The Amazing Race 14: Phuket,Thailand

With six teams left, the race heats up. Tonight's first clue instructs the teams to fly to Phuket, Thailand.
On the way to the airport, Mike says, "Do you speak any Thai, Dad?" Mel replies, "Yeah, Mai Tai."
Margie expresses how exhausted she is from constant signing to Luke. "Sometimes, I just want a break; just want to rest my arms . . . but I wouldn't change it for anything."
Jaime's nastiness and disdain goes from occasional to constant as the race wears on. She admits she doesn't like to hear foreign languages; the sound gets on her nerves. She talks down to and yells at non-English speakers, which is everyone they encounter.
Kisha gives money to the Indian children with their arms outstretched into their taxi window. From a race perspective, sister Jen is right; she shouldn't do that. But the poverty of the children compels Kisha to give.
All teams end up on the same flight, so it's anyone's game today.

Phuket Zoo Gorilla

With only a photo of a gorilla statue, teams are at the mercy of their cab drivers to know the statue is at the Phuket Zoo. Mel and Mike are the only team to have trouble landing a cab. Getting in a cab last doesn't turn out to be the problem, it's their driver, who decides the gorilla is at the beach.
Several teams get out of their cabs on the street and wave the gorilla photo around, hoping someone will recognize it.
"Just say big-ass gorilla," said Jen.
Once they have their answer, the cabs travel in a herd toward the zoo. Mel and Mike watch the other cabs turn off together in the opposite direction. They hope their cab driver is the only one with the right answer. This hope turns out to be fatal--rarely is the pack wrong.
At the beach, Mel and Mike dismiss the one local who suggests the gorilla might be at the zoo. Mel says, "let's stop for a Thai massage," once they realize they have probably lost. When a second local swears the gorilla is at the Phuket Zoo, Mel and Mike head there, still doubtful.

Esso the Tiger

Teams each have their picture taken with Esso the Tiger, the danger made apparent by the one-armed tiger handler. Speedy Mark and Mickey reach Esso first. Kisha and Jen say, "If the tiger didn't eat Mark and Mike, they won't eat us. Well, they are bite-size."
After the photo op, teams take part in a typical Thai elephant performance. Racers lie on the ground and an elephant steps gently on their butts. Then elephant squats over the player on the end. The elephant likes Kisha's butt best and presses it twice.
Teams return to the tiger area and find their next clue pasted on their souvenir photo. Jaime says she could live with the animals and without people. I think people could live without her too.

The Oldest Herb Shop in Phuket

Jaime and Cara start calling the stuntmen "The Tweedles", a cringe-worthy nickname.
The nickname cracks the girls up and Jaime and Cara compare the stuntmen to cartoon characters. How can they talk like that on camera and not be ashamed?
Racers must make their way to the Old Phuket Town and find Nguan Choon Tong Herb Shop, the oldest herb shop in Phuket. Teams must ask the shopkeeper to open one of 99 herb drawers in search of a clue. If they choose the wrong drawer, they must keep on guessing.
Jaime and Cara suffer some poetic justice in the Herb Shop. Who's the Tweedle now?
Jaime starts screaming at the shopkeeper. I hope for Mel and Mike's sake the guessing game slows the teams down.
After taking Jaime's abuse, the shopkeeper love latecomers, Mel and Mike, who don't express any frustration or impatience. The team has fun with the guessing game, as they have with most of the tasks they've tackled.

Detour: Hundred Barrels or Two Miles

Both options for the Detour are physical tonight. In Hundred Barrels, teams prepare a fishing boat for ten days at sea. They must fill 47 fish barrels with enough drinking water to last the trip. They must also move 53 of the empty barrels from the bottom deck to the roof.
In Two Miles, one team member must pull the other in a red-and-pink rickshaw to a park two miles away. I am surprised that teams are allowed to switch off drivers.
Kisha/Jen and Jaime/Cara both pick the 100 barrels, stupidly I think. But later, I think the tasks are equally difficult.
Stuntmen Mark and Mickey pick the rickshaw challenge. Mark (or Mickey) mimics stereotypical Chinese nonsense chatter as he pulls the rickshaw. What's with mocking Asians? Both Miley Cyrus and one of the Jonas Brothers got bad press spoofing Asians recently.
Mark does another atypical move, spitefully hiding the rickshaw tire pumps. They are the only team to make sure their tires are filled before they ride off. But I can't tell if low tire pressure hinders the other teams doing the challenge, Margie/Luke and Tammy/Victor.

Pit Stop: Wat Thep Nimit Temple

I am so happy that Mike and Mickey hit the mat first and am surprised they incur two 30 minute penalties--one for tampering with with the pumps and a second for hiring the taxi to lead them to the park.
I thought teams often enlisted locals to help them and paid them for their help. Teams did that in previous seasons, I'm sure. New rule?
Tammy/Victor abandon their rickshaw too soon and have to turn around and retrieve it. But they become the technical winners of the leg as Mark and Mickey wait out their penalty. Jaime and Cara pass the penalized team to finish second.
Fourth-place finisher, Margie faints at the mat from the heat, right after Phil calls her The Bionic Woman. Phil and the staff scramble to get her water and cool her down. She refuses an ambulance and I think about Natasha Richardson refusing medical help. If someone thinks you need an ambulance, take it.
Mel and Mike do some catch-up at the herb shop and at the fishing boat. Again, Mel assess the task and figures out a faster way to get it done. Kisha and Jen still finish the Hundred Barrels ahead of them.
When Kisha/Jen get dropped off at the wrong location, I think Mel and Mike have a chance to finish before the sisters. Poor Kisha and Jen. They know how close Mike and Mel are behind them. But they fix their mistake quickly and finish fifth. Mike and Mel are eliminated. I am sorry to see them go.