as expected, a non-elimination leg, and so you're still around. Zabrina squeals in joy, after having to be consoled by Joe Jer that it was okay to have finished in last. Either Joe Jer figured out at some point that it was probably going to be a non-elimination, or she was just excited to have finished higher than Team Idiot did. WuWho takes their money, finally showing some kind of personality as he responds to Joe Jer's remark about "laughing all the way to the bank" with, "If I can find it." Bwah! Joe Jer tells him he's going to "have problems" finding anywhere in Bangkok. Zabrina confessionals that she didn't want to leave the race while she was feeling as horrible as she has been today. They consider themselves both lucky and grateful that they can keep racing. That's the spirit.

Executive Producer? Michael McKay. I am curious as to why [Mazda] Malaysia gets thanks when the cars were used in Singapore. Eh.

Next week: Oh, great. It's the annual water-based episode, which means it probably won't be very good, Have they ever done a good water/island themed episode on any season of this show? This time around, they'll be impersonating Survivor, with its underpants swimming and coconut smashing and rock climbing. Well, not so much that last one, but still. It doesn't look like it's going to be the best episode of the season. (Speaking of the season? I'm now officially halfway through recapping it. Woo!)