This leg of the race started (at 3:26am, which is way too early, if you ask me!) with teams learning that they will be flying to Bangkok, Thailand, then make their way to Wat Yannawa to receive their next clue. Blair conveys that he is unhappy with being blamed for everything, so today Hayley is in charge. Although I do agree that Hayley nagged him a bit too much last leg, he has been making a lot of mistakes on the race and ignoring Hayley’s opinion. The earliest flight is at 6 am, and all the teams make this flight except Jonathan & Harley. At the airport in Bangkok, JJ takes a taxi that the lawyers were vying for as well. This sparks controversy between Jelani & Jenny, because Jelani kept trying to get that specific taxi, while Jenny said they should just take one of the many other available taxis to avoid fighting with another team, and because it didn’t really matter. Harley & Jonathan board a flight at 7 am, so they’ll be at least an hour behind the other teams, plus they have a speed bump.
Teams now face a detour involving transportation – a race within TAR. In Wheel, teams will use a tuk tuk to navigate the crowded streets of Bankok, while Water requires them to use a water taxi; both detours have two stops. Hayley & Blair are being pretty dysfunctional, as Hayley keeps changing her mind about who should be in charge. The hairdressers, the olympians, JJ, Kurt & Bergen, and Mike & Rochelle surpass Hayley & Blair, who are wandering around outside, unaware that the clue is up a flight of stairs. Finally, Blair suggests that they look at the top of the building, and they find 
the clue. So far, all of the teams have chosen Water, but there are only 5 water taxis, so Blair and Hayley have to do Wheel instead. Somehow, the lawyers skipped the clue at the temple and went right to the water taxi, forcing them to double back when they realize their mistake. It seems that Water was the better detour, as all of the tuk tuks are stuck in traffic. The first stop of the Water detour is Thousand Year Old Egg, where teams have to eat – surprise, surprise – a thousand year-old egg. For Wheel, the first stop is Snooker Club, which requires teams to sink a red ball in the game snooker.
After they both eat an egg, Laura & Tyler receive their next clue, which instructs them to go to Wat Paknam and choose one of the apprentices to assist them in making a traditional offering. Matt & Ashley don’t go to the correct egg vendor, so they will each have to eat another egg once they find the right place. Since Ashley almost threw up the first time, I feel bad for them. This mistake is about 50 times worse than when the Beekman Boys had to eat Turkish ice cream twice. JJ and Hayley & Blair finally sink a red ball in snooker, and they each receive their next clue, which is
a milk bottle with a logo of the Caturday Cafe on it. The second stop for Water is Traditional Thai Prayer, during which an apprentice guides them through the steps of an offering, they get a fortune, and then receive their next clue. Laura & Tyler, who are currently in first place, are now off to Patumwan Siang Gong. Harley & Jonathan reach the clue box and their speed bump, Thai Grasshopper, which requires them to each make a traditional Thai grasshopper out of river reeds. The lawyers argue while looking for the snooker club because Jenny wants to conserve energy by walking, while Jelani runs ahead of her.
Hayley & Blair arrive at the Caturday Cafe, which is a cafe filled with cats (hence the name)! Their task is to feed the cats a bowl of milk; this is one TAR task I wish I had the chance to complete! Jonathan & Harley complete their speed bump, and Laura & Tyler arrive at the roadblock. Who’s Feeling Clutch? requires one team member to remove the transmission from a faulty engine block and search inside it for a screwdriver – that has the clue in the handle – left behind by a rookie mechanic. Tyler says he’s never worked on 
a car in his life, but his whole family does, so he better not let them down. Apparently Jenny is afraid of cats, but she appreciates that the cats kept their distance from her during the challenge. Tyler finds the screwdriver pretty quickly (or so it seems), and pulls it apart to reveal the next clue, which is a piece of fabric that says Metal Castle. Teams must figure out that the pit stop is at a Buddhist temple called Loha Prasat. Laura & Tyler win the Date Night Pass, meaning they’ll go on a cruise during the next pit stop (which hopefully will lead to sparks flying)!
Aly & Steve finish the roadblock in 2nd place, followed by Matt & Ashley in 3rd place. The olympians get directions and decide to walk to the pit stop, while Laura & Tyler’s taxi driver takes them to the metro. After asking a local for help, Laura & Tyler learn that the pit stop is at a temple. Most of the teams learn where the pit stop is, but Matt & Ashley just wander around looking for a metal castle while occasionally asking locals. Aly & Steve ask a woman on the street, and she tells them where to go and hails them a cab. Rochelle passes Jelani & Jeremy at the roadblock, then Jeremy finally completes it. Bergen & Kurt somehow manage to beat Laura & Tyler
to the pit stop; they come in first place and win a 5 night trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. It’s adorable to see how excited (and shocked) they are to come in first place, and how happy they are for Haley & Blair, who come in 2nd. Aly & Steve are in 3rd place, Laura & Tyler come in 4th. The lawyers finally finish the roadblock, and they run into the hairstylists, who have been wandering around for an hour and a half. Jenny leads them into a building that looks like it might be a hotel, where the woman behind the counter gives them (walking) directions to the temple. Jenny tells Jelani that they need to get in a cab asap, because Matt & Ashley will outrun them in a footrace. Jelani tells the hairstylists that they might get a cab, which Jenny gets mad about, and then they hop into a tuk tuk and leave Matt & Ashley behind. Matt & Ashley panic, because now they don’t know where to go, but I think it’s a smart move on the lawyers’ part. Besides, Matt & Ashley need to actually run the race, instead of wasting time freaking out and then relying on other teams to help them.
The lawyers arrive at a temple, only to discover that it isn’t the pit stop. They get directions to the pit stop and get in a cab, where they argue. Jelani thinks it wasn’t smart to ditch the hairstylists, because they might need their help later on, but Jenny says that they’re in a race, and them getting into a tuk tuk is no different than reaching the metal castle and having a foot race to the mat. I have to agree with Jenny here, because the hairstylists probably would have beaten them in a foot race, and they have no guarantee of what place they’re fighting for. In the end, they’re racing for a million dollars, and they should do anything that gives them an advantage when it comes to arriving at the pit stop ahead of another team. Besides, they’re not even in an alliance with the hairdressers, they just happened to bump into each other. Jeff & Jackie come in 5th place, Mike & Rochelle are in 6th, Jelani & Jenny get 7th place, and Matt & Ashley are in 8th place. Unsurprisingly, Harley and Jonathan come in last place and are eliminated. I’m a little sad to see them go, because they are very nice and work very well together, but they weren’t the most interesting team, in my opinion.
What did you think about this episode of TAR? I kind of felt like this episode was more for the viewers than actually about racing, because while the detour was interesting, it was also relatively unchallenging. I did enjoy Caturday Cafe though (but still, a challenge where all they had to do was feed cats milk? Really?)! Do you agree with Jelani or Jenny about the tuk tuk ride/abandoning the hairstylists? Let me know in the comments below. The Amazing Race won’t be back until April 3rd, so we’ll have to wait a few weeks to find out who is eliminated next!
