After starting another leg with no money and possessions, best friends BJ & Tyler battled back into first place to earn a spot in the finals as the Teams traveled to exotic Thailand. Dating couple Joseph & Monica recovered from an early mistake that put them in last place, but a meltdown from Monica at the Detour led to their demise as they became the last Team eliminated from THE AMAZING RACE.
Departing the Pit Stop in first place at 1:13 am, dating couple Ray & Yolanda opened their clue that instructed them to fly nearly 7,000 miles to Bangkok, Thailand, take a bus nearly 97 miles to the city of Lopburi, and find the Three Spire Pagoda, a Buddhist temple home to hundreds of monkeys that are considered sacred.Just like two legs prior, the question of whether or not to help the destitute BJ & Tyler arose again. While not forking over money, Yolanda instead left the pantless BJ a pair of her own that she no longer needed. Following suit, friends Eric & Jeremy left a pair of sandals for BJ because “it was a nice thing to do. He is a person.” Not surprisingly, dating couple Joseph & Monica simply walked past BJ & Tyler’s car without leaving anything.
The grateful BJ & Tyler accepted the gifts left for them, but noted that Joseph & Monica offered nothing. BJ remarked, “Monica and Joseph didn’t leave us anything because they’re not giving people. MoJo’s gotten a little too cocky for their own good. I think MoJo has a date with not being in the Race anymore.” Tyler then quipped, “We’ve had that date before, but it’s stood us up.”
Arriving at a very empty Darwin Airport, dating couple Ray & Yolanda picked up a phone and reserved a Qantas flight to Bangkok via Sydney arriving at 11 pm. After MoJo booked the same flight, Eric & Jeremy poked fun at BJ’s new pants before walking into the airport where Monica chided them, saying, “If you guys wouldn’t have given BJ shoes, he wouldn’t have been able to come in the airport.” The “Frats” lied by saying they didn’t give BJ the sandals, then also booked the same flight.
After learning from Ray & Yolanda that the first flight out wouldn’t be until morning, best friends BJ & Tyler chose to beg for money in downtown Darwin before reserving tickets. Using their usual charm and high energy, BJ & Tyler coaxed a considerable amount of money from people’s pockets, mostly women. Walking away with a fistful of cash, Tyler remarked, “Boy, the nightlife of Darwin sure did help us out.”While the money making antics paid off handsomely, BJ & Tyler’s luck soured when they returned to the airport discovering that the Qantas flight the other Teams reserved was now fully booked. A disappointed Tyler said, “It looks today like nice guys finish last.” However, the lucky pair caught a huge break when seats on a flight via Perth opened up that would arrive in Bangkok at 10:45, fifteen minutes before the other Teams.
Landing in Bangkok 45 minutes ahead of schedule, friends Eric & Jeremy took an early lead out of the airport ahead of dating couples Ray & Yolanda and Joseph & Monica. Arriving at the Mo Chit Bus Terminal, Eric & Jeremy secured tickets on a midnight bus along with Ray & Yolanda. When Joseph & Monica pulled into the station, they found a closed ticket counter even though the midnight bus hadn’t yet departed. After a local told them the next available bus would depart at 4:50 am, the pair went to a hotel to catch some rest while Eric & Jeremy and Ray & Yolanda rode off to Lopburi in first place.Landing in Bangkok at 11 pm, believing they had a small lead on the other Teams, best friends BJ & Tyler arrived at the bus station with the intent of taking the 4:50 am bus just like MoJo. However, by sleeping at the station, the best friends caught a bit of luck when they woke up at 4 am just in time to catch the first morning bus to Lopburi at 4:20 am. Completely unaware, last place Joseph & Monica arrived moments later to secure tickets on the 4:50 am bus after being incorrectly told this was the first bus out. A concerned Monica noted, “There’s nobody on this bus.”
Arriving in Lopburi, dating couple Ray & Yolanda and friends Eric & Jeremy discovered that the gates of the Buddhist temple didn’t open until 8 am. As the sun rose, Eric & Jeremy humored themselves by feeding and playing with monkeys to pass the time as Ray & Yolanda kept their distance from the “rats on steroids.” Before the gates opened, best friends BJ & Tyler joined the other two Teams with no MoJo in sight.
At 8 am, the gates of the temple opened allowing the three Teams to enter. Opening their clue, BJ & Tyler and Ray & Yolanda set their sights on the second Fast Forward of the Race. In this Fast Forward, Teams had to travel two miles by taxi to a nearby restaurant and take part in a favorite afterschool activity in Thailand. What Teams didn’t know was that the activity was feasting on a bowl of stir-fried crickets and grasshoppers.As BJ & Tyler and Ray & Yolanda raced to the restaurant, friends Eric & Jeremy, who already used their Fast Forward, opened their clue to find a Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one Team member had to prepare a ceremonial feast for the sacred monkeys that inhabit the shrine much like the locals do during an annual festival. After completing the feast, the Teams would present the feast to the monkeys to earn their next clue.
As Eric began slicing carrots, best friends BJ & Tyler ran into the restaurant with dating couple Ray & Yolanda following closely on their heels. Both Teams blanched at the idea of eating crickets and grasshoppers, but neither Team was prepared to concede defeat yet. BJ & Tyler received their enormous metal bowls filled with the stir-fried insects first and sat down for their unpleasant meal. After the first bite, BJ showed signs of hesitation with Tyler giving him words of encouragement. Their trepidation eased somewhat when, after one bite, Ray & Yolanda opted out of the task, deciding to take their chances heading back to the Roadblock. Now, only a giant bowl of insects separated BJ & Tyler from the Fast Forward and a potential first place.
Meanwhile, at the shrine, Eric continued to prepare the vegetable feast for the monkeys as last place Joseph & Monica finally arrived on the last bus. Quickly joining Eric in chopping up the produce, Joseph got some encouragement from Jeremy who told him that they would be ahead of whichever Team didn’t complete the Fast Forward.
As Ray & Yolanda returned to the shrine to begin preparing the feast now in last place, both Eric and Joseph realized the biggest difficulty in completing the task was arranging the vegetables on the presentation table faster than the monkeys would take it off. A frustrated Eric shouted, “Get away from my thing, you little bastards!” Soon, even with the monkey interference, Eric managed to complete the table of ornately cut fruits and vegetables to present to the furry creatures. After the offering, Eric & Jeremy opened their clue instructing them to travel 90 miles by taxi to the Chao Phraya River, take a ferry to Koh Kret Island, and find the Buddha Garden, a local meditation center.
After Joseph and Yolanda each finished their presentation, best friends BJ & Tyler still remained at the restaurant trying to choke down the now cold insects. In between the seemingly endless cycle of chew, swallow, vomit, BJ groaned, “This is like a Turkish prison.” While initially Tyler had the optimism, he now suggested the option of heading back to the Roadblock, an idea that BJ quickly vetoed. Pushing through, BJ found the willpower to finish his bowl and then cheered his teammate on. After Tyler ate every last cricket leg, the pair opened their clue that directed them to the Pit Stop at the Marble Temple, a Buddhist shrine built in the 19th century.
Arriving at the Buddha Garden, friends Eric & Jeremy discovered a Detour having to choose between Move It and Altar It. In Move It, Teams had to make their way on foot to a pottery factory and transport 72 clay pots through the winding, narrow streets of the market to a boat docked on the river using the traditional Thai method of carrying the pots on wooden boards balanced on their shoulders. In Altar It, Teams needed to make their way on foot to a nearby temple and create a shrine to Buddha by assembling the shrine and then gold leaf a statue of Buddha.As Eric & Jeremy ran off to construct a shrine to Buddha, Joseph & Monica wasted precious time on the island by not being able to find the clue box. MoJo’s confusion allowed Ray & Yolanda, opting to build a shrine as well, to pass them as MoJo, now in last place, decided to transport clay pots after seeing the other two Teams beginning the gold leafing process.
While Eric & Jeremy and Ray & Yolanda battled to complete the shrine, Joseph & Monica loaded up their first wooden board and began the slow walk to the river trying to keep enough balance to avoid breaking any pots. Joseph, with twice as many on his board as Monica, dropped a few pots early on as the pair stopped for directions through the market. Realizing that this task may be more than they could handle, the couple continued onward to the boat.
Arriving at the Marble Temple in first place, best friends BJ & Tyler jumped onto the mat ecstatic at having pulled themselves out of last place. However, the pair didn’t receive a prize as the envelope they had to carry to the Pit Stop didn’t contain the winning golden Travelocity gnome. Their disappointment was short-lived because Phil informed the pair they had earned a spot in the final three.
After Eric & Jeremy finished their shrine, Joseph & Monica, with almost half of the pots left to deliver, started their second round. This time, balance proved difficult for Monica who ended up dropping nearly all of her pots causing her to breakdown in hysterical tears. Joseph tried to calm her down and direct her focus back to finishing the task, but she continued crying, saying, “There’s no way we have enough.” Indeed, she was correct as they had 65 pots after the second delivery. On the walk back to the pottery factory, Monica said, “I feel like I let you down and myself down,” to which Joseph replied, “You did not let anybody down.” The pair completed the third delivery for 72 pots in last place as Ray & Yolanda finished building their shrine only moments earlier.
With friends Eric & Jeremy securing their spot in the finals with a second place finish, only dating couples Ray & Yolanda and Joseph & Monica remained in the field battling for the last spot. While MoJo had a fast taxi driver, in the end it wasn’t enough, as a relieved Ray & Yolanda stepped onto the mat in third place. The couple received even better news as they had the winning golden Travelocity gnome. For this gnome, the couple won a cruise around Sydney Harbor on a luxurious yacht, which also includes exploration of the wine district of Australia and the Great Barrier Reef. In addition, they would be spending the night near the Pit Stop at a luxurious hotel.Stepping onto the mat in last place, dating couple Joseph & Monica received the bad news from Phil that they had been eliminated from the Race. Through her tears, Monica remarked on her partner, “What I really took away from all this is how much he supported me. Joseph really is my rock and I could not have gotten through this without him.” Joseph added, “Monica being there right by my side helps me go on. We’re definitely going to get married one day and have a family.” Monica ended by noting, “We have each other when we get home and we have this Race to look back on for the rest of our lives. It’s such a beautiful gift.”
