Speculation on season 13

[Boingo]

Boingo

i'm liking the train speculation, i think that would work in central asia.

   me too, patlini.   
Eat your heart out apskip, the Official Astana-Almaty Train Schedule site  :sucks

[TARAsia Fan]

Tee hee. 

[puddin]

I'll take India for 2 legs and all of Russia for a total of 3. I'll now pass on Cambodia as 2 pit stops, rather on day 2 in Cambodia teams search for a clue that takes them to obscure India, how else would they know that the place in India was obscure? They must have had a "clue".

[georgiapeach]

I love choo-choo's! And we know that TPTB love making them ride trains in India which looked unlikely this time. So I would adore a train trip thru Kazakhstan! We do need to check our times to see if we could squeeze this in though...

Good job patlini and Boingo on your finds!

[georgiapeach]

I'll take India for 2 legs and all of Russia for a total of 3. I'll now pass on Cambodia as 2 pit stops, rather on day 2 in Cambodia teams search for a clue that takes them to obscure India, how else would they know that the place in India was obscure? They must have had a "clue".

Wasn't it an obscure location in Delhi? I thought it was probably the grain place.... 

From Jason:

Girls: Um, can you do us a favor? So you're going to India?
Me: No, actually Nepal.
Girls: Oh. Is that near India?
Girls: Well, we need to find something in India and thought you might be able to help since you were going near there.
Me: Okkkkkkkkk. But I'm actually going to Nepal.
Girls: Well, we're looking for something really obscure in Delhi. 

[apskip]

boingo, nice work but who cares. Train speculation is not very useful with the distances and times involved in rail travel. Would you put AR13 teams on a 13 hour train from Almaty to Astana just to avoid a one hour plane flight? I don't think so.

What is truly interesting is that Astana has better flights in to Moscow than Almaty does(see my post on this from way back). It is also a major city in its own right and there would be enough of interest to warrant a leg there in addition to the one in Almaty.

I think there is a strong possiblity that my hunch of 2 Kazakhstan legs may come true. It's a lot more probable than two Moscow legs given the several prior Amazing Racae Moscow visits.

[apskip]

"We shot most of that episode in the capital."
Eh, Astana's been the capital since 1997! Thanks Bertram!

Well at least we know there's only one leg there...

Team being Guidoed? But that's not a first...

We know from our clues that they were in Alamaty...so is BVM being geographically challenged again or do we have another leg in Astana?

I will bet on the leg in Astana. The reasons are flight availability to Moscow better than Almaty, Astana is a major city in its own right, and another leg in Kazakhstan is way more cool than other alternatives.

[puddin]

I'll take India for 2 legs and all of Russia for a total of 3. I'll now pass on Cambodia as 2 pit stops, rather on day 2 in Cambodia teams search for a clue that takes them to obscure India, how else would they know that the place in India was obscure? They must have had a "clue".

Wasn't it an obscure location in Delhi? I thought it was probably the grain place.... 

From Jason:

Girls: Um, can you do us a favor? So you're going to India?
Me: No, actually Nepal.
Girls: Oh. Is that near India?
Girls: Well, we need to find something in India and thought you might be able to help since you were going near there.
Me: Okkkkkkkkk. But I'm actually going to Nepal.
Girls: Well, we're looking for something really obscure in Delhi. 

The point being is that they normally get a clue, fly to Delhi, India then get a clue in say Delhi to tell them what the first task is not ""go to some place obscure India, get it?
Remember they were on flight from Bangkok to Delhi when they talked to Jason, not in Delhi.
So I'm thinking the last task in Cambodia was seaching for the faces (brb)

We didn't manage to take a picture of it but i think we ran into a couple doing the Amazing Race here. We'll have to check out the next season but the couple was being followed by a camera man and they had to find a specific face in the ruins.
http://paulmarkthirnan.blogspot.com/2008/05/angkor-wat-cambodia.html

Blog

Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Just to catch up....
So I just got back into Thailand from Cambodia.... which is why i haven't posted in a while. Ends up that Cambodia is not a telecommunications mecca. Anyways, everything has kinda been a whirlwind. Covered 3 countries in 2 weeks and it kinda feels like we are on "The Amazing Race".... and i mean literally. Yesterday we were in Angkor Wat (more of that story later... it is AMAZING... you should look up pictures... seriously a Wonder of the Ancient world--- i thought better than the stuff i saw in Rome) The Amazing Race was filming at Angkor the same day we were there. AND THEN... we end up at the airport to fly to Bangkok from Cambodia... and who was on our airplane.... thats right.... 3 teams competing on the next season of the Amazing Race. We are sitting there and then all the sudden all these camera and sound guys are filming everything. And the producer guy was sitting in the seat right behind me and vida. CRAZY!! So now we consider ourselves official unofficial cast members. And before all this started I was telling vida that i thought it felt like we were on the amazing race.

[georgiapeach]

boingo, nice work but who cares. Train speculation is not very useful with the distances and times involved in rail travel. Would you put AR13 teams on a 13 hour train from Almaty to Astana just to avoid a one hour plane flight? I don't think so.

I most certainly care....  and as always we ALL try to appreciate each others contributions here. 

And if I was a producer would I want the drama of a train ride compared to just another airport? You betcha. And they have done it before...
We of course have no clue as to whether or not they did in this case, but I for one would love it if they did, and in any case love hearing all the options.  I agree w/ patlini that we don't want to be watching an episode again w/ egg on our faces because we didn't look at all the options.

So thank you Boingo and Patlini for your speculation!  and you apskip for your flights!

[michael]

omg
I got peach's message today when I was in the gym and I got so excited to come home and see the teams!

I can't wait for TAR to start up again it's going to be so much fun

[gingerman28]

omg
I got peach's message today when I was in the gym and I got so excited to come home and see the teams!

I can't wait for TAR to start up again it's going to be so much fun

And Michael the producers were good to you again - did you catch the pair of dizzy blondes?  Racing just for you.  The girls in pink seem to go most of the way, but may be the team that can't finish the race.

[georgiapeach]

Just to clarify--we have 5 women seen in pink along the way...

[Mrs Shrek]

Just to clarify--we have 5 women seen in pink along the way...

So Michael's chance of picking a winner this time are better than average?

[topaz]

I heard some speculation that this season might be feature Chile in South America, again.  If that's the case, I hope they should go to this place at the world's largest swimming pool located in Algarrobo, Chile, and here's the links and infos:

http://www.snopes.com/photos/architecture/largestpool.asp
http://www.sanalfonso.cl/

p.s.
I'm a newbie here.

[gingerman28]

Just to clarify--we have 5 women seen in pink along the way...

But how many pairs are seen in Pink??

[georgiapeach]

to RFF topaz!

We have loads of info on the current season including all the SA legs here if you want to have a look!

http://forum.realityfanforum.com/index.php/board,93.0.html

[georgiapeach]

2+2+1=5

and that's only the ones we know about!

[TARAsia Fan]

Which leads us to the Psychedelic Furs' "Pretty in Pink" from the great 1980's movie, "Pretty in Pink" starring Molly Ringwald, Andrew McCarthy and Jon Cryer. A TARAsia Fan favorite, btw. 


 

[hornean]

Okay guys, I AM able to share some more info w/ you!

With many thanks to our incredible  Portland photographer who has been hard at work on our behalf!!

I'm pleased to report that I saw a male-male team in downtown Portland 
this evening (peach: that would be 5/14) at about 6:00 local time. A cameraman and a sound man 
were following them.

I saw them head west along Alder, then south on 10th, then east on 
Morrison. They asked for directions at the food carts that occupy the 
parking lot north of Alder, and they looked at a metal map kiosk at 
the corner of 10th and Morrison.

They looked to be mid to late 20s or even maybe early 30s. Both were 
wearing khaki trousers; the taller one was slightly heavyset and had 
reddish curly hair and was wearing a baseball cap and a blue T-shirt. 
The other had blonde to sandy blonde hair and no hat. Both had 
backpacks.

What struck me, though, was how slowly they were moving compared to my 
expections. They certainly were not running. I don't know if this 
means they are a decoy, or that they are real but exhausted, or that 
they are real and in last place, or what.

I often buy magazines at a store on 9th & Alder, so I asked the 
cashier there if I knew anything about TAR in Portland. He said, "Oh, 
is that what that was?" I said, "Is that what WHAT was?" He said he 
had seen a male  and a female plus two-man crew also proceeding along 
Alder. I asked him when that was. He said about two hours previously, 
which puts it at around 4:00 p.m. I asked him if he recalled any other 
details; he said he did not, except that the girl was pretty. :-/

I did not have a camera with me, but where they were is VERY central 
location; and while Portland is considerably less densely occupied 
than, say, LA or even Denver, I will be very surprised if no one here 
managed to take a reasonable picture of at least one of the teams.

I asked our source if these guys could maybe be who he saw?




And so sadly, since we don't even know their names yet (that seems so wrong somehow!), he replied:

Oooh! Yes, I do think so! Their relative heights and hair colors match!

Sad because this screams decoy to me...and interestingly, I believe it may be decoy being run AFTER the actual finale MAT arrival...

More later on...

Those guys looks just like Andrew & Dan.

[michael]

Wow, so (believe it or not) I *JUST* finally took the time to read this thread (well not all of it cause it's to long, but the important posts) carefully because I felt so lost when I was reading what you guys were talking about. I think I'm finally up to speed now and will be able to follow all the conversation haha

[puddin]

Thanks to USA Today.........

Looks like we have all covered here!
and more New Zealand stuff!!

This year's 23-day itinerary, revealed in advance for the first time, covers 30,000 miles and has 11 stops in eight countries: Brazil, Bolivia, New Zealand, Cambodia, India, Kazakhstan, Russia and the USA (the race starts in L.A. and finishes in Portland, Ore.).

•Phil interview:
•Q: You're also going back to your birthplace, New Zealand, the adventure capital of the world, for the third time. What new thrills can we expect to see?
A: New Zealanders are very proud of their indigenous Maori culture, and we were looking to get something of that in the show. We ended up having the teams search for Maori warriors on an extinct volcano (near Auckland), and it was the most magical morning when they arrived: As the sun was rising, there were these warriors doing the haka (a traditional war dance) with a magnificent rainbow over the top of the hill.

[georgiapeach]

Finally some NZ news! 

And look!

And you'll see my dad make an appearance in this season's New Zealand episode, where I was able to help him celebrate his 66th birthday.

For reference: Phil's parents John and Beth

[Neobie]

Hmm. We already had all the countries?

Brazil's a double, so where do the other two doubles fit in: Cambodia, India or Kazakhstan?

[georgiapeach]

I vote Kazakhstan for the times...


Auckland
You haven't seen Auckland until you've checked out its cones
When you're sprawled out on the grass at the Auckland Domain, remember that you're perched on a volcano. Along with Albert Park, this was the site of one of Auckland's first eruptions.

The largest, and most recent, eruption was around 600 years ago at Rangitoto. During this time the region was dotted with 48 volcanic cones. You can still spot these cones today – just look for the tell-tale green pastures in an otherwise densely built-up city.

A visit to Auckland is not complete without a trek up at least one of these cones and the two most popular are Mt Eden and One Tree Hill.

Mt Eden is the highest volcano on the Auckland isthmus and provides stunning views over the city and its harbours.

One Tree Hill was one of the largest Maori settlement complexes in New Zealand and has been claimed to be the largest pre-historic earth fort in the world.

Here's three top ways to check out these locations:

Via the Coast to Coast walkway, a half-day walk from the Waitemata Harbour to the Manukau Harbour; courtesy of a guided walk with a local guide from the Ngati Whatua tribe or privately by car, or on foot.

http://www.aatravel.co.nz/101/MustDo_Auckland-Volcanoes_Activities-Adventure.html

[georgiapeach]

One tree hill, Māori name is Maungakiekie

One Tree Hill is one of Auckland's most recognisable landmarks and from its summit you get 360-degree views of the city.

It was formed up to 30,000 years ago and is one of several inactive volcanos in the Auckland area. The others include Mt Eden, Mt Wellington and Rangitoto Island.

Situated within Cornwall Park, One Tree Hill has at its peak a large obelisk that was erected early last century as a tribute to the local Maori population.

On its slopes are more than 170 man-made terraces that formed parts of three old Maori forts or pas. These make up what is believed to be the world's biggest pre-historic earth fortifications.

One Tree Hill has been public land since the 1840s and until recently was topped with a single pine tree. This was attacked and badly damaged by a political activist and was later cut down.

Today One Tree Hill offers Aucklanders and tourists a peaceful place in which to walk, jog, picnic or just sit and relax and enjoy some truly spectacular scenery.

http://www.tikitouring.co.nz/oth.htm