post elim interview...
http://www.star-ecentral.com/news/story.asp?file=/2008/1/3/tvnradio/19895002&sec=tvnradio Tv & Radio > News & Features Thursday January 3, 2008
Sayonara, siblings
After their elimination from The Amazing Race Asia 2, Japanese siblings Daichi and Sawaka share their thoughts on the race.
By S. INDRAMALAR
indra@thestar.com.my WITH six episodes down and four teams out, things are definitely heating up on The Amazing Race Asia 2 (TARA 2).
Teams are feeling the pressure and, as a result, viewers are getting some good TV, what with the flaring tempers and unexpected meltdowns, sneaky tactics and team alliances.
Poor decision: In hindsight, siblings Sawaka (left) and Daichi Kawashima of The Amazing Race Asia 2 realise that they should have picked their last task more carefully.
Last week’s race, in which Japanese siblings Daichi and Sawaka Kawashima were eliminated, was particularly tough as it was the second part of a gruelling extended leg.
After performing multiple tasks in Japan (they had to canvas an entire park for a clue, find a local Japanese person to sing a song and record it on camera, hunt down a specific Japanese girl, catch 40 gold fish with a flimsy net, deliver a kimono and solve a frozen puzzle in sub-zero temperatures) teams found, to their dismay, that there was no pit stop at the end of the fifth leg.
Instead, teams had to board a ferry to continue the race in South Korea. Though the ferry ride seemed like a good chance for teams to rest, it was impossible to get much sleep, shares Daichi.
“I was sea sick and so I could not get much rest. It was so tiring,” says Daichi during a phone interview from Chiba, Japan.
Naturally, the siblings – the first Japanese to be on the Race – are disappointed at being eliminated.
“Maybe we could have been more careful in choosing our task ... so we wouldn’t have had to change tasks half way. But it is not so easy choosing a task (under pressure),” shares Sawaka, who lives in Tokyo, about an hour away from her brother.
At the detour, teams had to choose between two tasks: Slither (retrieving two ancient Japanese coins from a tank of octopuses) or Deliver (deliver three trays of food). Daichi and Sawaka chose to deliver but midway, they switched tasks. Though they now regret their decision, the two explain that what slowed them down was their bad luck with taxis.
“Actually it was not really the detour that slowed us down. It was the taxi ... we got a really slow taxi and it took us a really long time getting to the pit stop in Busan. We saw the other team go past us.
“I think the most challenging part of the race is finding the right taxi,” says Daichi in all seriousness.
Choosing the wrong task was not the only decision they regretted, however.
On the way to the pit stop, Daichi confessed that he regretted not “yielding” the Malaysian Mums like he had wanted to. (In “Yield”, one team can force another to stop racing for a pre-determined amount of time.)
Now, if you have been following TARA2, you would have noticed the growing animosity most of the teams have for the Malaysian Mums, also known as the Dancing Mums.
What’s behind such animosity, then?
“Well ... during the race, they were very aggressive. We got to know them after the race, however, and they are quite nice, actually,“ says Daichi.
Adds Sawaka, “Yeah, they were very competitive and did not really talk to the rest of us. I also heard from some of the others that they were pushy at times...”
Ok, what about the duelling couple from the Philippines, Terri and Henry, then?
“Actually, they are not always fighting like that. When at the pit stops, they are a really nice couple. It’s only when the race is on and the pressure is on ... then they are always fighting.
“On TV, it seems like they are always fighting but I think they edited it to make it more interesting to watch,” says Daichi, who admits to being a big fan of the show himself.
Apart from doing things that they never imagined they would do (for Sawaka, bungee jumping, where Daichi also had to face his fear of heights) or visiting places they had never been before (New Zealand), being on the race cemented their relationship.
“We got along really well and are much closer than we were before. I now speak to Daichi on the phone once in two days ... just to ask him how he is and to talk about ... nothing,” says Sawaka.
And while they have formed firm friendships with the other racers, Daichi and Sawaka are rooting for the Malaysian team ... not the mums, but the Chong sisters, Vanessa and Pamela.
“We like them very much as well as the team from Singapore.
“Marc and Rovilson, the boys from Philippines are very strong but we hope the Malaysian sisters win,” says Sawaka.
The Amazing Race Asia 2 airs on AXN (Astro Channel 701) every Thursday at 9pm.