Unlikely duo

Sam: Er, the hotel food was really good! Haha! But in all seriousness, we were the team that rarely stopped to eat, so focused we were in completing our tasks and going from location to location speedily. Our poor production crew couldn’t eat as well if WE didn’t stop! Yes, we tortured our production crew.

Vince: It worked quite well. It didn’t always happen that way because I did do some puzzle type/patience required challenges and he did some physical challenges too… I think that we’re both able to hold our own but if there was a choice… we would stick to our original game plan.

Sam: This combination worked well at times when we made the right choice at Roadblocks. Like I’m glad Vince did the eating stinky tofu challenge (he has a larger appetite) in Taipei and climbing the mast at Macau Tower. Similarly for me, when I did bungy-jumping in Macau and searched for handbags (!) in Hong Kong. These tasks played to our strategy.

But it didn’t work as well when Vince did the coins challenge in Hue (which suited me more), and I did the Tyrolean Traverse in Pune (which Vince DEFINITELY should’ve have done).

Vince: A few low points included stumbling out of the blocks and being last on the first three challenges in Thailand, being unable to connect in Mumbai and having to race Bernie and Henry to the pit stop knowing that one of our teams would be eliminated and watching Sam struggle with the zip line task over the canyon in Oman. I couldn’t do anything and I knew that he was physically unable to complete it. The feeling of being eliminated was similar to that of losing a championship game I thought that it was over at that time…

The best parts included playing with children at the orphanage in Ho Chi Minh, celebrating my birthday with the other teams and jumping onto the pit stop mat on the final leg.

Sam: The worst was getting unceremoniously thrown out of a bus for no reason! This happened in Ho Chi Min City en-route to a challenge at a rural town. We had already paid up, and he had promised to bring us there. But mid-way, he inexplicably changed his mind, and dropped us off along the highway! That was a very tense and worrying moment. We were stuck in the middle of nowhere, and we couldn’t speak Vietnamese! We couldn’t walk or cab it to our destination because the clue said travel by bus only! I really had to calm our nerves, pause, and evaluate the situation carefully. Eventually, by sheer will, I managed to convince another bus driver (with lots of cash) to bring us to the right location. But that was really a close shave. We were really panicking!! I don’t know if I’ve ever been so stressed!

The best bit was simply doing all these crazy things, constantly pushing myself to see how far I can go. Well, I now know how far my body can take being constantly pushed!

Vince: I think that if one person is down, the other team member needs to step up and support, encourage and lead. It also helps that I love competition, it really fuels me… I’ve been playing sports since a young age so I know how it feels like when your team is down… you have to just kick it up a notch, perform better, dig deep and believe in yourself and your team. Also we wanted to enjoy being on the Amazing Race Asia and reminded ourselves to keep it in perspective and to have fun at every moment.

Sam: God. After every leg, Vince and I would pray together and give thanks for His protection and blessings. Also when we were neck & neck racing to avoid elimination in Cochin, India (against Henry and Bernie), my parents’ letter kept me calm. They had written: “Winning this Race is not important; gaining the experience therefrom is”. It was this very phrase that prevented me from tearing my hair out in nervousness!

Vince: It worked well. I don’t think you want to be too strong in the beginning cause then all the teams would focus on you. As the saying goes ... you want to “peak” at the right time.

Sam: It worked well. We definitely tried to be under the radar for the first 2 legs, then started racing harder to be in the front of the pack in the 3rd and 4th, and breaking away to lead during the middle legs (5th and 6th). But with luck playing a huge factor, the remaining legs would be very much a see-saw position, vacillating dramatically between first and last place till the end (legs 8 to 11)!!

Vince: I learned that everyone reacts differently when put into stressful situations. I tried to take the best of what I saw from the others and apply it to what I am like when stressed. I learned also that people are different when playing a game or competing and the way they behave or decisions they make during the game don’t necessarily represent their real selves. That’s why regardless of what happened during the show… I am glad to have met and become friends with all the teams.

Sam: I’ve learnt that it is hard trying to be friendly with every team, especially if there are warring teams, because even if you don’t pick sides and try to stay neutral, it will invariably come back and bite you in the butt.

Vince: I don’t know. What is there to do on a Thursday night? Haha…. Before the show I was teaching full time, acting, doing comedy and hosting events. Now, I’m currently working on a sketch comedy TV show, and we’re talking to different channels about getting the show picked up. And I’m still in acting, performing comedy and hosting events.

Sam: Relive the memories by watching the re-runs on tape! I’m having TARA-withdrawal symptoms already!

Vince: In general I like each and every team for the fun moments that we shared. To this day I still chuckle at many of the conversations that we’ve had. We’ve all become a pseudo family in a sense because we’ve shared and experienced something together that is uniquely our own. I love watching and laughing at all the stupid things that we all said or did during the show.

Sam: I would say the final 5 teams because we spent a sizeable chunk of the race (the entire 2nd half) together.

Vince: Humor … I love joking around and laughing with friends. When things are tough or when people are down cheering someone up and making them smile is the best medicine and feeling.

Sam: Definitely my close friends and family. They have been, and will always be, the most important driving factors in my life. They were the reasons why I pushed myself so hard during the race. I really didn’t want to let them down.

Credits: Story by Jeremy R. Chua, pictures courtesy of AXN Asia