The Amazing Race International Versions > TAR Asia

TARA 3 Niroo & Kapil (India)

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TARAsia Fan:
ap,

They were talking about driving an automatic transmission which as we saw, they had trouble with in Taiwan, not stick shift. India is full of manual transmission cars. An automatic transmission is a luxury in India, not standard as it is here.

Mrs Shrek:
Often in an automatic, you have to have the car in Park before the key can be removed. It may have been that they had the car in Neutral rather than Park, which would stop them from being able to remove the key.

banzai:
http://www.megavideo.com/v/IEJGB9Y13a729c1ad8c902e6ce607d13292fd51b.604481782.0

Singha's Moments of Banter.  :tup:

Mrs Shrek:
An Informal interview with Kapil


--- Quote ---Meet Kapil Asrani from The Amazing Race Asia 3 - a colleague of my sister.

Kima: So who did you like the most during the race?
Kapil: Tish. It has to be Tish. She’s extremely sweet and genuine.

Kima: What did you learn from this race?
Kapil: Number 1. If you don’t know where to go, don’t panic.
Number 2. Cockroaches look & feel even worse the morning after you’ve eaten them!



Kima: What is the one thing you have noticed in all the contestants?
Kapil: That everybody has their own unique weak point.


Kima: ok, let’s get down to racial topics now (smiles). What is the one thing you have noticed when it comes to racial identity?

Kapil: (smiles) Well, for starters, even though I was mentally prepared about the whole racial diversity and stuff, it still sounds odd sometimes when I hear the other contestants curse about the local language of a particular country and how they don’t understand the culture etc. Even though I tried to be as politically correct as possible, it was difficult putting on a straight face.


Were the reception and hospitality you received from the locals nice?

The locals were welcoming, but definitely, there was a preference that was displayed by everyone towards
1. People with similar features
2. (this is a big one) women!


What do you think could be the reason for this?

Nobody was extremely nasty with us because we’re Indians, in fact some were quite fascinated because we didn’t look like your normal American backpackers, but to be fair, they didn’t know what to expect. Oh hell, we scared them to death too. East Asian countries all have very soft spoken people, and we definitely startled them with our loud behaviour. In any case, what counts is the welcome given to us, which was good, but others on the race had it a little easier.


Did people stare at you like how people over here stare at foreigners?

Oh yes, especially in Vietnam, we noticed a lot of stares, but Thailand, Taiwan etc. were extremely discreet and seemed comfortable with all kinds of people. But again, the polite behaviour stayed till the time we didn’t initiate contact. Once we tried to talk, some people found it funny and laughed at our face, while the others were so scared! But yes, the way we stare at foreigners in India is way above the degree of attention we got there.


Did you feel comfortable being with people of different races?

It was extremely difficult for us to bridge the gap created by the difference in cultures of our country & East Asia. But the people on the The Amazing Race were so cool, that everyone there accepted us irrespective of these differences. Everybody was so warm, welcoming and most importantly, genuine. That is something we really miss even among Indians. They speak and act with their heart, and nobody is afraid of the truth. Love & hate are both taken sportingly. Definitely, even though breaking in was difficult, we were quite comfortable once accepted.


What do you think is the main cause of this race groupism and divide we see in Asian countries?

Teams on the race from Malaysia, Singapore, Hongkong, Thailand, the Phillipines etc. were all on a similar plane, and even shared similar interests. They traveled so much within their sector that everyone knew each others’ cities, cultures etc. It’s only that their life is a far cry from ours. I think this divide is self created by the Indian sub continent & our rigid cultures. While they travel to each others’ countries, we fight with five of our seven neighbouring states. While they claim land from the sea, we take ten years to make a sea link. While they accept gays & swingers, we are yet to acknowledge the existence of a voluntary sex worker (they are rescued!!). No wonder they’ve moved on to better stuff, and we’re caught with religion and politics!


Thank you so much for your time Kapil. If you had the chance to take part in this race again, would you?

Absofreakinglutely! Of course I would!
--- End quote ---

http://mizohican.blogspot.com/2008/11/chp-211-celebrating-indias-diversity.html

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