Amazing Race Thailand Elephant Walk

Last night's Amazing Race episode, in Thailand, was the most Amazing Race fun I've had in awhile. It had drama, it had humor, it had a beautiful location and it had a somewhat suspenseful ending, with dad and son, Mel & Mike, being eliminated from the race.

When the teams got to Phuket, Thailand they had to find the gorilla in a photo included in their clue. But no one had a clue where the ape was. The teams stayed close together and then in a totally funny It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World moment all the teams except Mel and Mike assaulted locals, asking if they knew where the gorilla was. One by one the teams were told Phuket Zoo.

As they rushed to their cabs and took off towards the zoo, Mel and Mike risked that the others were wrong and stayed with their driver's insistence that the gorilla was at Patong Beach. After getting to the beach Mel and Mike wasted time wandering around looking for the phantom monkey, while the other teams, with the short guys, Mark & Michael, the first to get to the clue box and have their picture taken while sitting with a big tiger.

After the tiger it was off to the elephant where the big pachyderm walked over the two teammates, stepping on their butts and squatting over one of them as if it was about to release a huge supply of elephant dung.

One by one the teams petted the tiger and got stomped on by the elephant. Their next clue took them to an herb shop where laboriously, one by one, drawers were opened, looking for the next clue.

Mark & Michael were the first out of the herb shop, they had to choose a detour of '100 Barrels' or '2 Miles.' With the barrels you had to find a boat and load it with empty barrels with other barrels that you had to fill with water. Mark & Michael chose to run a rickshaw for 2 miles.

All the teams chose the rickshaw except for Mel & Mike and the sisters, Kisha & Jen. Kisha & Jen got to the boats well ahead of Mel & Mike, but did not think to fill the barrels with water, while hauling empty barrel ls to the roof. When Mel & Mike got to the boats they quickly worked out an efficient method that looked to put the sisters in jeopardy. But the sisters finished the task first.

Meanwhile back at the rickshaws, Victor pulled his sister Tammy on a rickshaw with flat wheels. Mark & Michael hid the pumps. A little bad boy behavior of which they were quite proud, which cost them dearly.

Margie had trouble directing Luke, due to that hearing problem, so she took over, which would cost her dearly.

The cheerleaders, or is it flight attendants, Jaime & Cara didn't have too much trouble with the rickshaws. Jaime was a shrewish screaming meemie in the herb shop, causing Mike to remark, "she's a mean girl."

When Mark & Michael got to the Pitstop first, Phil told them they were the first team to arrive, to which the brothers went into celebrating mode, and then Phil told them they had incurred two 30 minute penalties. One for hiding the pumps, the other for having their taxi driver lead them to their rickshaw destination. As the minutes ticked down, the hour of waiting was almost up when Victor & Tammy showed up, getting #1, again, and a trip to Oahu. Then Jaime & Kara got on the mat, before the hour was up, making them #2. Then Mark & Michael finally got to check in, at #3.

Luke & Margie were the next to arrive. Margie was not feeling well. When Phil told them they were team #4, Luke jumped up and down, celebrating, while Margie started looking woozy, collapsing, with Luke trying to hold her and Phil rushing in to help get Margie safely on the ground. Luke went into panic mode, letting out primal screams, as best he could, of "mom."

Cut to commercial.

When we came back, Margie was being fanned and drinking water. Phil told her an ambulance would soon be there. Margie said she was fine.

Back to Kisha & Jen and Mel & Mike. Kisha & Jen's taxi driver took them to the wrong temple. Meanwhile Mel & Mike finished the task and were in a taxi heading to the right temple. Kisha & Jen got some locals to drive them to the correct spot, getting to the Pitstop ahead of Mel & Mike.

I liked Mel & Mike. About the nicest people to have run The Amazing Race. Funny, too.