The Amazing Race 14 Bangkok, Thailand

Possessions are the big issue in this episode. After the Roadblock, a couple of teams leave their bags in waiting taxicabs. This turns out to be pivotal.
Starting out, the five remaining teams board the same flight to Bangkok, Thailand. Once there, teams taxi to a boatyard on the outskirts of town and search the grounds for their clue.
Kisha and Jen's cab goes the opposite way from Margie and Luke's. Kisha assumes that Margie told one cab driver to tell the other driver wrong directions. Jen says, "as the race goes on, the teams become a little paranoid. It's fun to watch."
Margie and Luke are the first team to reach the clue box.
Cara continues to show the ugly side of her personality, but not as dramatically as in the last leg.
"The language barrier really aggravates and frustrates me and I become a lunatic and there is nothing I can do about it." The self-admitted Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde has a real personality disorder.

Roadblock

One team member must figure out how to attach an unwieldy rod to a propeller on a longtail boat.
Margie called the Roadblock "easy" and she finishes quickly to prove it. Jaime and Cara reach the Roadblock second. After attaching the rod with only a little more difficulty than Margie, they remember to return to the cab for their bags.
Default winners of the last leg, Victor/Tammy, arrive at the boatyard at the same time as Mike/Mark. Victor sweats over the task that Margie made look easy. Tammy yells encouragement in a monotone voice, "great job, Victor, great job." She must be very tired to phone it in like that.
After the propeller is attached, teams must navigate their boats through the Bangkok canals and search through the maze of routes on their map to find a certain peninsula and their next clue.
Riding in the boat, Tammy and Victor wave buoyantly to unresponsive orange-clad monks. Victor remarks how glad he is they brought their packs.
Kisha and Jen take off in their boat, leaving their fanny pack with their passports at the boatyard. They also leave their backpacks in their waiting cab. Initially, Kisha wants to go back to get their things and Jen tells her they didn't have to, not thinking of the fanny pack. The close-up on Kisha's face is heartbreaking. This might be it for them.
When Mike and Mark see that Jaime/Cara have their backpacks, they worry. But they don't decide to retrieve their bags until after they finish their boat ride. The decision is not unanimous. Mark is arguing with Mike about their bags while they jog down the street.
"Do we need our bags to do the task?" one shouts at his brother. They agree to pay 200 in Thai money for a cab to take them to the previous cab, They argue all they way; one says we just can't abandon our bags. The other one says we should do the task, then worry about the bags. M & M pay 400 to the first cab for a total payout of 600. I don't know how much money that is in dollars, but it feels expensive.

Detour: Broken Teeth or Broken Record

In Broken Teeth, teams make their way to an area that locals call "The Street of Happy Smiles." Once there, teams must search through fifty sets of dentures to fit five of the waiting patients. Kind of a disgusting challenge, but easy.
In Broken Record, teams make their way to a parking lot and choose one of the waiting party taxis with an on-board Karaoke system. While riding a five-mile course with a group of party girls, teams sing along to a Thai pop video until they reach their destination. The potential pitfall is the snarling Bangkok traffic.
Margie and Luke tackle the denture task. Singing would not be a good choice for hearing-impaired Luke. Fitting dentures looks a little gross, but at least Margie and Luke have gloves and masks. Margie says her nursing background made it not squeamish for her. The fitted patients all give the camera a beautiful, white smile.
Victor/Tammy, again have the most fun of all the teams, choose Karaoke. Their Chinese heritage makes it an obvious choice, says one. "Mommy would be proud," says Tammy.
Teams wonder if the party girls are transvestites. Seeing them in close-up, I think they are right.
Kisha/Jen make the opposite decision from Mike/Mark. They forge ahead without their things, assuming they can pick them up at the end of the leg. Without any money, Kisha and Jen ask for a free ride to the Pit Stop and they find a willing driver on the first try. Cab drivers seem to be pretty agreeable in Bangkok.
Mike and Mark must bargain for the balance of their cab ride to the Karaoke task. In the party van, they sing mightily and talk about the pretty girls. That the girls might be boys does not occur to them.
"Hopefully, someone stumbled worse then we did," said Mike. They barter their possessions twice with accommodating drivers for partial taxi fare.

Phya Thai Palace

Teams must race through the city to their Pit Stop, the Phya Thai Palace. Margie and Luke run a flawless race and end the leg with an easy first place. They win a trip to Puerto Rico.
Jaime/Cara end the leg as team number two. Kisha/Jen and Victor/Tammy foot race to the mat for third place. The athletic sisters beat them.
But Phil sends Kisha/Jen back for their things, saying he can't check them in without their travel documents. They should have figured as much.
Tammy and Victor encourage them Kisha and Jen to go back quickly. For the second week in a row, Victor and Tammy place higher than their actual finish because of another team's mistakes. Kisha is resigned to her potential fate.
Mike and Mark beat Kisha/Jen back to the mat. But Phil imposes four hour of penalties on the stuntmen. Since when are teams not allowed to barter their personal possessions? Four hours of penalties seems harsh.
Kisha and Jen return, not noticing the stuntmen sitting a few yards away. Jen cries on the mat when she is told they are fourth.
Phil waves the stuntmen in, only an hour into their penalty. He informs them that it is an non-elimination round. Phil looks pissed as Mark explains why they did what they did.
Doesn't seem fair that they have to add three hours of their remaining penalty to their departure time. It may be impossible for them to escape elimination next week.

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.