Natalie and Pailin - Thailand

I think this team was the first one eliminated since no blogger can identify them in the other sightings.

We'll see.

Thanks Vanzekin for sharing this interview with Natalie Glebova.

It's Pailin's turn. Thanks again to Vanzekin

i like pailin more than natalie..
pailin has the natural beauty and classic face..
like her..

noooooooooooooo!!
i like this team but just pailin la..
i hate natalie!!

they were eliminated..too bad for pailin...

but i have not watch episode 3 yet ahhaahahaha...

hahaha ahdeng..

My heart really fell for Pailin when I see her face the time Allan announced they have been eliminated.

I am also sad for Pailin. She said she really wanted to race but she happened to have a partner who is not as determined as her. She could have reached far in this race only if she had another partner.

On the other note, I also don't blame Natalie because I understand the circumstances she went through in the race. I agree with her that they're very exhausted, over-fatigue, underslept, etc.

Here is an open letter from Natalie Glebova to all.

Dear friends!

Well, my amazing race journey has come to an end. And I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you some of the reality that has actually happened in the 3 episodes, as well as my thoughts and feelings. I tried to chat to a few of you last Friday (26 Sept) but there were some problems with the chat engine, so I couldn't say everything I wanted to.

When Pailin and I signed up for this race, as with thousands of other applicants, our intention was to win. It wasn't at all for the prize money or fame. Besides a personal challenge, we both wanted to do something extraordinary. And extraordinary it was - for a multitude of reasons.

Perhaps what I have learned most, is that friendship is not to be taken for granted. Friendship is based upon two people respecting, supporting and trusting each other. I felt that during the race our friendship was tested. And I know from other friends who have been put in similar situations, that friendships become stronger in the long run after a stressful period.

What I'd really like to do in this blog, is try and explain to my friends and everyone who watched us on the Amazing Race Asia, my side of the story, which you didn't see. I will be completely open and honest with my thoughts, in that like every other human being I have said or done things in the heat of the moment that I have regretted.

So here goes...

From the beginning of the race, both Pailin and I were completely pumped up for the race, ready to take on any challenge that faced us. Before the race, we sat down together to watch previous seasons of the show to get ourselves ready and mentally prepared. When the race started, we set off with really high expectations of our team. We ate the bugs (and no, they don’t taste like chicken!), cleaned a huge bus and generally did a great job in the first leg. It was a huge surprise to us how tough this turned out to be. I really would've never guessed, and I do feel that I have hugely underestimated the toughness of this season. Nevertheless, we did come in 4th place and were both very pleased with that. Lesson learned? Don't wear make-up when washing buses

At the start of the second leg, after a much needed shower and rest time, we set off again in really high spirits. We did the Flight of the Gibbons, which was very cool, and the first road block, where Pailin really proved to be "steady under fire" . Then we were off to the airport, at which point luck was not on our side. Sadly, we had to spend the night at Suvarnabumi airport in Bangkok, which happened to be literally 10 minutes away from my house. I knew that my husband of 6 months was within minutes of me, and I couldn't see or talk to him. At the same time I knew that others had a head start on us, through no fault of our own, and that made us both upset and frustrated. On top of all of that, I had a medical condition that made it all that much harder to bear sleeping on a cold airport floor. Believe me when I say, I had no issue sleeping at the airport or even the street for that matter. Ironically just a few months before this, I had to sleep at the Ho Chi Minh city airport because of a missed connection. So to everyone who thought I was crying because I didn't have a fluffy bed, it was not the reason.

Now I really need to address the comment that I made (and now wish I hadn't) but it was completely out of context to reality. Let me explain please. It was the now-infamous line "I feel like being dirty is the lowest form of human existence." What I was referring to, was myself in that moment in time. We hadn't showered or even brushed our teeth for more than 30 hours, and in all honesty I was feeling grubby and disgusting. However, I understand that some people might have misunderstood me, for which I'm sorry.

We concluded this leg in 7th position and were relieved to find out we were still in the race!

The start of episode 3 saw all of us embark on a jaw-rattling, bone-shaking, excruciating 25-hour bus ride to Hue. As much as Pailin and I tried to sleep it was nearly impossible. And I think both of us collectively slept less than an hour on that trip. So you can imagine getting out of the bus at the end of the journey, and facing a challenge in a 35 degree C heat.

At this point, what you would have seen on TV was Pailin changing the wheels, and I wish they had shown me, under the jeep changing the oil, and getting splattered with it. Pailin and I worked equally hard on changing the wheels and the oil.

The impression given was that this was a turning point in our relationship between Pailin and me. I need to say, it wasn't, and we were perfectly OK heading to our next challenge.

Then we came to the next road block, which I volunteered to do, given that Pailin did the last one. As was evidenced in the airing of episode 3, it was an extremely difficult challenge. I wasn’t the only one who was having problems – anyone who watched the show would have seen that.

It was easily over 40 degrees by that time, and I had been in the sun for more than 2 hours, going back and forth between the park and the tomb to get the correct sequence of the coins. I had to put on a sweater since I burn easily in the sun, and I felt that I was very close to a heat exhaustion and serious dehydration. I also knew that poor Pailin was waiting for more than 2 hours for me to finish and was also very tired. At that point I already knew that we were the last team, so I had to make a conscious decision. One was to persevere and risk spending more precious time getting it right and for sure coming in last, or taking a hit on a 4 hour penalty, but giving us the opportunity not to come in last. And I feel absolutely certain that had I continued with the challenge, I would have passed out and probably needed immediate medical assistance. Believe me, I felt that bad!

This decision about not completing the challenge was taken with the best intentions to give Pailin and I a chance to continue to the next round. It had nothing to do with being selfish, as some have alluded to.

I do, however, feel that I have let Pailin down, and I wish I could have been stronger for her on that challenge.

So this was the end of the road on the race for us.

Can I also add that every single one of those competitors that you've seen in series 3 of the Amazing Race Asia, are wonderful, down-to-earth people. But unfortunately, you – the viewer – didn’t get to see behind the scenes, so you didn’t get the same opportunity to meet and know them like I did. And I’m kind of sad to see so many negative comments about my fellow racers. We all entertained you in one shape or another – be happy with that

All in all, this was an incredible privilege to have met so many wonderful people - competitors, locals, and the production team. It's been a humbling experience.

All my love,
Natalie

Jon, do u have Pailin's point of view? SO far, Pailin had been very quiet..

wow!

I just saw Natalie's letter only. Pailin is so quiet about this show except that she was in Singapore to watch the F1.

PAILIN IN SINGAPORE????

Yes, she was in Singapore she's back in Bangkok now. Hehe. SHe watched the Singaporean Grand Prix.

R u referring to F1?

Thanks Banzai for sharing this video.

I just can't help myself but to react on how Natalie pronounced Galapagos Island.

Anyways, is this place the sequesterville?

BEAUTIES CRASH OUT (interviewed by boon chan, media correspondent)

The glamour quotient on The Amazing Race Asia 3 just went down a notch.

In the 3rd episode of the reality TV show, which aired on Thursday night, the beauty queens from Thailand were eliminated.

The team comprised former Miss Universe Thailand-turned-designer and TV host Pailin Rungratanasunthorn, 25, and her good friend, former Miss Universe 2005, Natalie Glebova, 26, now a business owner, model and TV host.

During the gruelling competition, Glebova was feeling far from glamorous. " For me, being dirty is worse than anything in the world," she said on the show.

Speaking to Life! from Bangkok where she is based, the Canadian said yesterday morning :" I felt like a homeless dog with no place to sleep and shower. You can't understand it unless you experience it.

What eventually buried the team was a roadblock, a task only one member of the team can perform, in Hue in central Vietnam. At Khai Dinh Tomb, the challenge was to arrange coins collected from another location in the order of the reign of each emperor.

Glebova failed to complete the assignment and took a four-hour penalty instead. It did not matter in the end as they were the last team to arrive at the Hue Citadel pit stop and were eliminated.

On choosing the penalty, Glebova said :" I was literally seeing stars and I thought I was going to pass out because I was dehydrated. I thought, ' I can sit here and finish it, or try and get out of this situation'. And I chose my well-being over a silly task."

Asked if she regrets her decision, she gives a quick response :"Of course not, I'm feeling very well and happy right now."

On the show, she came across as defeatist, whinning constantly about being sweaty and tired. Did she think it was a fair portrayal of her as a person?

" 50-50. I didn't want to race any more, I was literally suffering. But it came across I was standing around being the pretty princess and I disagree with that. "

"When we had to change the oil and the wheels on the jeep, I was the one changing the oil, but that got cut out. "

The race also seemed to have taken a toll on the two women's friendship.

At the end of Thursday's episode, Rungratanasunthorn said :" I feel a bit let down because she told me she didn't want to race anymore, which was heartbreak for me. I really want to do it and it takes two people to take part in The Amazing Race. "

Glebova told Life! :" In this game, with the pressre and the circumstances, there's a chance of letting people down."

But she said that they are still friends.

She admitted that she underestimated how tough the race was going to be. "obviously we had no way of knowing it was going to be the toughest race ever."

But she added :" I wanted to show the world that beauty queens can do things, and we outlasted a few guys and sometimes we did things better and faster than other teams. So I've proved my point."
bchan@sph.com.sg

(sources taken from The Straits Time, Saturday, 27/9/2008)

nice article ahdeng.