With episode nine of the Himalaya Roadies airing this week, we have come to the midway point for the show. But if the “money task” from this week was anything to go by, the reality game show will not be all fun-and-games any longer. 

After a windy and dramatic sojourn in Lower Mustang—that saw two Roadies receive the axe—the remaining 11 contestants meandered down the Kali Gandaki valley towards the touristy town of Pokhara. But if the remaining crew had high hopes for relaxing stay at the Lake City they were in for a rude awakening. 

Upon arriving in Pokhara, the contestants were once more pitted against each other for another “money challenge”, but for a change this challenge was literally hard to swallow. In a cringe-worthy segment, the Roadies—divided into five groups—were tasked with munching on an assortment of raw animal parts—including goat brains, the heart of a chicken, live earthworms and snails. 

A dramatic and gag-inducing challenge as it was, needless to say, the Roadies were only able to page a total of Rs 40,000 from the available Rs 200,000.

Then, as has become the norm, the show ended with another emotional vote-out round that saw the Pokhara-native Menuka Tamang voted out from the show, leaving just 10 more contestants competing for the cash purse of up to Rs 20 million and the honour of becoming the first ever Himalaya Roadie.

Himalaya Roadies is the Nepali edition of the popular Indian reality TV show MTV Roadies. Licensed for Nepal by Via Com 18, the show will run the length of 18 episodes.

Himalaya Roadies airs every Monday at 8 pm on Himalaya TV.