Amazing Race's Liz and Marie: Our Cabbie Ripped Us Off
Oct 24, 2011 by Joyce Eng
Liz And MarieKat Dennings and Beth Behrs aren't the only 2 Broke Girls on CBS. Liz and Marie Canavan didn't have a penny to their name when they arrived in Bangkok on The Amazing Race after giving all their cash to a cabbie. So they were forced to walk most of the way to their destination, eventually leading to their elimination. "I think we could've caught up had we had money," Liz tells TVGuide.com. "We could've taken cabs and you saw how unpredictable that got." The twins did get two free cab rides — albeit too late — but they don't regret not asking for them earlier. Find out why — and why they love elephants.
How far behind Jeremy and Sandy were you?
Marie: Well, we were probably an hour behind them. An hour to two hours. ... We knew we were last.
How come you guys were so short on money when Laurence and Zac could afford two sets of bus tickets?
Marie: Well, we all started [the leg] with $186. When we arrived at that bus station, our cab driver wanted $190 and we didn't have that. And we had to buy bus tickets that were $15 each, so we first gave him money and he was like, "No way," so we said we'll get our bus tickets and then see what happens. So we bought our bus tickets and literally had nothing left to pay him because he wanted more. So there was a big fight about that. So finally the cab driver knew we had nothing, so he was like, "All right, whatever." ... Then he was like, "OK, get back in." We were like, "You just fought with us for half an hour and now you're giving us a free ride to the bus? What the heck?" So on the bus to Bangkok, we were like, "What are we going to do?" We literally had no money.
Liz: We didn't even know what to expect in Bangkok. We didn't even know where the bus terminal was, like the countryside or the city. We were so blinded.
Why was your fare higher? The other teams that were shown only paid $150. Was he ripping you off?
Liz: He was totally ripping us off.
Marie: It was luck of the draw what your cab driver was willing to take.
Last leg, you said you didn't exchange your Indonesian money for Thai money. Did that affect your money stash?
Marie: No. When we arrived in Phuket, that was a problem, but once we started this leg, we had the correct money, so that wasn't even the issue. It was literally getting screwed by that cab driver.
Liz: Yeah, and we knew we weren't dead last. Our [bus] was at 8:15 and [Laurence and Zac's] was at 8, so it was a 15-minute difference. ... But we didn't leave until closer to 9 because [we had to settle with our cabbie].
Did the bus actually wait for you when you were bargaining with the cabbie?
Liz: Yeah, so after we bought the tickets, the bus left and the lady was nice enough to call the bus driver and have him wait for us.
How come you got to the bus station so late? You saw Bill and Cathi at the elephants and they got on the 5:30 bus.
Liz: We don't know. We never got lost. I think we left so much later than the other teams that even when saw Bill and Cathi, the elephant ride still took a long time and I think that they were able to make up time that we couldn't make up.
Marie: We never had the chance to make up time. We left last and we couldn't catch up. I was thinking after the Spirit House [we had a chance] if we caught up with teams at the bus terminal, but once we got there, we were like, "We're so screwed." But you're not going to give up.
How long did you walk in Bangkok before getting that free ride?
Liz: We walked for, like, four hours. We just knew we couldn't give up. We were like, "We're just going to try to get to this Pit Stop no matter what." Every time we asked [how long it would take] we'd get "three blocks" or "15 hours." [Laughs] We were literally on the highway and we would stop motorbike people and ask if we were going the right way. They would all laugh, like, "What are you doing?" I think they all knew how far away it was. They were like, "Yeah, it's that way, but you're never gonna get there."
You made a point of not begging locals for money.
Marie: Well, along the highway were poor people and they were also begging for money. Liz and I aren't like that. We can suck this up. Even if we had to walk, we can walk. I'm not going to ask people who have nothing for something. It wasn't worth it. ... Also, our dad never drove. He was blind in one eye, so he never got a driver's license and he walked literally everywhere. He was like, "If I can do it, you can do it." He took the train every day to work and we lived in the city, so he walked everywhere. So we were like, "OK, we can suck it up and try it."
Then you saw a cabbie and asked him for a free ride?
Liz: Yeah, first he laughed in our face and was like, "Get out of here!" Finally, I think he felt so bad for us and he took us halfway.
Marie: While we were walking, we flagged cabs down. Everyone just laughed at us. It wasn't like we weren't asking [cabbies] the whole time, but just not aggressively. We don't regret that at all. We were fine if we had to walk all the way. I think it was the luck of the draw finding these two cabbies who would drive us for free.
Why do you love elephants so much?
Marie: I love them because they have the closest emotions to humans, so they grieve like humans and they're just so cute! I love them! [When we saw them] I dropped my backpack and just ran into the water.
Liz: Marie threw herself at it! We were happier than they portrayed on TV. We were elated!
Marie: When we were driving we saw a sign that said "Baby elephants" and we were like, "No! Way!"
Liz: Since that was part of the day, we were like, "It's not a bad day."
What are you up to now?
Marie: I'm working at Penny's From Heaven. It's a baby store in Lake Forest [Illinois]. And applying for jobs. I have a job interview with Blue Cross Blue Shield Wednesday.
Liz: I'm still working as a marketing assistant at Great American Group.
http://www.tvguide.com/News/Amazing-Race-Liz-Marie-1038952.aspx?rss=breakingnews