The Importance of Being Eldest

The Importance of Being Eldest is the premiere episode of.

Day 1
Sixteen strangers were sent to a local fishing village in Thailand. The contestants were separated into two motor boats, each holding eight people of the same gender. Once the boats docked at a beach, the groups convened in front of host Jeff Probst, who welcomed them. The host separated the group into two smaller ones according to their gender. After a series of introductions, Jeff called out the oldest contestants from both genders, Jake Billingsley and Jan Gentry. They choose which beach their tribes will living on, with Jeff only hinting that one camp had a nearby water source but building shelter will be a challenge, while the other camp had a much further water source, but shelter is a non-issue. Jake chose the purple buff (which was the buff used for the tribe called Sook Jai), while Jan chose the orange buff (which was the buff used for the tribe called Chuay Gahn). With the group divided according to gender, the castaways had assumed that the groups they were on will be their tribes. Jeff dispelled all speculations by tasking Jake and Jan to select their tribemates, paying homage to Thai culture, where elders were given utmost respect. Thinking that they will be divided into tribes according to gender, Jeff revealed that the two of them will select their tribemates. "chuaygahn"

- When Jeff said we are picking the tribes, I kinda get scared, and I'm not really a leader, and I was put in the spotlight, which kind of frightened me.

During the picks, Jan made curious choices right from her first pick, as she chose older contestants (with Tanya being the only Chuay Gahn member in her twenties), while Jake seized the opportunity by picking the younger, more athletic contestants, with Jake himself being the oldest member of their team. After the formation of the tribes, the castaways boarded on tribe-colored boats, each with identical number of supplies, and paddled their way to their camps. The selected tribes were:

While paddling to their camp, Sook Jai realized they were rowing with the stern in the front. Upon reaching shore, the over-enthusiastic tribe scattered around the beach, with some looking for other food sources, while others fooled around. "sookjai"

- I have a crew that is totally enthusiastic and is ready to go, but they know nothing.

When the Chuay Gahn tribe reached their camp, they were delighted to see numerous caves, making shelter a non-issue, especially during Thailand's monsoon season. With this, the orange tribe decided to forage for food sources. By nightfall, their food containers were filled with clams, oysters, and crabs.

Day 2
At Chuay Gahn, the tribe realized they have to find their water source. Confused of where their water might be, the tribe split themselves up to search for it, with John, Helen, and Tanya venturing the other side of the island, in which they became successful. While the other five members were approaching, John tricked them by making them believe that their water source would be the pool of dirty water he found meters from the actual water hole. Ghandia was upset by the joke.

At Sook Jai's camp, the purple tribe noticed their water source almost in an instant. But unlike Chuay Ghan, there was no cave to protect them from rainfall. The tribe squabbled over tasks. Jed tried to fish, but he eventually failed. Robb, stared to complain about cutting wood for their shelter for hours. He vented his frustrations on Shii Ann, who walked him over. "sookjai"

- My tribe's priorities right now are out of whack. Everyone wants shelter. I'll mention food and people will say, 'I want a floor.' We have to split work up. "sookjai"

- He is messing with the wrong girl. You do not mess with the 'Shii-Devil' and not get the horns.

Day 3
After the tribes received Tree Mail, they met Jeff Probst for their first Immunity Challenge.

Chuay Gahn took an early lead when Jan finished the maze faster than Penny. Brian extended the lead by unhooking their second flag underwater quickly before Sook Jai even reached the station. Chuay Gahn's lead evaporated when they reached the last station, where Ghandia panicked and struggled at the slide puzzle to the point the rival Sook Jai caught up with them. Jed from Sook Jai got past Ghandia by solving the slide puzzle first, giving Sook Jai the lead. In the end, Sook Jai made a comeback victory, sending the defeated Chuay Gahn tribe to Tribal Council.

Chuay Gahn returned back to camp with Ghandia sobbing, blaming herself for the loss. The tribe made a group hug to console her, though Ghandia was still worried she might be the first to go. Meanwhile, Tanya also felt vulnerable because of her frequent vomiting. "chuaygahn"

- I am a legal secretary; I work with facts. The fact is that we had a big lead, and the lead was lessened because I took too long to figure out that puzzle. So now I am feeling like it is time for a sister to go. "chuaygahn"

- I kinda feel vulnerable. I have been sick and I can't control what my body does, but I am still going to try to stay here. My vote will probably be for John; from the first day a lot of the people have been upset with John because he's saying you not work hard enough, you need to do this. A lot of people are starting to get annoyed because he's taking the leadership role.

Jeff asked Ghandia what went wrong at the Immunity Challenge. Ghandia explained she anxiety struck in when Jed arrived. Clay then explained it was hard to deal with strangers, let alone in a harsh environment, which indirectly brought up John's controversial joke about the water source being a swamp. In the end, the joke was on John, as he received six out of eight votes, sending him home.

Immunity
Challenge: Flying Your Flag The Survivors had to race around a small island by paddling a boat. Along the way they would have to visit several stations, where they would have to complete certain tasks or puzzles in order to receive a tribal flag. However, only one person from each tribe would be allowed to compete at each station. First tribe to have successfully completed each puzzle, gather their flags and race back to the floating dock, would win immunity.

Winner: Sook Jai

Voting Confessionals
"chuaygahn"

- Ghandia sweetheart, you have a killer smile, God bless you, but it's a tough game. Have a great vacation. "chuaygahn"

- The only thing I can say is, it is a financial move. I think you might a little well-off than the rest of us so maybe you don't need the money as much as us; but glad to get to know you. "chuaygahn"

- John, you're an awsome leader I just felt there was tension and I thought in the long run it would sap us of our energy and we need to be strong all the way without the tension.

Final Words
"chuaygahn"

- Well I get the distinguished honor of being the first person voted out of Survivor 5. This is quite a surprise for me. I didn't think there are alliances in the team but I guess there were and I wasn't a part of it. But I enjoyed my teammates, we had a good time out here, it's been an incredible experience it's been wonderful. God bless you.

Behind The Scenes

 * In an interview, John revealed that he made himself busy by scuba diving, elephant riding, and mountain climbing while being sequestered.

Other

 * This is the first time that the contestants were not divided into tribes by production. Instead the contestants got to choose the tribes.
 * This is also the first time where the first challenge was not fire related.