Perhaps my favorite scene of the show is next. Cindy and Ernie try to pay their driver in American dollars instead of Thai baht. Some lady in charge comes out to demand the right currency and Cindy declares that she’s a crazy lady. Um, I’ve seen crazy ladies and this wasn’t one of them Cindy. This chick was clearly the driver’s supervisor and just wanted to be paid the way she’s supposed to. Then for good measure they tell the guy that he sucked as a driver. Uh huh. I guess he’s supposed to just write off that 250 mile trip because you weren’t 100% satisfied? This isn’t America, you twits. They don’t exactly give a sh*t about customer service. He took you from A to B and that’s that. And what exactly was the problem with him too? We know that had there been any issues with his driving, CBS would’ve shown us. This show loves to dwell on sucky taxi rides.
Anyway, ultimately, the “crazy lady” adds another $50 bucks on to settle on $150 and let these two go. Apparently that was good enough to solve the “no Thai baht” problem that had her ready to call the police a minute before. Oh, if only she had. I may never have had to see these two again and they could find out that their hands would be cut off for failing to properly exchange their currency or something. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go that way. Ernie just declares once more that the guy’s driving sucked and they run off.
By the way, I watched some video on cbs.com that had Cindy and Ernie talking about this taxi ride and how crazy this lady was again. They went on and on about how they had no clue who she was. Was it that hard to figure out she was a supervisor? They even say that their driver seemed to be looking for her approval on whether to accept the dollars instead of baht. Seems like a supervisor situation to me. These two brainiacs still can’t figure that out? Also, they argue that because the driver wanted 4500 baht and they were offering $100 (which they thought was price gouging) that the driver should’ve been satisfied. They even mention that the exchange rate was 0.032 or something. I did a little rough math and it seems to me that’s about $145, which is about what they ultimately paid. After they handed the $150 over, everyone was satisfied. Is it me or were these two Mensa racers in the wrong here? $100 was not enough and wasn’t the right currency in any case. No wonder Cindy’s parents rode her ass. She apparently sucks at basic math.
Moving along: So my thoughts on Zac and Laurence’s stupidity regarding getting off the first class bus is confirmed. They went from a 4:30 bus to an 8:00 bus to avoid that potential 30 minute penalty. Very smart move. Lucky for them, Liz and Marie are still squealing over those elephants and they probably still stand a chance.
Liz and Marie are finally shown making it to the bus station, but they don’t have enough money for the 8:00 bus and it takes off without them. To me, there was too much negotiation with these Thai taxi drivers. I really think this one was just trying to empty these Americans’ pockets because they looked stupid. I think the twins should’ve just pretended they thought the amount they gave the guy was okay and made a run for the bus. Made no sense either. We go from them begging and pleading for the driver to just accept the amount of money they had so they could catch the bus that was still sitting there at the station, to the bus leaving them and all of a sudden the taxi driver gave a crap and decided to rush them in his taxi to catch the bus somewhere further along its route. Did I miss something here?
Back to Ernie and Cindy and my praying for the bus wheels to explode or something. I really want these two to lose. Damn, Ernie and Cindy seem to be first to Bangkok, though other teams have also made it there. In typical pretentious fashion, they declare “We were in Bangkok two years ago.” Of course you were. Pricks.
The first of the racers now arrive at the next “challenge” involving fish. Are we totally dumbing down this show now? Throwing fish food off a bridge is now considered a challenge? It was pretty clear that the producers knew that the transportation issues would take up much of this show and that not much time would be left over for actual challenges. I just thought this one couldn’t be more ridiculous.
Great recap, as usual.
I noticed that Jeremy and Sandy had just a little more air time than ever before this week. There was a very brief focus on them for a few minutes near the end of the episode. We still know almost nothing about them and their personalities and racing skills. I can’t recall going this far into a season and still seeing a couple who has been focused on so little (besides the eliminated ones, that is).
Good recap, though everything is so negative. I agree with a lot of what was said, but didn’t see any positive statements about teams, individuals or anything! Everything has a glass half empty perspective. While the recap is good, I’d love to read something positive about the people and/or show itself! I love Reality Steve, the tone to the recaps and everything else, but don’t you like anything?
they used the taxi driver’s cell phone to take the picture of the spirit house!
while I enjoy reading the recaps, the constant negative attitude is just too much! it’s fine to make fun of the people who annoy you, but you come off sounding like a bitter old lady.
I am glad some other people are also speaking up about the negativity! I mentioned it a few weeks ago. Dont watch the show if you are going to be so negative about every little detail.
Yes, they did use the cab drivers cell phone. And the speed bump was for the twins only because they were not eliminated last week… they always throw in a speed bump for people who got in from a non-elimination leg, and Phil warned them too.
What’s negativity to some is a hilarious sense of humor and sarcasm to others. To each his own. If I wanted to read a “regular” recap, I’d go to CBS. This site cracks me up — great recaps.
refinnej — the irony is that telling someone they sound like a bitter old lady, is, well, pretty darn negative. even sarcastic people have feelings.
yeah what’s the deal with such a negative recap? i’m fine with sarcasm, but this goes way beyond sarcasm into bitterness. reality steve and the other dude who does the survivor recaps are sarcastic, but they aren’t to the point of being rude.
amani and marcus weren’t the ones that took the pic on the cell phone, it was jennifer and justin. get it straight.
There’s a big difference between negativity and sarcastic humor. The word “bitter” is very appropriate. Show some positive enthusiasm. If you’re recapping a show you don’t like, don’t do it. It takes away from the pleasure of reading the usually great recaps on Reality Steve’s site. Reality Steve has found that balance and I believe you need to too. Just some constructive feedback! Right now, I get the impression you don’t like anyone or anything regarding TAR.
This recap is hysterical. It is done for the Reality Steve website so it is supposed to be “slanted, sophomoric and skewed”. I laughed through the whole thing. If you don’t get the point of this site read the boring recap on the AR website. Jeez. Lighten up people!
There is a big difference between Reality Steve’s “slanted, sophomoric and skewed” recaps and the negativity surrounding the recent TAR ones. Obviously it has been noticed by other people. We all have the right to voice an opinion. When the same thing has been noticed by mulitiple people, there is a valid point being made. Try to respect others opinions and feelings. If you would compare Steve’s recaps to this person, you would notice a big difference. Steve intersperses some positive statements in his recaps. He likes certain situations and people. This person had nothing positive to say. This season of TAR has some of the best teams ever, and to make fun of each and every individual is ridiculous. No one wants to read a steady stream of negativity.