The Amazing Race International Versions > TAR Asia
TARA 3 - Episode 3 Discussion Thread ****HOT spoilers--beware!****
georgiapeach:
VERY interesting comment from the AXN boards: (Question to Michael McKay)
--- Quote --- 1 day ago, KenshinAsuka says:
Sir, I have a question here. Well, I just knew that my Vietnamese friends saw almost nothing about the third leg since it was the Vietnamese cable operator that censored almost everything just because the third leg happened to feature something negative about Vietnam and probably the leg itself so did you and the rest of the production crew speak to the Vietnamese government before filming everything there?
--- End quote ---
???
wonder what was perceived as negative?
TARAsia Fan:
The only thing I can think of is the racers having trouble with the cyclos, but I have to watch the episode again.
puddin:
Allans blog is up :luvu:
http://www.alivenotdead.com/allanwu/blog.html?selection_all_page_1
bikermama:
A lot of Asian nations are notoriously sensitive about their image. Anything that's not picture-perfect, no matter how commonplace, is a no-no.
So the censors were probably instructed not to show anything that may be conceived as primitive or uber-3rd world...say, the run-down buses. Or perhaps they were offended by the racers' reaction to Vietnam, like how everyone thought a 25-hour bus ride was crazy, or how Geoff and Kapil treated the locals.
Even something as inane as Natalie's disgust at her state of "uncleanliness" could be misinterpreted as "Miss Universe feels dirty because this whole country is dirty."
TARAsia Fan:
Natalie of BQII has written her version of events in the Window Spaces site where the racers are supposed to chat when they get eliminated. Unfortunately, she was not able to so she wrote down her thoughts. I will include this in my recap (whenever it gets done).
--- Quote ---Dear friends!
Well, my amazing race journey has come to an end. And I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you some of the reality that has actually happened in the 3 episodes, as well as my thoughts and feelings. I tried to chat to a few of you last Friday (26 Sept) but there were some problems with the chat engine, so I couldn't say everything I wanted to.
When Pailin and I signed up for this race, as with thousands of other applicants, our intention was to win. It wasn't at all for the prize money or fame. Besides a personal challenge, we both wanted to do something extraordinary. And extraordinary it was - for a multitude of reasons.
Perhaps what I have learned most, is that friendship is not to be taken for granted. Friendship is based upon two people respecting, supporting and trusting each other. I felt that during the race our friendship was tested. And I know from other friends who have been put in similar situations, that friendships become stronger in the long run after a stressful period.
What I'd really like to do in this blog, is try and explain to my friends and everyone who watched us on the Amazing Race Asia, my side of the story, which you didn't see. I will be completely open and honest with my thoughts, in that like every other human being I have said or done things in the heat of the moment that I have regretted.
So here goes...
From the beginning of the race, both Pailin and I were completely pumped up for the race, ready to take on any challenge that faced us. Before the race, we sat down together to watch previous seasons of the show to get ourselves ready and mentally prepared. When the race started, we set off with really high expectations of our team. We ate the bugs (and no, they don’t taste like chicken!), cleaned a huge bus and generally did a great job in the first leg. It was a huge surprise to us how tough this turned out to be. I really would've never guessed, and I do feel that I have hugely underestimated the toughness of this season. Nevertheless, we did come in 4th place and were both very pleased with that. Lesson learned? Don't wear make-up when washing buses :)
At the start of the second leg, after a much needed shower and rest time, we set off again in really high spirits. We did the Flight of the Gibbons, which was very cool, and the first road block, where Pailin really proved to be "steady under fire" ;). Then we were off to the airport, at which point luck was not on our side. Sadly, we had to spend the night at Suvarnabumi airport in Bangkok, which happened to be literally 10 minutes away from my house. I knew that my husband of 6 months was within minutes of me, and I couldn't see or talk to him. At the same time I knew that others had a head start on us, through no fault of our own, and that made us both upset and frustrated. On top of all of that, I had a medical condition that made it all that much harder to bear sleeping on a cold airport floor. Believe me when I say, I had no issue sleeping at the airport or even the street for that matter. Ironically just a few months before this, I had to sleep at the Ho Chi Minh city airport because of a missed connection. So to everyone who thought I was crying because I didn't have a fluffy bed, it was not the reason.
Now I really need to address the comment that I made (and now wish I hadn't) but it was completely out of context to reality. Let me explain please. It was the now-infamous line "I feel like being dirty is the lowest form of human existence." What I was referring to, was myself in that moment in time. We hadn't showered or even brushed our teeth for more than 30 hours, and in all honesty I was feeling grubby and disgusting. However, I understand that some people might have misunderstood me, for which I'm sorry.
We concluded this leg in 7th position and were relieved to find out we were still in the race!
The start of episode 3 saw all of us embark on a jaw-rattling, bone-shaking, excruciating 25-hour bus ride to Hue. As much as Pailin and I tried to sleep it was nearly impossible. And I think both of us collectively slept less than an hour on that trip. So you can imagine getting out of the bus at the end of the journey, and facing a challenge in a 35 degree C heat.
At this point, what you would have seen on TV was Pailin changing the wheels, and I wish they had shown me, under the jeep changing the oil, and getting splattered with it. Pailin and I worked equally hard on changing the wheels and the oil.
The impression given was that this was a turning point in our relationship between Pailin and me. I need to say, it wasn't, and we were perfectly OK heading to our next challenge.
Then we came to the next road block, which I volunteered to do, given that Pailin did the last one. As was evidenced in the airing of episode 3, it was an extremely difficult challenge. I wasn’t the only one who was having problems – anyone who watched the show would have seen that.
It was easily over 40 degrees by that time, and I had been in the sun for more than 2 hours, going back and forth between the park and the tomb to get the correct sequence of the coins. I had to put on a sweater since I burn easily in the sun, and I felt that I was very close to a heat exhaustion and serious dehydration. I also knew that poor Pailin was waiting for more than 2 hours for me to finish and was also very tired. At that point I already knew that we were the last team, so I had to make a conscious decision. One was to persevere and risk spending more precious time getting it right and for sure coming in last, or taking a hit on a 4 hour penalty, but giving us the opportunity not to come in last. And I feel absolutely certain that had I continued with the challenge, I would have passed out and probably needed immediate medical assistance. Believe me, I felt that bad!
This decision about not completing the challenge was taken with the best intentions to give Pailin and I a chance to continue to the next round. It had nothing to do with being selfish, as some have alluded to.
I do, however, feel that I have let Pailin down, and I wish I could have been stronger for her on that challenge.
So this was the end of the road on the race for us.
Can I also add that every single one of those competitors that you've seen in series 3 of the Amazing Race Asia, are wonderful, down-to-earth people. But unfortunately, you – the viewer – didn’t get to see behind the scenes, so you didn’t get the same opportunity to meet and know them like I did. And I’m kind of sad to see so many negative comments about my fellow racers. We all entertained you in one shape or another – be happy with that :)
All in all, this was an incredible privilege to have met so many wonderful people - competitors, locals, and the production team. It's been a humbling experience.
All my love,
Natalie
http://amazingraceasia.spaces.live.com/
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