On the third episode of the Amazing Race Asia 3, ex-Miss Universe, Natalie Glebova and her partner, Pailin Rungratanasunthorn from Thailand, were eliminated. For those of us who have watched the first two episodes, this certainly wasn’t a surprise. But for anyone else, here’s why Glebova and Rungratanasunthorn were eliminated from Amazing Race Asia 3.
It’s simple really. Natalie Glebova is probably the most spoiled contestant they’ve ever had on Amazing Race Asia and the most clueless. She didn’t seem to understand how difficult the Amazing Race Asia is, how it requires a lot of physical exertion, and that there will be sometimes days where you don’t get to have a shower or sleep in a hotel.
For someone like Natalie Glebova, who is a pampered, hi-so (high-society) girl with no clue about hardships, this was just too much. She harped on and on about how she ‘hated being dirty’ and how ‘tired’ she was.
The funniest thing however was when she and Pailin had to spend the night at the airport in Bangkok. Pailin, being typically Thai (polite, kind and making the best of everything) settled down on a row of seats to get some sleep. Natalie started crying and insisting that this was the ‘worst thing that had ever happened’ to her, and no way could she sleep in an airport.
What kind of privileged life do you lead if sleeping in an extremely beautiful, very clean and safe airport (Suvarnabhumi) is the worst thing that’s ever happened to you?
The worst thing about Natalie Glebova though on the Amazing Race Asia 3 was her complete disregard for her partner, Pailin Rungratanasunthorn. Pailin had signed up for the Amazing Race Asia 3 really wanting to do her best and wanting to win. Unfortunately, she chose the wrong partner in Natalie Glebova.
While Pailin worked hard trying to complete every task ahead of everyone else. Glebova spent her whole time whining and complaining and treating everyone on the trip with a condescending attitude. She also gave up at least once on almost any task they had to do.
With a partner like that, unfortunately, poor Pailin didn’t stand a chance. As Pailin herself said “it takes two people to take part in the Amazing Race.” And then came the elimination.
In episode three, the teams were in Vietnam. They had to take a bus overland for 24 hours until they reached the small town of Hue, in central Vietnam. Here they had to do an oil change on an old army truck and then go to a museum where one member of the team was supposed to collect seven coins representing different seven Vietnamese leaders, and put the coins in order of the leader’s reign.
Natalie volunteered to do it but, not being too bright, she couldn’t figure it out. She finally had to go back to where she started to get the information on the leaders’ reigns again. After coming back to where she had to display the coins, she made a couple of half-hearted attempts, then gave up and went and sat in the shade.
Eventually, she decided she was ‘giving up and taking the four hour penalty’. Really sad, especially as Pailin was still trying to be supportive when Natalie finally came back to meet her. Only to be told by Natalie ‘I gave up, sorry. We’ll just have to take the 4 hour penalty’. The two women arrived last at the next checkpoint and were eliminated. And Natalie seemed surprised.
Thais are very disappointed in Natalie Glebova and many Thais friends were saying to me yesterday, after watching the third episode, “Why does Amazing Race Asia choose some of the worst people to represent Thailand?” (the idiot Westerners in Amazing Race 1 and Natalie Glebova in Amazing Race 3).
Come on, Amazing Race Asia. Thais are proud people and proud of their country, the image they project and the way they behave. Please stop choosing rude, arrogant people to represent Thailand. Thais are not like this and they really resent being shown as this way to the rest of the world.
Paula Taylor and her friend, Natasha Monks, on Amazing Race Asia 2, were perfect examples of Thais – polite, kind, laidback, relaxed and fun. Now that’s the type of person Thais would like to see represent them and not people like Natalie Glebova – spoiled, pampered, rude and not even Thai!
And to Pailin Rungratanasunthorn. I’m so sorry you were eliminated because of Natalie. You deserved a better chance at it than this.
Should you ever decide to apply for the Amazing Race Asia again and you need a partner, I’m one farang living in Thailand who loves Thailand and would never represent it on international television behaving like Natalie Glebova did. I could kick most other contestant’s butts too!
For more information about Amazing Race Asia 3 and the contestants, don’t forget to check out the Amazing Race website. You can watch videos there too.