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Offline maf

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Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #12 is on page 2
« on: February 24, 2011, 01:04:39 PM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 18, Episode 1
Film date: 2010-11-20 - 2010-11-22

I have tried to estimate distances and driving times every now and then. This data, from Google, is an approximation at best and the driving times assumes no traffic.

This race starts at a wind farm in Palm Springs California and is made up of returning teams which have some unfinished business (i.e. those the producers think will generate the best show). The teams are:
  • Jet & Cord, season 16, Cowboy brothers.
    Got cut in front of by the eventual winners at the Shanghai airport
  • Margie & Luke, season 14, mother and deaf son.
    Got hung up on the last memory challenge.
  • Amanda & Kris, season 14, recently engaged.
    Were U-turned by Margie & Luke in Siberia
  • Flight time & Big Easy, season 15, friends and Harlem
    Globetrotters. Big Easy got stumped on a road block in Prague.
  • Mel & Mike, season 14, father and son.
    broke away form the pack and wandered off course in Thailand.
  • Kent & Vyxin, season 12, dating Goths.
    Self-destructed in Italy.
  • Gary & Mallory, season 17, father and daughter.
    Lost their way in Oman.
  • Kisha & Jen, season 14, sisters.
    Took an untimely bathroom break in Beijing.
    "This time I will not drink four bottles of water on the way to the pit stop", Jen
  • Zev & Justin, season 15, best friends.
    Lost a passport in Cambodia.
  • Ron & Christina, season 12, father and daughter.
    Baffled on the final memory road block in Alaska.
  • Jamie & Cara, season 14, former NFL cheerleaders.
    Traveled off course on the way to the final challenge in Hawaii.

At the starting line Phil gives his usual spiel. The first team checking in at the pit stop of the first leg will win an express pass (which will allow them to skip a task on the race). He also warns them there will be changes this season and they should not think they know how things will work.

The first task starts right at the starting line. Teams must fetch something from the desert which Phil needs before they get their first clue and airline tickets. Behind Phil is a number of paper airplanes on sticks with different airline names on them. Phil tells teams he needs planes from Queensland And Northen Territories Aerial Services. What he doesn't tell them is that the desired paper airplanes are marked with the better known acronym for this airline, Qantas.

The last team completing this task will get an automatic U-turn at the first detour.

Teams find the correct planes in the following order:
  1. Mel & Mike
  2. Zev & Justin
  3. Jet & Cord
  4. Kent & Vyxin
  5. Ron & Christina
  6. Flight time & Big Easy
  7. Margie & Luke
  8. Jamie & Cara
  9. Kisha & Jen
 10. Gary & Mallory, just seconds before #11
 11. Amanda & Kris

Choice quotes:
 "We are stressing out", Amanda & Kris is one of only two teams left

Route info: "Fly to Sydney, Australia".

Choice quotes:
 "It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, again", Jet & Cord
 "It's out own fault, we didn't think that through very clearly", Kris analyzes why they were last

The first flight, QF12, departed at 22:25 and was scheduled to land at 08.00. However a medical emergency forced it to divert to Honolulu so it eventually landed in Sydney at 10:47. This flight carries:
  Mel & Mike
  Zev & Justin
  Jet & Cord
  Kent & Vyxin
  Ron & Christina
  Flight time & Big Easy
  Margie & Luke
  Jamie & Cara

The second flight, QF108, departed at 23:50 and landed at 10:20 and carries:
  Kisha & Jen
  Gary & Mallory
  Amanda & Kris

Once they land teams make their way by train to Sydney harbor, where they must take the ferry to Oceanworld in Manly to find their next clue.

Train #1 to Circular Quay carries:
  Kisha & Jen
  Gary & Mallory
  Amanda & Kris

Train #2 carries
  Flight time & Big Easy
  Zev & Justin
  Margie & Luke
  Jamie & Cara
  Kent & Vyxin

Train #3, which left at 11:32, carries
  Mel & Mike
  Jet & Cord
  Ron & Christina

Teams then travel by boat to Manly.

Boat #1 carries:
  Kisha & Jen
  Gary & Mallory
  Amanda & Kris

Boat #2, which left at 12.00, carries:
  Kent & Vyxin
  Flight time & Big Easy
  Margie & Luke
  Jamie & Cara
  Zev & Justin

Boat #3, which left at 12.20, carries:
  Mel & Mike
  Ron & Christina

Boat #4 carries:
  Jet & Cord

Choice quotes,
 "Oh, that's kind of scary", Cord realize they are last at the boats

Teams reach the clue box at Oceanworld in the following order:
  1. Gary & Mallory
  2. Kisha & Jen
  3. Amanda & Kris
  4. Margie & Luke
  5. Flight time & Big Easy
  6. Zev & Justin
  7. Jamie & Cara
  8. Kent & Vyxin
  9. Ron & Christina
 10. Mel & Mike
 11. Jet & Cord

Road block: "Who's ready to get tanked?". One team member must dive down into a tank full of sharks and an enormous stingray and locate a compass somewhere on the floor of this tank. Then they must use the key on the rim of the compass to decipher a message encoded in nautical flags. The full message reads:
    MANLY
    16 FT
    SKIFF
    SAILING CLUB

    FIND THE
    COMMODORE

    I AM BETWEEN
    THE DEVIL
    AND THE DEEP
    BLUE SEA
Teams must say the last paragraph to the commodore to get their next clue. This is a clever twist to the task which is sure to catch any teams taking shortcuts with the decoding.

Teams complete the roadblock in the following order (* denotes team member performing the road block, and the numbers how many roadblocks each team member have performed):
1.Gary & Mallory*        (0-1)
2.Amanda* & Kris         (1-0)
3.Kisha* & Jen           (1-0)
4.Zev & Justin*          (0-1)
5.Margie* & Luke         (1-0)Did not get the entire message
6.Jamie & Cara*          (0-1)Did not get the entire message
7.Flight time* & Big Easy(1-0)Only decoded the first couple of lines
8.Ron & Christina*       (0-1)
9.Mel* & Mike            (1-0)
10.Jet* & Cord            (1-0)Only decoded the first couple of lines
11.Kent & Vyxin*          (0-1)Only decoded the first 7-8 words

Choice quotes:
 "I think the fear of the sharks is the big challenge here", Gary
 "Dammit man, these sharks look hungry", Gary
 "It was a visual delight watching Vyxin in the tank. She looked like a pink little mermaid", Kent
 "You can't put me in there with those monsters", But Ron has no trouble putting his daughter there:-)
 "I'm from Oklahoma. I don't do water, I don't even take baths", Jet did not feel comfortable
 "Maybe work with Margie", Jamie suggest that Cara should cooperate with Jamie
 "I was at my wits end", Vyxin almost panicked in the tank

Some teams realize it is a good idea to cooperate on the decoding. So we see Margie and Cara work together as well as Christina and Mel.

Teams now make their way on foot to the Manly Skiff sailing club (~1km). Where most of them say the correct code phrase to the Commodore. Those who do not have the correct phase must go back and check their decoding, unless they get another team to tell them the correct answer.

Zev & Justin tell the code phrase to Flight Time & Big Easy, after all they are form the same season. Margie & Luke and Jamie & Cara have a hard time. First they try to listen to hear what FT & BE says, but they whisper the phrase so no luck there. Then they ask Zev & Justin, but they do not want to help. Finally when they are almost back at Oceanworld they encounter Ron & Christina and Mel & Mike who are willing to help (in exchange for being shown where the sailing club is).

Kent & Vyxin get the code phrase from Margie.

Jet & Cord run into serious problems. They did not decode the entire message. So they went back, decoded the second part and tried again. When that failed they had to go back a third time. And the episode ends with Jet still stumped by the flags.

Choice quotes:
 "We helped Vyxin and Kent, it just makes sense to maybe have a team we feel like we might be able to beat at the finish line", Margie on why they helped

Teams manage to get the clue from the Commodore in the following order:
  1. Gary & Mallory
  2. Kisha & Jen
  3. Amanda & Kris
  4. Zev & Justin
  5. Flight time & Big Easy
  6. Ron & Christina
  7. Mel & Mike
  8. Jamie & Cara          
  9. Margie & Luke
 10. Kent & Vyxin
  ?. Jet & Cord

Route info: "Join the crew, help sail at 16ft skiff... Make your way to the boat ramp outside and change into your sailing gear... You may not swim to the clue". Teams must sail a skiff across the bay and pick up their next clue from a buoy.

FT & BE had no easy time on the boat. They are both tall heavy guys so keeping balance and acting as the proper amount of counterweight was not easy.

We see both Zev & Justin snatch clues from the buoy, but apparently there is no penalty for that in this situation.

Teams grab the clue from the buoy in the following order:
  1. Gary & Mallory
  2. Amanda & Kris
  3. Kisha & Jen
  4. Zev & Justin
  5. Flight time & Big Easy
  6. Jamie & Cara
  7. Ron & Christina
  8. Margie & Luke
  9. Mel & Mike
 10. Kent & Vyxin
  ?. Jet & Cord

Choice quotes:
 "Head down and hold on", One of the sailors on Jamie & Cara's boat when it has flipped.

Route info: "Make your way to the pit stop". Teams must now make their way to Shelly Beach (1.5km). Teams reach the pit stop in the following order:

  1. Gary & Mallory, win the express pass
  2. Amanda & Kris (at 14:22)
  3. Kisha & Jen
  4. Zev & Justin
  5. Flight time & Big Easy
  6. Jamie & Cara
  7. Margie & Luke
  8. Ron & Christina
  9. Mel & Mike
 10. Kent & Vyxin
  ?. Jet & Cord (not shown)

But it turns out that this is not a real pit stop and the race is still on. Teams get their next clue and take off.

Choice quotes:
 "Mallory, this is no time for dilly dally. Just get going", Phil
 "Stop talking and go", Phil to Mallory again
 "I have no idea what we are missing",  Jet & Cord are still trying to decode the message

The episode ends with Jet & Cord still being stumped by the coded message and all other teams have checked in.
« Last Edit: June 05, 2011, 01:22:20 PM by maf »

Offline Prophet

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Re: Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #1 is on page 1
« Reply #1 on: February 24, 2011, 01:17:16 PM »
maf, your racing reports are always awesome!
:hearts:
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Offline georgiapeach

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Re: Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #1 is on page 1
« Reply #2 on: February 24, 2011, 01:27:35 PM »
Thanks for doing these maf!! Love them!
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Offline maf

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Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #2
« Reply #3 on: March 04, 2011, 10:08:44 AM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 18, Episode 2
Film date: 2010-11-22 - 2010-11-23

Any driving times given are calculated using the web and assumes no other traffic. Also when I list the order of the teams I usually also list how many spots they have gained(+) or lost(-) since the last place team order was given.

The episode starts with Jet & Cord who are still stuck at the roadblock from the previous episode. They are way behind, and they spend more than an hour on it.

In the meantime the other teams have received their next clue from Phil at the pit stop. No departure times are given, but we know from the previous episode that they should leave in the following order:

  1. Gary & Mallory
  2. Amanda & Kris
  3. Kisha & Jen
  4. Zev & Justin
  5. Flight Time & Big Easy
  6. Jamie & Cara
  7. Margie & Luke
  8. Ron & Christina
  9. Mel & Mike
 10. Kent & Vyxin
 11. Jet & Cord

Route info: "Make your way back to Sydney and get to 'To sail to stop'". Once there teams must sign up for one of two charter flights leaving for Broken Hill in the Australian outback next morning. Teams must figure out that 'To sail to stop' is the name of a statue next to city town hall.

The following teams take a taxi back to Sydney:
  Gary & Mallory
  Amanda & Kris
  Kisha & Jen
  Zev & Justin

While these teams took the ferry back:
  Flight Time & Big Easy
  Jamie & Cara
  Margie & Luke
  Ron & Christina
  Mel & Mike
  Kent & Vyxin

Jet & Cord are not shown getting back.

It turns out to be non-trivial to figure out what 'To sail to stop' refers to.
  • Kisha & Jen use a computer in a shopping mall information desk to look it up. While they are there Zev & Justin arrive planning to do the same. Both teams work together and have no problem locating and getting to the statue.
  • Margie & Luke found a woman with a computer on the ferry and used that to look it up. They then told Jamie & Cara and all of them went to town hall. It might be worth noting that they did not tell any of the other four teams who were on the same ferry.
  • Mel & Mike find a gentleman on the street who knows what and where it is.
  • Flight Time & Big Easy gets help at a travel agency
  • Kent & Vyxin borrows a computer in a shop to find it
  • Gary & Mallory seem to wander around aimlessly and eventually bumps into Ron & Christina who are doing the same. They then run into Amanda & Kris who also are completely lost, they all decide to work together. Eventually Christina finds a person who actually knows where it is and gets directions.
  • Jet & Cord are shown asking a lot of people but it takes until after nightfall until they find a cab-driver who knows what it is and takes them there.

Also Mel is having problems keeping up physically. He almost collapses on the boat back. But they take it easy and have no problem finding the statue.

While the first teams are looking for the statue we get to see Jet & Cord try their hand at sailing. It is far from a smashing success. Rather they manage fall into the water a number of times, but eventually they reach the clue.

Choice quotes:
 "This could open up the game to anybody, because now we are just driving around aimlessly", Kris is looking for 'To sail to stop'
 "He's tall I'm short, he's ugly I look good", Flight Time on their differences
 "We are so exited to be running this race with Margie & Luke again", Cara
 "And both of them are my 'Race girlfriends'", Luke on Jamie & Cara
 "The only way to get off this island is by ferry", Ron while walking down a street packed with cars
 "I'll be responsible for my decision", Mel wants to go on and does not want Mike to feel any guilt if he collapses on the race
 "I wonder what time that flight leaves", Jet is worried that they will miss the charter flight

Teams reach 'To sail to stop' and sign up for the charter flights in the following order:

Flight #1 departs at 06.05 the next morning (landed at 07:55):
  1(+2) Kisha & Jen
  2(+2) Zev & Justin
  3(+3) Jamie & Cara
  4(+3) Margie & Luke
  5(+4) Mel & Mike
  6(+4) Kent & Vyxin

According to editing Jet & Cord reach Phil at the pit stop as the first flight gets full.

Flight #2 departs at 06.30 the next morning (landed at 08:20):
  7(-2) Flight Time & Big Easy
  8(+0) Ron & Christina
  9(-8) Gary & Mallory
 10(-8) Amanda & Kris
 11(+0) Jet & Cord

Choice quotes:
 "Long day today, but in this one instance we are very glad there's other teams on this flight", Cord after finding the statue and signing in

Jet & Cord are very lucky here that they could to catch up with the other teams.

The next morning we find teams at the airport checking in for their flights.

Choice quotes:
 "Feelin' better this morning?", Kisha checks in on Mel
 "A lot, thank you. Seeing you makes it twice as better.", Mel flirts back

Once teams arrive in Broken Hill they dash for the marked cars where they find their next clue.

Route info: "Drive to the living desert and search for your next clue". Teams must now drive to the living desert (17km 0:30). Teams arrive at the next clue box at the desert in the following order:
  1. Zev & Justin
  2. Kisha & Jen
  3. Mel & Mike
  4. Jamie & Cara
  5. Kent & Vyxin
  6. Margie & Luke
  7. Gary & Mallory
  8. Amanda & Kris
  9. Jet & Cord
 10. Flight Time & Big Easy
 11. Ron & Christina

Choice quotes:
 "Kisha is a very slow driver. Kisha come on, a kangaroo can run faster than you're driving", Mel mutters to himself while Mike follows Kisha & Jen
 "We've got a map and we know exactly where we are going", Mallory (didn't they in Oman too last season:-)

The clue reads:
Quote
Detour: Spirit World or Natural
World

Spirit World: Using natural
materials, create an
Aboriginal Ground Mosaic.
Then, dance atop your work
to raise the spirits and receive
your next clue.

Natural World: Using
traditional materials and
methods, create a series of
tribal markers to receive your
next clue.

Note to Kris & Amanda: for
being the last team to find a
Qantas airplane in Palm
Springs, you have an
automatic U-turn and must
do both Detours.

The dance part of spirit world is what gives most teams problems. Not that there are any steps to learn, but that it has to be performed on top of the mosaic. Many teams dance around their mosaic instead.

In natural world teams create a series of Aboriginal territory markers using a natural paint made form water and a clay like pigment. Teams must put the paint into their mouth and spit the substance onto a stencil to create four images.

Teams complete the detour in the following order:
  1(+0) Zev & Justin (spirit world)
  2(+4) Margie & Luke (spirit world)
  3(+0) Mel & Mike (spirit world)
  4(+1) Kent & Vyxin (spirit world)
  5(-3) Kisha & Jen (spirit world)
  6(-2) Jamie & Cara (spirit world)
  7(+2) Jet & Cord (spirit world)
  8(-1) Gary & Mallory (spirit world)
  9(+1) Flight Time & Big Easy (spirit world)
 10(+1) Ron & Christina (spirit world)
 11(-3) Amanda & Kris (spirit world (finish as #10) and natural world)

The clock is 09:40 as Amanda and Kris does natural world, and by 10.00 they are back in their car driving.

Choice quotes:
 "Vyxin please get me children", Kent utters a phrase which can be misinterpreted in many ways
 "Use Chinese, please. Everyone is going to understand", Christina does not want to give the other teams hints

Route info: "Drive yourself back to Broken Hill and search for the home of the Magpies". Teams must figure out that the "Home of the magpies" refers to a local football club (10km 0:17). Teams reach the clue here in the following order:
  1(+0) Zev & Justin
  2(+0) Margie & Luke
  3(+1) Kent & Vyxin
  4(-1) Mel & Mike
  5(+1) Jamie & Cara
  6(+1) Jet & Cord
  7(+2) Flight Time & Big Easy
  8(-3) Kisha & Jen
  9(-1) Gary & Mallory
 10(+0) Ron & Christina
 11(+0) Amanda & Kris (at 10.13)

Route info:
"Time for a "Roo'd"
awakening.

First, both of you must
dress as kangaroos.
Then search for your
next destination".

The only hint teams get about their next destination is a periodic table where the elements Hg and Bi are highlighted. They must figure out that this means they have to go to the intersection of Mercury(Hg) and Bismuth(Bi) (1.4km) street to find their next clue. We later learn from interviews that the clue also says that teams must bring all parts of the kangaroo costume to the pit stop.

It is a small town so after the first teams have passed all locals know where the crazy Americans should go. But even so we learn that both Kent and Christina knows their periodic table.

On the way Margie loses her foot cover. They realize this and have to go back to find it. While going back the meet a bunch of other teams and it turns out that Mel saw teh dropped foot and has brought it with him. That's nice of him, but bad race strategy.

Choice quotes:
 "I think I have found my Halloween costume", Zev
 "This is so ridiculous", Margie does not feel at home dressed as a kangaroo
 "Cord, what is Hg and Bi?", Jet
 "I don't know bro. You watch way more Discovery channel than I do", Cord
 "This is not the kind of animal I usually dress up as", former playmate Jamie
 "Both brains and beauty, go Kent", Jamie is impressed with Kent

Teams reach the clue box at Mercury and Bismuth in the following order:
  1(+0) Zev & Justin
  2(+5) Flight Time & Big Easy
  3(+5) Kisha & Jen
  4(-2) Margie & Luke
  5(-1) Mel & Mike
  6(-3) Kent & Vyxin
  7(-2) Jamie & Cara
  8(-2) Jet & Cord
  9(+0) Gary & Mallory
 10(+0) Ron & Christina, drive away as #11 reaches the clue box
 11(+0) Amanda & Kris

Route info:
Quote
Drive yourselves to the
next Pit Stop:
Junction Mine

Warning! The last Team
to arrive will be
eliminated

Continuing in their kangaroo suits teams must now drive themselves to Junction Mine (4km 0:09).

Teams left their bags in their cars while hopping around. And production drove the cars after the teams while jumping around as kangaroos. That way the cars where ready and waiting at the clue box when the teams had finished reading the clue.

Teams reach the pit stop in the following order:
   1(+0) Zev & Justin, win a trip to Cancun
   2(+0) Flight Time & Big Easy
   3(+5) Jet & Cord, seconds before #4
   4(-1) Kisha & Jen
   5(-1) Margie & Luke
   6(-1) Mel & Mike
   7(-1) Kent & Vyxin
   8(-1) Jamie & Cara
   9(+0) Gary & Mallory
  10(+0) Ron & Christina, about 5 minutes before #11
  11(+0) Amanda & Kris, are eliminated

Choice quotes:
 "Lets go win something Zev, and get to keep it this time", Justin thinks he knows where their passports are
 "Give us good news Bill", Ron forgets Phil's name

Ron & Christina initially worked with Gary & Mallory. But Ron was of the opinion that Mallory did not know where she was going so he and Christina took off in a different direction. Unfortunately for them Mallory did know where to go, and Ron & Christina did not.

Next week we are going to Japan. We get to see archery, mud and teams in a waterfall. And Jamie & Cara are involved in a traffic accident.
« Last Edit: March 10, 2011, 03:32:33 PM by maf »

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Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #2 is on page 1
« Reply #4 on: March 04, 2011, 10:10:36 AM »
We love your racing reports, maf! :hearts: :wohoo:
Physics alone is not enough.

Those who forget history are sure to repeat it.


Offline georgiapeach

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Re: Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #2 is on page 1
« Reply #5 on: March 04, 2011, 10:55:13 AM »
I LOVE the best quotes!! Thanks so much!!
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Offline redskevin88

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Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #2 is on page 1
« Reply #6 on: March 05, 2011, 01:24:54 AM »
Quote
"This is not the kind of animal I usually dress up as"

I'm confused

Offline kiki

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Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #2 is on page 1
« Reply #7 on: March 05, 2011, 01:37:58 AM »
Quote
"This is not the kind of animal I usually dress up as"

I'm confused

In the episode Jamie continues this phrase and says she usually dresses as a green bunny (Playboy Bunny? LOL)

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Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #3
« Reply #8 on: March 10, 2011, 03:31:51 PM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 18, Episode 3
Film date: 2010-11-23 - 2010-11-25

Any driving times given are calculated using the web and assumes no other traffic. Also most of the times I list the order of the teams I also list how many spots they have gained(+) or lost(-) since the last time the order was given.

The last episode ended with teams checking into the pit stop in Broken Hill in the Australian outback. During the pit stop teams are put on an overnight train to Sydney where they are released at the central station next day in the following order:

1.Zev & Justin          11:57       
2.Flight Time & Big Easy12:05(+0:08)
3.Jet & Cord            12:08(+0:11)
4.Kisha & Jen           12:09(+0:12)
5.Margie & Luke         12:10(+0:13)
6.Mel & Mike            12:14(+0:17)
7.Kent & Vyxin          12:16(+0:19)
8.Jamie & Cara          12:24(+0:27)
9.Gary & Mallory        12:26(+0:29)
10.Ron & Christina       12:28(+0:31)

Teams receive $607 for this leg of the race.

Route info: "Fly to Tokyo, Japan". Once they land they must make their way to a parking garage in central Tokyo where they will find their next clue.

Teams soon find out that there are two flight options. One direct Qantas flight which arrives at 06.15 and one Cathay Pacific flight via Hong Kong which lands at 06.00. Most teams agonize over which flight to take, is the extra risk of a connection worth 15 minutes. In the end teams split over the flights like this:

Via Hong Kong
 CX100 SYD-HKG 15:40-22:00 (actual arr 21:44)
 CX524 HKG-NRT 01:05-06:00 (actual arr 07:32)
  Kent & Vyxin
  Jamie & Cara
  Mel & Mike
  Margie & Luke
  Zev & Justin

Direct flight
 QF21 SYD-NRT 22:05-0615 (actual arr 06:13)
  Jet & Cord
  Kisha & Jen
  Ron & Christina
  Gary & Mallory
  Flight Time & Big Easy

While booking the flights we see Margie & Luke work together with Mel & Mike. Zev & Justin work together with Flight Time and Big Easy, when they finally make up their minds there is only room for one team on the Cathay flight. Flight Time & Big Easy give that to Zev & Justin and are thus even (Zev & Justin helped them with the pass phrase in episode 1).

At the airport we see Mallory asking Margie & Luke and Mel & Mike which flight they are on. But they are not saying, and awkward moment ensues.

We also learn that Christina was recently engaged to Azaria whom she met during season 12 (where he competed together with his sister).

Choice quotes:
 "He's a pale little urban cowboy", Vyxin comments on Kent's adorable cowboy hat
 "What is 15 minutes really, in the long haul", Justin
 "Sir, can you give us the same booking", Gary arrives at the counter as Jet & Cord leave
 "If we can have those extra 15 minutes it will make a big difference for us because we are not the fastest team", Mike

The Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong does encounter technical problems and is delayed for 90 minutes, so the direct flight teams arrive first. We see that it takes them just under 30 minutes to disembark and pass through customs

Once teams arrive at Narita they are magically whiskered to the downtown parking garage (i.e. we are not shown how, 80km 1:13) where they pick up their cars in the following order:
   1. Gary & Mallory
   2. Flight Time & Big Easy (probably just before 08:10)
   3. Kisha & Jen
   4. Ron & Christina
   5. Jet & Cord
And about an hour later
   6. Margie & Luke
   7. Mel & Mike
   8. Kent & Vyxin
   9. Jamie & Cara
  10. Zev & Justin

Route info: "Get out of town... Ask the garage attendant for a car". Teams must now retrieve their cars from the carousel parking garage and then drive to the town of Kamakoura (60km 1:15) and find the Yabusame Dojo at the Tsuruoka Hachiman Gu Shrine.

A lot of the teams make jokes about the garage looking like a giant vending machine.

Navigating is a major hurdle here. Initially the last 5 teams follow each other (as agreed), but after a while Margie & Luke and Mel & Mike break away from the pack.

From the previews we knew that Jamie & Cara had a car accident. It turned out to consists of them breaking he mirror of another car in downtown Tokyo. Although not really serious the other owner insisted on calling the police so they lost a lot of time.

Choice quotes:
 "Big Easy, hi hi, he looks like Fred Flintstone", Gary when seeing Big Easy driving a rather small car
 "I don't have a map, we are following you", Big Easy follows Gary & Mallory
 "She told us to go here, so we may be screwed by her ineptitude", Ron does not like to get directions from locals
 "Come on Ferrari, come on Porsche", Justin tries to influence what kind of car they get
 "We guess we are going the right way", The Cowboys are lost

Teams arrive at the Dojo in the following order:
   1(+3) Ron & Christina
   2(-1) Gary & Mallory
   3(-1) Flight Time & Big Easy
   4(-1) Kisha & Jen
   5(+5) Zev & Justin
   6(-2) Kent & Vyxin
   7(+0) Mel & Mike
   8(-2) Margie & Luke
   9(-4) Jet & Cord
  10(-1) Jamie & Cara

Road block: "Who wants to go back a 1000 years in time". In this road block teams must perform a Yabusame ritual. One team member must dress as a samurai, then learn and perform a ritual. Once the master has approved they must sit up on a rotating wooden horse and hit a target with bow and arrow. It turns out that hitting the target is pretty easy, only Jamie is shown having problems with it. But the ritual is a lot tougher and many players have to try multiple times before they are approved.

Teams complete the roadblock in the following order (* denotes team member performing the road block, and the numbers how many roadblocks each team member have performed):
1(+3)Kisha & Jen*           (1-1)
2(+3)Zev & Justin*          (0-2)
3(-1)Gary* & Mallory        (1-1)
4(-1)Flight time* & Big Easy(2-0)
5(-4)Ron* & Christina       (1-1)
6(+2)Margie & Luke*         (1-1)
7(+2)Jet & Cord*            (1-1)
8(-2)Kent* & Vyxin          (1-1)
9(-2)Mel & Mike*            (1-1)
10(+0)Jamie* & Cara          (1-1)

Zev & Justin are putting up a fairly impressive performance. Here they have passed all but one teams from the first flight.

Choice quotes:
 "I was born a thousand years ago", Gary feels old
 "This outfit feels wonderful", Kent loves dressing up
 "Holy cow, everybody's here but us", Cord realize they suck at navigating
 "It's a lot harder than it should be", Mike
 "Hopefully a comeback in the making", Jamie & Cara still have hope

Route info: "Drive yourself to the Minamiashigara area". Once there teams should look for the Daiyuzan Station and locate the Kintarō Statue (51km 1:26), where they will find their next clue (and a pair of adorable kids with Japanese flags). Teams reach this in the following order:
  1(+1) Zev & Justin, together with #2
  2(+1) Gary & Mallory
  3(+1) Flight Time & Big Easy, just after #1 & #3
  4(+1) Ron & Christina, seconds after #3
  5(-4) Kisha & Jen
  6(+0) Margie & Luke
  7(+0) Jet & Cord
  8(+0) Kent & Vyxin
  9(+0) Mel & Mike
 10(+0) Jamie & Cara, as it starts to get dark

Quote
Detour: Prayer Of Purity or
Frog Of Luck

Prayer Of Purity: Following
the guidance of a Master,
perform a Japanese
purification prayer and then
fully cleanse your soul to
receive the next clue.

Frog Of Luck: Search within
a marked parcel of land for
a figurine of a Japanese
good luck frog. When you
find one, bring it to the
Grand Master to receive the
next clue.

In Prayer of Purity (9km 0:23) teams take part in a Shinto religious cleansing ritual. They must put on a traditional wardrobe and learn a prayer which is both vocal and physical. Then they must stand under a waterfall for 1 minute. The water is about 45 degrees F (7C) cold. From the interviews afterward we learn that this detour can not be performed when it's dark.

In Frog of Luck (5km 0:14) teams put on a provided outfit, which looks like a big diaper, and enter a big mud pit. Then, as onlookers pelt them with mud, teams search for a buried frog which is a symbol of luck in Japan.

Choice quotes:
 "Are We about to get super dirty?", Zev is suiting up for the mud pit
 "Don't tell me this is all we're wearing'", Gary
 "It looked like we were really skinny sumo wrestlers", Zev
 "Let's find this frog, and eat its legs for luck", Zev again
 "It's not my first time in a pit of mud", Mallory is dirty
 "I want my mama right now", Big Easy has just finished the waterfall
 "We had a lot of evil spirits apparently", Christina
 "He needs to be muddy", Kisha tells Jen to hug the Grand Master
 "I kept listening for the brrrp, live frogs jump at any time", Cord
 "Frogs weren't alive. Did you know that?", Cord realize the frog was not real AFTER they found it (Jet knew)
 "Somehow, my makeup still held up.", Kent has his priorities
 "It was cold, were you cold?", Kent, who froze at the detour, to Vyxin
 "No, because I was working really hard", Vyxin seems to think she did most of the work, and she did find the frog

Teams complete the detour in the following order:
  1(+0) Zev & Justin, luck
  2(+0) Gary & Mallory, luck
  3(+0) Flight Time & Big Easy, purity
  4(+0) Ron & Christina, purity
  5(+0) Kisha & Jen, luck
  6(+1) Jet & Cord, luck
  7(+1) Kent & Vyxin, luck
  8(-2) Margie & Luke, luck
  9(+1) Jamie & Cara, luck
  DNF   Mel & Mike, luck

When receiving their next clue after the mud pit almost none of the teams can resist the temptation to dirty down the Grand Master. Team members wash each other off with a hose (rather cold though) before changing into their regular clothes.

To make the mud pit even more dirty it seems that Kisha had a wardrobe malfunction while searching. She doesn't even notice at first, but the producers helpfully blurs strategic parts of the picture.

Mel & Mike had a hard time and after searching for almost an hour Mike gets Mel to come out of the pit for a short break. But when they want to go back in again they are stopped by the doctor, they both have hypothermia and are not allowed to continue.

After the waterfall Big Easy accidentally picks up Christina's fanny pack. They later realize that they took the wrong one and leave it in the men's changing room, where Ron eventually finds it. But Ron & Christina looses some time looking for it and eventually the Globetrotters are awarded a 30 minute time penalty for this.

Route info: "Drive yourself to Kurihama in Yokosuka." Once there teams must find the monument commemorating the landing of Commodore Perry (96km 2:00). This monument is the pit stop for this leg of the race. Teams reach it in the following order:
 1(+0) Zev & Justin, win a trip to Costa Rica
 2(+0) Gary & Mallory
 3(+0) Flight Time & Big Easy, but receive a 30 minute penalty so end up as team #5
 4(+0) Ron & Christina, become #3
 5(+0) Kisha & Jen, become #4
 6(+0) Jet & Cord
 7(+0) Kent & Vyxin
 8(+0) Margie & Luke
 9(+0) Jamie & Cara
 10    Mel & Mike, are eliminated

Judging by the light it seems Jamie & Cara reach the detour clue box as Zev & Justin reaches the pit stop. This means that they are at least 2 hours behind.

Choice quotes:
 "If a guy gets out of his car in his underwear and asks for directions in the States you run the other way. Here they don't even bat an eye", Justin did not take time to dress properly after the detour
 "You are the last team to arrive and have been eliminated", Jamie & Cara in chorus at the pit stop, they think they know what Phils is about to say
 "I think we are growing closer together than we've ever been", Mel about him and Mike

Next week we get to see Zev having problems, Ron reverting to his former self and Kent & Vyxin are directionally challenged.

Offline maf

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Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #4
« Reply #9 on: March 18, 2011, 11:18:51 AM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 18, Episode 4
Film date: 2010-11-26 - 2010-11-28

Any driving times given are calculated using the web and assumes no other traffic. Also most of the times I list the order of the teams I also list how many spots they have gained(+) or lost(-) since the last order was given.

The teams are released from the pit stop at Commodore Perry's landing in the following order:

1.Zev & Justin          20:44       
2.Gary & Mallory        21:29(+0:45)
3.Ron & Christina       21:38(+0:54)
4.Kisha & Jen           21:50(+1:06)
5.Flight Time & Big Easy22:01(+1:17)
6.Jet & Cord            22:34(+1:50)
7.Kent & Vyxin          23:33(+2:49)
8.Margie & Luke         23:52(+3:08)
9.Jamie & Cara          00:42(+3:58)

Route info: "Make your way to the city of Lijiang, China". Once there teams must make their way to Jade Dragon Mountain where they will find their next clue. Teams are provided with tickets for flights from Tokyo to Kunming and must use these tickets. They are then free to arrange their own transportation from Kunming to Lijiang.

The first step is to drive to Narita (135km 2:20). There is plenty of time since the flight leaves at 09:50 the next morning.

Choice quotes:
 "There's a lot of people in China, I'm not a people person", Zev
 "Both my dad and I have been to Lijiang already", Christina thinks they have an advantage
 "I do apologize for that", Jen apologizes for calling Luke a bitch in China during season 14
 "Everything's backwards here", Jet is still not used to cars with right hand steering
 "Our theme for today is PMA. Positive Mental Attitude", Kent & Vyxin, BEFORE the leg
 "So much for PMA", Vyxin a few minutes into the race
 "This is just the most stupid day ever", Vyxin when they are finally ready to drive away form the pit stop

Kent & Vyxin have no shortage of problems. First they have trouble finding their car. Then they have trouble getting into their car, and to top it off Vyxin make a major navigational blunder so they miss the airport. They are so lost that they miss the mandatory flight, which is:
  NQ909 NRT-HKG 09:51-13:55
  HX247 HKG-KMG 17:05-19:17

Choice quotes:
 "The million dollar question right now is where is Kent & Vyxin?", Justin at the airport
 "I don't understand where anything is", Vyxin tries to navigate
 "Well, I'm bad at directions", Vyxin takes the blame
 "Bye bye Amazing Race", Vyxin is convinced they will be eliminated

At 09.22, that is 30 minutes before the flight leaves, Vyxin realize they are heading in the wrong direction. And have been doing so for at least an hour. Once they realize this things starts to go better so they eventually arrive at Narita and find another flight via Seoul:
  OZ103  NRT-ICN 15:30-17:56
  MU2004 ICN-KMG 22:10-01:35

The first eight teams spend their time in Hong Kong to research how to reach Lijiang from Kunming. They all decide to take the train. Once they arrive in Kunming there is a mad dash to the train station.

Ron and Christina reach the station at 20.13 and catch the first train which leaves at 20:50 with arrival at 05:38.

The other teams (except Kent & Vyxin who are in Seoul at the moment) almost make it (we see teams trying to buy tickets at 20:47). But they have to take a later train (K9606) which leaves at 22:16 and arrives at 06:33.

Choice quotes:
 "Knowing that Kent & Vyxin are not on this train and not in China, makes this hard sleeper a little softer", Justin

Once in Lijiang teams make their way to jade Dragon Mountain. Ron feels a little peckish so they make a quick pit stop to get some local food. This starts a theme for this episode.

At the Jade Dragon mountain teams will be transported by marked buses to the next clue. The transfers starts at 08.00 so the first eight teams all comfortably make the first bus.

Kent & Vyxin have now arrived in Kunming and have found a flight to Lijiang.
  MU5951 KMG-LJG 07:01-07:43
At the airport Vyxin forgets her passport at the check in desk, but they realize it in time to recover it.

As Kent & Vyxin are in a cab to the mountain we see the other teams reach the first clue  box (at an elevation of 10629' = 3240m):

Route info: "Yak Yak Yak, saddle a Yak". Teams must properly saddle one Yak. Then one team member must ride it across the river to get their next clue. They reach it in the following order:
 1. Jamie
 2. Margie
 3. Cord
 4. Mallory
 5. Ron
 6. Zev
 7. Kisha
 8. Flight Time or Big Easy (not shown, but they are in the pack with the others)
 9. Vyxin

Choice quotes:
 "We weren't Yakking around, we got it done", Jet & Cord
 "This altitude is no joke, I almost just blacked out", Margie

Route info, "Exit the valley. Ride the gondola to the station at the top", teams must now ride a gondola up the mountain and find Spruce meadow (at 14783' = 4506m) where their next clue awaits.

Road block: "Who thinks they are living a charmed life?"

The actual task is described as:
Quote
Search among tens of
thousands of Good Luck
Charms for the ones
depicting the animals of
the Chinese Zodiac.
When you have gathered
all 12 charms and
mounted them on their
display, you will receive
the next clue.

And this time we actually get to see the additional info as well:
Quote
Additional Information Sheet

  • You must collect one charm for each of the 12 symbols of the
    Chinese Zodiac.
  • A marked Zodiac Display is here for reference.
  • You may not jump the fences and search the meadows.
  • If you choose two of the same charms, you MUST make best efforts
    to put the duplicate charm back where you found it.
  • Choose an empty Zodiac Display in the gazebo and claim it.
  • Hang the charms you collect on your display. You may hang the
    charms while you work wherever you find the, but[/b] to receive your
    next clue the charms must ultimately be hanging in the correct order.
  • The non-participating Team Member must wait in the designated area.

Teams complete the road block in the following order:
1.Gary & Mallory*        (1-2)
2.Ron & Christina*       (1-2)
3.Margie & Luke*         (1-2)
4.Jet & Cord*            (1-2)
5.Flight time & Big Easy*(2-1)
6.Jamie & Cara*          (1-2)
7.Kisha & Jen*           (1-2)
8.Zev* & Justin          (1-2)
9.Kent & Vyxin*          (1-2)

Choice quotes:
 "I know it in Chinese", Christina knows the zodiac by heart
 "Rooster? *making rooster sounds*", Cord tries to get an onlooker to help searching
 "Zev, you gotta move quicker than you're moving", Justin is feeling the heat after everybody but the Goths have left the road block
 "Did you just see Kent & Vyxin?[", Jet & Cord spot Kent & Vyxin going up in the gondola while they are going down
 "We hope Kent & Vyxin are way back somewhere", Justin, just before they arrive
 "You might be good at this, Charms are like puzzles", Kent know his weaknesses
 "So the flight you took was not the flight you were supposed to take", Justin sums it up for Kent
 "Now I'm starting to panic a little bit", Justin is nervous
 "That little pink Kitten is trying her best", Kent hops for a miracle

At the road block Zev is having lots of problems. First he can't find all animals and then he can't figure out how to hang them satisfactory. We get to see many nos from the judge. They are still there after the other teams have left. They are still there when Kent & Vyxin arrives. Unfortunately for the Goths Vyxin also has a meltdown when doing the roadblock so they do not manage to pass Zev & Justin.

Route info, teams must now go back down on the gondola. Then locate the marked buses and ride to old town Lijiang where they will get their next clue next to an ancient prayer wheel at the "Selling Grass Place".

Ron & Christina jump into some sort of electric cart instead of a bus, and takes a while to realize their mistake. Once they do Ron looses it. He starts screaming, Christina jumps out to catch a passing bus and Ron starts throwing stones after it. Flight Time & Big Easy who are on that bus tell their driver to stop so Ron & Christina can hop on.

Teams reach this clue box at the 'Selling Grass Place' in the following order:
 1. Margie & Luke, meet #2 at the wheel
 2. Gary & Mallory (probably at 10:25)
 3. Ron & Christina, meets #4 & #5 at the wheel
 4. Flight Time & Big Easy (probably at 11:20)
 5. Jet & Cord
 6. Kisha & Jen
 7. Jamie & Cara
 8. Zev & Justin
 ?. Kent & Vyxin, not shown reaching this task

Route info
Quote
What's your sign?

Now that you are intimate
with the Chinese Zodiac,
each of you must figure
out which sign you are.
Each of you should then
write a wish on a piece
of paper and deposit it
into the proper slot on
the golder prayer wheel.
When you do, you will
receive your next clue.

Note: You must verbally
announce your sign as
you place the wish in
the slot!

Flight Time & Big Easy are the only ones having problems with this task. After many false tries they figure out that they are Dragon & Rooster and get their next clue.

Choice quotes:
 "First of all I wished I new what my Zodiac sign was", Flight Time

Teams get their next clue in the following order:
 1(+0) Margie & Luke
 2(+0) Gary & Mallory
 3(+0) Ron & Christina
 4(+1) Jet & Cord
 5(+1) Kisha & Jen
 6(+1) Jamie & Cara
 7(-3) Flight Time & Big Easy
 8(+0) Zev & Justin
 ?.    Kent & Vyxin, not shown

Quote
Detour: Horn or Hammer

Horn: Carrying a ceremonial
Chinese horn, lead a
procession of dancers
through the streets to
Wencheng Palace to
receive your next clue.

Hammer: Using wooden
mallets, hammer molten
candy into its proper form.
When the candy maker is
satisfied with your work, you
will receive the next clue.

Note: You should eventually
take a box of the candy with
you and deliver it to Phil at
the Pit Stop.

Choice quotes:
 "Can I get some white yogurt?", Ron is feeling hungry again
 "No, after the task", but Christina is not tolerating anything
 "I need to pay my dues, making some candy for a change after all the candy I have eaten", Mallory
 "Wow, this is good stuff", Ron can abstain from tasting the candy
 "Stop eating and get dressed, you can eat at the pit stop", Christina is tired of her father snacking all the time
 "It's not going that well, we are not all that convinced we are heading in the right direction", Justin

Teams complete the detour in the following order:
 1(+0) Margie & Luke, hammer
 2(+0) Gary & Mallory, hammer
 3(+1) Jet & Cord, hammer
 4(+1) Kisha & Jen, hammer
 5(-2) Ron & Christina, hammer
 ?  Flight Time & Big Easy, horn
 ?  Jamie & Cara, starts horn but switches to hammer
 Zev & Justin, start horn and are not shown completing
 Kent & Vyxin, does not reach the detour

Route info: "Make your way to the top of Lion hill". At the top of the hill they will find the Eternal tower where the Pit Stop is located. Teams reach this in the following order:
 1(+0) Margie & Luke, win a trip to Aruba
 2(+1) Jet & Cord
 3(-1) Gary & Mallory
 4(+1) Ron & Christina
 5(-1) Kisha & Jen
 6(??) Flight Time & Big Easy
 7(??) Jamie & Cara
  Zev & Justin, do not reach it before the end of the episode
  Kent & Vyxin, do not reach it before the end of the episode

But there is no rest for the teams. This is another fake Pit Stop and teams get a new clue from Phil.

Choice quotes:
 "You can enjoy that after the race, but right now you are still racing", Phil
 "You don't know what I want to say right now", Margie, who looks exhausted, to Phil
 "Sweet", Cord
 "Awww, nuts", Mallory

To compound their problems, Kent & Vyxin are not only last but in the bust to Lijiang they realize they forgot the fanny pack in the gondola. This has their passports and all money so it is kind of important.


Offline georgiapeach

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Re: Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #4 is on page 1
« Reply #10 on: March 25, 2011, 01:40:54 PM »
LOVE LOVE LOVE these!! Thanks so much for doing them!!!
RFF's Golden Rule:
Have RESPECT for each other, regardless of opinion. This of course includes no flaming/insulting other users and/or their posts.

Offline maf

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Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #5
« Reply #11 on: March 25, 2011, 02:58:28 PM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 18, Episode 5
Film date: 2010-11-28 - 2010-11-29

Any driving times given are calculated using the web and assumes no other traffic. Also when I list the order of the teams I usually also list how many spots they have gained(+) or lost(-) since the last place team order was given.

The episode starts with shots of Kent & Vyxin who realize they forgot their fanny pack in the gondola. They try to make their bus turn around and to back to fetch it.

In the meantime Zev & Justin check in at the "fake" Pit Stop, and now finally we get to hear what the next clue says:

Route info: "Travel by train to Kunming China... WARNING! A double U-turn will appear somewhere on this leg of the race". Teams must now travel back to Kunming, once there they have to travel to Dounan flower market where they'll search for the next clue.

Meanwhile Kent & Vyxin are back at the gondola and are told that their bag may be at the top station. It turns out that luck is smiling at them since the bag is sitting with the staff at the top station of the gondola. When they finally get to the detour they select hammer. When they reach Phil they are very relieved to learn that they are still racing. But Phil tells them they will get a 30 minutes penalty at the next Pit Stop for not taking the mandatory flight out of Japan.

Choice quotes:
 "You are still in the race, as a matter of fact you are still racing right now", Phil to Zev & Justin
 "We know what happens on the Amazing Race if you loose your passport", Vyxin
 "Seriously, there's like some kind of screw loose up here in our minds", Vyxin tries to explain their lapses
 "Hammer, I don't want to have to navigate", Vyxin selects detour
 "We are definitely not going to let any other team know anything about this penalty", Kent & Vyxin wants to keep quiet to avoid beeing U-turned

Margie & Luke who are first get to the train station at 12:01 and learn that the next train leaves at 19.05. So it is bunching time. While waiting on the train some teams (Jet & Cord, Kisha & Jen and the Globetrotters) decide to play some basketball with the ball the Globetrotters are lugging around. Jamie & Cara show off their cheer-leading skills and spirits are high. Flight Time & Big Easy get to show off that they really are professional basketball players.

Then Zev & Justin show up and tell people that Kent & Vyxin are on their way. This dampens the mood. And we can't really say that anybody is happy when the Goths finally show up.

Kent & Vyxin decide to lie about the upcoming penalty. They feel that if teams knew they would surely be targeted with an U-turn. They also do not say they got lost but instead lie and say their car broke down.

Choice quotes:
 "Oh, my gravy. Here come Kent and Vyxin", Big Easy does a cowboy impersonation
 "It was funny: Hi how are you, what's your penalty?", Kent describes the welcome they got

All teams are bunched on the same train leaving at 19.05 which arrives in Kunming the next morning at 05.30. Teams jump into taxis and eventually find the clue box at the flower market (20km 0:24) in the following order:
 1. Kisha & Jen
 2. Zev & Justin
 3. Ron & Christina
 4. Margie & Luke
 5. Jamie & Cara
 6. Kent & Vyxin
 7. Jet & Cord (the clock is now 06.00)
 8. Gary & Mallory
 9. Flight Time & Big Easy

Choice quotes:
 "Speaking Chinese we have home court advantage right now, Christina

Route info: "Make your way to the golden arches and search for your next clue". Teams must now travel by taxi to the Golden Horse and Jade Cock memorial arches (22km 0:30).

Outside the flower market Jet & Cord take the last waiting taxi. It was not theirs, but they did ask their cab to wait. This creates a problem for the Globetrotters who have to find a new cab.

Choice quotes:
 "I don't think it's the McDonald's Cord", Jet found some golden arches

Teams reach the clue box at the arches in the following order:
 1(+2) Ron & Christina
 2(+0) Zev & Justin
 3(+1) Margie & Luke
 4(-3) Kisha & Jen
 5(+4) Flight Time & Big Easy
 6(-1) Jamie & Cara
 7(-1) Kent & Vyxin
 8(+0) Gary & Mallory
 9(-2) Jet & Cord

Detour: "Honor the past or embrace the future"

In honor the past teams must watch a traditional Tibetan performance. Without taking any notes they must then go into another room and place a set of 15 dolls, representing the characters in the show, in the same order they appeared on stage.

In embrace the future teams must offload a solar water heater from a truck, carry it up to the roof of a building and assemble it. Actually teams just have to carry three large boxes of tubes to the roof and place them in an already erected frame.

Teams complete their detours in the following order:
 1(+1) Zev & Justin (past)
 2(+2) Kisha & Jen (past)
 3(-2) Ron & Christina (past)
 4(-1) Margie & Luke (future)
 5(+1) Jamie & Cara (future)
 6(+3) Jet & Cord (future)
 7(-1) Kent & Vyxin (future)
 8(+0) Gary & Mallory (past)
 9(-4) Flight Time & Big Easy (future), reached the detour after 07:18

Once done with their detour choice teams get a new clue:
Quote
Make your way to the
place pictured in the
enclosed photo.

Caution! Double U-Turn
Ahead.

The photo turns out to show the Chinese minority heritage center, where the double U-turn sign awaits.

Zev & Justin and Kisha & Jen have trouble communicating with their taxi drivers so when Ron & Christina turn up they just follow them. Unfortunately for them the driver takes them to the Kunming Cultural Center instead of the Yunnan Province Cultural center (4km 0:10) where the U-turn is. They loose some time through this.

Teams reach the U-turn in the following order:
 1(+3) Margie & Luke
 2(+4) Jet & Cord
 3(+4) Kent & Vyxin, U-turn Jamie & Cara right on front of them
 4(+1) Jamie & Cara, U-turn Flight Time & Big Easy
 5(-4) Zev & Justin
 6(+2) Gary & Mallory
 7(-5) Kisha & Jen
 8(-5) Ron & Christina
 9(+0) Flight Time & Big Easy

Choice quotes:
 "Ehhh, I'm in trouble here", Justin have seen the performers and must now remember the order
 "I never played with dolls", Ron
 "Kent go. This isn't rocket science, just walk", Vyxin wants Kent to speed up while carrying solar tubes up the stairs
 "Should we tell them? Yeah", Jet & Cord decide to tell Kent & Vyxin where the U-turn is

Kent & Vyxin reaches the U-turn sign seconds before Jamie & Cara. Jamie & Cara tries to get them to U-turn the Globetrotters, but Kent & Vyxin decide to U-turn a team they know 100% is behind them (as opposed to season 12 where they wasted the U-turn on a team in front of them), that is Jamie & Cara. But this is a double U-turn and there is a spot left so Jamie & Cara use this to U-turn the Globetrotters.

Choice quotes:
 "Globes, Globes - they're the strongest", Jamie & Care tries to influence Kent & Vyxin at the U-turn
 "I'm very frustrated that Kent & Vyxin U-turned us, but we can totally overcome this", Jamie

The U-turned teams complete their second detour in the following order:
 10. Jamie & Cara (past), complete this before the Globetrotters arrive
 11. Flight Time & Big Easy (past)

Once teams get past the U-turn sign they get a new clue: Route info: "Make your way to the Stone Forest" (93km 1:10). Here teams will find their next clue.

Teams have a hard time to get their Taxi drivers to understand where it is so a number of teams are bunched up close to the U-turn. Kisha & Jen are lucky to have a driver who speaks English and knows where it is. The other teams quickly jump into their cabs to follow them.

Margie & Luke stop at a hotel and call somebody who speaks English who can then tell their driver.

On the way to the Stone forest Jamie & Cara's driver stop for gas, that is not good for their blood pressure.

Zev & Justin have trouble communicating with their Taxi driver so they are not going to the right place. Gary & Mallory are following them so they are also lost. But eventually it seems as if Justin succeeds in making a charade with a stone and a tree to get their driver to understand where they need to go.

Teams arrive at the stone forest clue box in the following order:
 1(+6) Kisha & Jen
 2(+6) Ron & Christina
 3(-2) Margie & Luke
 4(+3) Kent & Vyxin
 5(+1) Jet & Cord
 6(+3) Flight Time & Big Easy
 7(-3) Jamie & Cara
 8(-3) Zev & Justin
 9(-3) Gary & Mallory

Road Block: "Who's ready for a task 65 million years in the making?". In this challenge one team member must put together a 20ft replica of a Dilophosaurus. This is a wooden dinosaur skeleton model (~40 pieces) just like the only you can buy as 3D puzzles, but much larger. There is one poster nearby which teams can use for reference.

All teams are at the road block at the same time so as more and more teams complete the road block the pressure builds for the remaining teams.

Choice quotes:
 "That was just a bunch of nonsense", Ron about Vyxin's explanation why they lied about their penalty earlier
 "I love you", Vyxin encourages Kent at the road block
 "They key was to get the hips on correctly. If the hips were not wedged in correctly you were basically toast", Christina
 "That's one piece I hope I don't have to take out", Jet comments on the fact that some pieces fit very tightly
 "I know this is right, I know it", Kent is sure of himself as we hear omnious sound effects and the camera zooms in on his mistake
 "I went back and checked the little diagram more than anybody", Jet had a different strategy
 "Jamie, you are doing great", Cara is encouraging
 "Leave me alone for now", But Jamie is not receptive
 "...my wonderful creation, all the way apart", Kent has spotted the problem and has to disassemble his dinosaur to fix it
 "Sure noisy", Cara comments on the sounds the Globetrotters do when they manage to complete the dinosaur
 "And then there were three", Cara feels the pressure
 "Now I think we definitely are doomed", Cara as Zev & Justin are done and Jamie has realized she must disassemble her dinosaur to flip a piece around

Teams complete the road block in the following order:
1(+8)Gary* & Mallory        (2-2)Used the Express Pass
2(+3)Jet* & Cord            (2-2)
3(+0)Margie* & Luke         (2-2)
4(-3)Kisha* & Jen           (2-2)
5(-1)Kent* & Vyxin          (2-2)
6(+0)Flight time & Big Easy*(2-2)
7(-5)Ron & Christina*       (1-3)
8(+0)Zev & Justin*          (1-3)
9(-2)Jamie* & Cara          (2-2)

When Gary & Mallory arrived at the dig site and saw they were building something complicated and that they were last they decided to use the express pass. They could then skip this task and get the next clue directly. For this they feel they should be first at the Pit Stop. Unfortunately for them their cab driver has left so while they are trying to find a new cab they are passed by Jet & Cord.

Route info: "Make your way to the next Pit Stop in Green Lake Park" (90km 1:11). Teams reach the Pit Stop in the following order:
 1(+1) Jet & Cord, win $5000 each
 2(-1) Gary & Mallory
 3(+0) Margie & Luke
 4(+1) Kent & Vyxin, but have a 30 minute penalty so they are eventually checked in as #5
 5(-1) Kisha & Jen, but are cheked in as #4
 6(+0) Flight Time & Big Easy
 7(+0) Ron & Christina, win a footrace against #8
 8(+0) Zev & Justin
 9(+0) Jamie & Cara, are eliminated

Next week we are going to India and there will be lots of people and tea.

Offline apskip

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Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #5 is on page 1
« Reply #12 on: March 26, 2011, 08:09:14 AM »
maf,
Another fabulous report. Please take a look at the Roadblock count you have for Gary/Mallory. In the #4 leg report you listed the split as Mallory 1/Gary 2 and in leg 5 they avoided the ROADBLOCK by using their Express Pass. That leaves their count at 1/2 as best I can tell.

Offline maf

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Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #5 is on page 1
« Reply #13 on: March 26, 2011, 09:01:23 AM »
maf,
Another fabulous report. Please take a look at the Roadblock count you have for Gary/Mallory. In the #4 leg report you listed the split as Mallory 1/Gary 2 and in leg 5 they avoided the ROADBLOCK by using their Express Pass. That leaves their count at 1/2 as best I can tell.

I think this is a bit unclear, how do you count an aborted road block? We clearly hear that Gary says that he will be doing it. So they have at least read the clue and committed who should do it. So you could argue that they have at least started. But then they bailed out before actually touching any of the pieces.

It would have been interesting to know what TPTB think about this and if it counts towards the roadblock count or not. It would have been even more interesting to get a look on the actual race-rules:-)

I could not really decide if this road block should count or not but in the end I came do on the side that it should. But I could change if a lot of people think that I should.

Offline redskevin88

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Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #5 is on page 1
« Reply #14 on: March 27, 2011, 07:07:52 AM »
maf,
Another fabulous report. Please take a look at the Roadblock count you have for Gary/Mallory. In the #4 leg report you listed the split as Mallory 1/Gary 2 and in leg 5 they avoided the ROADBLOCK by using their Express Pass. That leaves their count at 1/2 as best I can tell.

If you count as roadblocks completed, yes it is 1-2. But if you count is as roadblocks attempted, the roadblock count is 2-2. According to Wiki, the official stance is that Gary did the roadblock.

Offline maf

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Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #6
« Reply #15 on: April 02, 2011, 04:43:57 PM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 18, Episode 6
Film date: 2010-11-29 - 2010-11-30

Any driving times given are calculated using the web and assumes no other traffic. Also when I list the order of the teams I usually also list how many spots they have gained(+) or lost(-) since the last place team order was given.

Teams depart from the Pit Stop in Green Lake Park in the following order:
1.Jet & Cord            14:14       
2.Gary & Mallory        14:16(+0:02)
3.Margie & Luke         14:48(+0:32)
4.Kisha & Jen           15:43(+1:29)
5.Kent & Vyxin          15:52(+1:38)
6.Flight Time & Big Easy15:59(+1:45)
7.Ron & Christina       16:09(+1:55)
8.Zev & Justin          16:10(+1:56)

Route info: "It's Tea time". Teams must now make their way to Jin Fu Yi Zhan Tea Shop where they will take part in a traditional tea tasting. That is they get to taste a tea. What they do not know is that the Papaya-Mango tea they are tasting will appear again later in the race. Once teams have completed the tasting they will receive a brick of tea and their next clue.

Choice quotes:
 "Oh, we're staying in China", Mallory sounds disappointed
 "No, we're staying in China", Luke's reaction is fairly close
 "More China?", Zev & Justin

Jet & Cord have a little trouble finding the tea shop and are passed by Gary & Mallory. But the rest of the teams seem to have no problems finding it.

Choice quotes:
 "Do we have to take our hats off for this?", Cord at the tea tasting
 "That was pointless", Zev didn't see the point of the tea tasting

Route info:
Quote
Fly to one of the major
stops on the ancient Tea
Horse Route:
Kolkata, India!

When you land, make
your way to Town Hall to
receive your next clue.

Note #1: Town Hall is
located near the High
Court.

Note #2: You should
bring your brick of tea
with you.

All teams travel on the same flight form Kunming to Kolkata. More exactly:
 MU555 KMG-CCU 11:55-11:50 (the time difference is 2.5h)

Once they land is the customary mad dash for the taxis. Once in the taxis it really dawns to teams how many people there are around, even though it is midnight. Teams then encourage their drivers to drive fast so it is a race to Town Hall (16km 0:28).

Choice quotes:
 "Why are there so many people?", Zev
 "I already love India", Mallory seems to like crowds
 "Calcrazy", Zev thinks it is a bit crowded and intense
 "That place was packed, and it's one o clock in the morning", Jen was surprised by the crowds at the airport
 "I'm pretty sure it is the Globetrotters 'cause they can't sit with their heads straight up", Cord guesses who is in the small taxi in front of them
 "I think we are driving on the train tracks", Luke
 "We just almost got hit by a truck", Christina find the drive a bit too exciting

Once teams arrive at Town Hall they find that it opens at 10.00 the next morning. Gary & Mallory arrive as team #5 and when they get out of the taxi the teams already there starts yelling "Run, run, sign in, sign in". Mallory, Gary and Margie & Luke start running like scolded rats for a while before it dawns to them that they have been had. But they take it in good mood and much laughter ensues.

In the morning teams get to see the city wake up before the gates open at 10. There is yet another mad dash in to the clue box:

Road Block: "Who's ready to drink in the scenery". Team members must first pick up one papaya and one mango from a table and bring them along with their brick of tea to the tea auctioneer. They must then find the tea with the same flavor they drank in China among hundreds of cups of tea. When they do they will receive a bottle of iced tea, with the next clue hidden under the cap, from the auctioneer.

In interviews racers stated that there were 1500 cups. But the judge's list contains 10 numbers between 90 and 954, so it seems more probable that there were about 1000 cups.

This road block is a giant product placement for the main sponsor of this season. It is also a really hard task since teams must drink all tea in each cup they present to the judge.

Choice quotes:
 "Oh my goodness", Mallory sees the tea table
 "I bring you Papaya and I brink you Mango", Kent delivers his fruit
 "Here homey", Flight Time is slightly less formal when delivering his fruits
 "The waif(?) of the mango did come through", Ron smelled his way to the correct tea
 "Just grab one and go", Big Easy yells the finer points of a strategy to Flight Time
 "I had no clue what the tea tasted like", Zev pays for his inattention earlier in the leg
 "The only system I had to start with was picking them out by sight, after about my sixth or seventh bowl I thought, maybe I should just smell them", Jet found a good strategy
 "I'm full", Luke is not having a good day
 "Zev is wearing his tea drinking pajamas. Doesn't seem to be helping though", Justin
 "This is hard, hard, hard", Luke is having a hard^3 time
 "Good luck Margie", Justin wishes the remaining teams good luck when Zev found it

Teams complete the Road Block in the following order:
1.Ron* & Christina       (2-3)At 10:07
2.Jet* & Cord            (3-2)At 10:10
3.Kisha* & Jen           (3-2)
4.Kent* & Vyxin          (3-2)
5.Gary & Mallory*        (2-3)
6.Zev* & Justin          (2-3)
7.Flight Time* & Big Easy(3-2)
8.Margie & Luke*         (2-3)

Ron smelled his way to the correct tea and it seems he got in on the first try. Other teams were not so lucky. According to interviews Flight Time took around 3 hours and Luke close to 4 hours to find the correct tea.

The clue under the cap reads:
Quote
Go to the Jorashanko
area & find
Thakur Bari. Deliver
your bottle to
Tiwari Tea Stall.

Kisha and Jen had trouble with the clue. They did not open the bottle but instead tried to find the factory making this drink. They found somebody who knew where that was and luckily for them that was close to the tea stall they really need to go to. So when the finally got a clue and opened the bottle they were relatively close.

Ron & Christina have Taxi trouble and think their driver is lost. At 10.58 the decide to cut their losses and change to another Taxi.

Teams reach the Tiwari tea stall (3km 0:07) in the following order:
 1(+3) Kent & Vyxin
 2(+3) Gary & Mallory
 3(-2) Ron & Christina
 4(-1) Kisha & Jen
 5(-3) Jet & Cord, after 11.10
 6(+0) Zev & Justin
 7(+0) Flight Time & Big Easy
 8(+0) Margie & Luke

Detour: "Hindu Art or Bengali Literature"

In Hindu Art teams make their way to a statuary shop (Raku Paul & Sons, 2km 0:06). Once there they must paint, dress and adorn a statue of a Hindu god called Ganesha. The task is not made any simpler by the fact that the producers have placed a few musicians, who play loudly, right next to the statues.

In Bengali Literature teams make their way to Dey's Publishing (2km 0:04), a book store, where they will be give eight stacks of children books. Then they have to squeeze themselves and the books into the back of a rickshaw school bus. Once inside they must direct their driver through the congested streets of Kolkata to a School, Victoria institution (College) (1km), where they must deliver the books to the headmistress.

Choice quotes:
 "I feel like a monkey in a circus parade", Gary gets the title of this episode
 "It was perfect for us", Kent liked the fact that they should paint the statues pink
 "I have these ear plugs, but they are not helping much", Ron does not like the music
 "That's easy for you to say, good grief", The old Ron is back for a short while
 "We had to paint on eye brows which looked a whole lot like ours. It was kind of like us getting ready in the morning", Kent
 "You think she's pregnant or do you think she just have a gut?", Christina wonder about the goddess they are decorating

While the first teams are starting the detour we get to visit the Globetrotters and Margie & Luke who are still stuck at the road block. We learn that the Globetrotters have made a pact that they should not give up any task this season (as they did in their first season). So Flight Time keep drinking tea, and eventually it pays off and they find the correct cup.

But Luke is having a really hard time and has to continue for another hour before he finally find the correct cup. Towards the end the staff is standing around him in anticipation, there are encouraging applauses and when he finally finally get it they try to hoist him up on their shoulders. It was a quite touching moment.

Teams complete the detour in the following order:
 1(+1) Gary & Mallory (books), at 12.40
 2(-1) Kent & Vyxin (art)
 3(+1) Kisha & Jen (art)
 4(-1) Ron & Christina (art)
 5(+1) Zev & Justin (books)
 6(-4) Jet & Cord (books)
 7(+0) Flight Time & Big Easy (art), after 15.00
 8(+0) Margie & Luke (art)

Route info: "Make your way to the fountain of joy". Teams must now make their way to the fountain of joy, near the Victoria memorial, and search the area for the next Pit Stop. Teams arrive in the following order:

 1(+0 Gary & Mallory, win and Indian feast with entertainment and 1000000 rupee (more than $20000)
 2(+4) Jet & Cord, at 13:55, seconds before #3
 3(+1) Ron & Christina, a few more seconds before #4
 4(+1) Zev & Justin, a minute or two before #5
 5(-3) Kent & Vyxin
 6(-3) Kisha & Jen
 7(+0) Flight Time & Big Easy, at 15.40
 8(+0) Margie & Luke, are eliminated

Kent & Vyxin arrives as the previous three teams are "enjoying" their sponsored drinks, and have no idea which place the are at (a fear of last place shines in their eyes). Phil asks Jet to tell them, and he says they are #4, which is wrong, they are actually #5.

We now get to see the final two teams battling it out at the statue decorating task. But the Globetrotters have a big lead so even if Flight Time kicks a bucket of paint and they have to redo part of the statue they finish before Margie & Luke. Flight Time takes time to give Margie & Luke a hug before they leave. He knows they are likely to be last and eliminated. Gestures like this are really encouraging to watch.

The producers try to create drama by showing how hard a time the Globetrotters have to find a Taxi, but in the end they do get to the Pit Stop before Margie & Luke. According to the exit interview Margie & Luke completed the detour about 15 minutes after the Globetrotters.

Choice quotes:
 "I had to stop and give them a hug, just respect for not giving up", Flight Time
 "That was so sweet of them to do that", Margie appreciated it

Next week Kisha and Jen will throw **** on a wall and Zev is bothered by the constant noise in Varanasi, India.

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Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #6 is on page 1
« Reply #16 on: April 03, 2011, 01:17:49 PM »
One observation I have is that the Bengali Literature DETOUR was much quicker than HINDU ART. Teams that left the ROADBLOCK #2, #5 and #6 arrived at the pit stop #1, #2 and #4. I know there were 2 transportation legs in addition to the DETOUR in between, but slow Kolkata traffic was probably about an equal impediment for all teams.

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Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #7
« Reply #17 on: April 16, 2011, 07:14:15 AM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 18, Episode 7
Film date: 2011-12-02 - 2011-12-03

Any driving times given are calculated using the web and assumes no other traffic. Also when I list the order of the teams I usually also list how many spots they have gained(+) or lost(-) since the last place team order was given.

First there is the usual recap of the last leg. Then we get some product placement as we see Gary & Mallory enjoy the feast they won in the last leg.

Teams depart from the Pit Stop in Kolkata in the following order:
1.Gary & Mallory        13:18       
2.Jet & Cord            13:52(+0:34)
3.Ron & Christina       13:53(+0:35)
4.Zev & Justin          13:54(+0:36)
5.Kent & Vyxin          13:55(+0:37)
6.Kisha & Jen           14:03(+0:45)
7.Flight Time & Big Easy15:45(+2:27)

Route info: "Fly to the city of Varanasi". When teams arrive they must make their way to a specific Tonga stand where they will find their next clue.

In the taxi to the airport Jet & Cord say that their goal is to avoid making mistakes. And the last few legs have been successful so they hope they can keep their momentum going.

Choice quotes:
 "India is a little too much for me", Zev feel overwhelmed

When Gary & Mallory arrive at the airport as team #1 they buy tickets on Kingfisher with arrival the next day at 10:45. We realize from the way the caption points out that they are on the Kingfisher flight that some team will be on another flight. Kent & Vyxin are the only team who stops at a travel agency to book tickets, but they also end up on the Kingfisher flight.

The only teams opting for another flight is Jet & Cord who book a flight which arrives at 11:45. Their mistake was to walk up to a Jet Airways counter and asking for the fastest flight to Varanasi. The clerk there sold them their fastest Jet airways flight.

From sightings it seems most teams went on different flights to Delhi and then spent the night there. The next morning six teams assemble by the Kingfisher flight and all wonder where Jet & Cord are. They eventually board and travel to Varansi by:
  IT231 DEL-VNS 09:30-10:45

Meanwhile Jet & Cord are also getting worried that they do not see any other teams. Eventually they check the monitors and discover the earlier flight. But it is to late for them to make it. So they have to travel on their Jet airways flight:
  9W723 DEL-VNS 10:30-11:45

Everybody on the first flight wonder how Jet & Cord could have missed it. And so do I, how could they make such a basic error?

Choice quotes:
 "So, if nobody else gets on this flight it means they are all ahead of us", Cord
 "It's gonna be a looong day", Jet

When teams arrive in Varanasi the show degenerates into the usual taxi race. Eventually teams reach the clue box at the Tonga stand in the following order:
 1. Kent & Vyxin
 2. Flight Time & Big Easy
 3. Kisha & Jen
 4. Gary & Mallory
 5. Ron & Christina
 6. Zev & Justin
And significantly later (but there are still three teams left)
 7. Jet & Cord, at 13:40

Choice quotes:
 "When you push the gas then horn blows in India", Flight Time thinks the drivers honk too much
 "These streets are totally wild. There's like cars, motorcycles, tractors, cows, lions, tigers and bears", Vyxin thinks the streets are crowded

Road Block: "Who's ready to search for the meaning of life?". Using pictures for reference team members must search for six Sadhu's (holy men) who will each hand them a clue. When they arrange the clues in the correct order the meaning of life will be revealed (Once you're over the hill you pick up speed). They must then find the a last Sadhu and tell him the meaning of life to receive their next clue.

Different teams work together at various times during the road block. Gary and Kent worked together for a while, but once they got the last piece of the puzzle Kent bolted for the final Sadhu (who he had found earlier). When Kent got back to fetch Vyxin Mallory asked were her dad was. Kent gave an evasive answer, but Mallory correctly guessed what had transpired.

Jet & Cord arrive dead last at the detour when the first three teams are already done. But they have not given up and Cord takes off in search of the Sadhu's like he's on fire. So we get to see shots of Cord running down the street and finding Sadhus, and then we switch over to Ron who is aimlessly wandering along the waterfront looking for the right Sadhu's. It kind of feels like the hare and tortoise.

Choice quotes:
 "Times square has got nothing on the Tonga stand intersection, it was insanity", Kent was impressed by the bustle
 "The holy men, they looked like anorectic Santa Claus", Justin
 "My strategy right now is to follow Gary, he seems to know what he is doing", Kent
 "I don't like this place", Varanasi is a bit too much for Zev
 "We see cowboy hats bobbing over the crowds, and I think all three of us girls were concerned", Vyxin and the other racers are concerned about the efficient cowboys
 "Howdy howdy", Cord greets one of the holy men
 "You don't get paid unless you win", Cord explains bull riding and why they don't give up
 "I might have to go further up or further down, I'm not sure", Ron can at least be sure of one thing, he's lost

Teams complete the Road Block in the following order:
1(+2)Kisha & Jen*           (3-3)
2(+4)Zev & Justin*          (2-4)
3(-1)Flight Time & Big Easy*(3-3)
4(-3)Kent* & Vyxin          (4-2)
5(-1)Gary* & Mallory        (3-3)
6(+1)Jet & Cord*            (3-3)at 14:15
7(-2)Ron* & Christina       (3-3)

Route info:
Quote
Namaste!

Make your way to the
Swaminath Akhara near
Tulsi Ghat.
Teams must now make their way to a wrestling and strength conditioning club. There they will find their next clue.

On the way to the club one of the cameras run into the rear end of a cow. Much hilarity ensues.

Choice quotes:
 "Keep wearin' yourselves out, guys. We'll be there in a minute.", Cord thinks they will have to wrestle the club wrestlers

Teams reach this club in the following order:
 1(+1) Zev & Justin
 2(+1) Flight Time & Big Easy, seconds after #1
 3(-2) Kisha & Jen
 4(+0) Kent & Vyxin
 5(+0) Gary & Mallory
 6(+0) Jet & Cord (around 14:30)
 7(+0) Ron & Christina

Quote
Detour: Feed the Fire or
Feed the Buffalo

Feed the Fire: Help to
prepare fuel for a
traditional stove. Then
light the stove and put
on a pot of milk for the
local children to receive
the next clue.

Feed the Buffalo:
Working together, carry
bales of hay to the home
of a Milk Farmer, who
will give you the next
clue.

In Feed the Fire teams travel by boat down the Ganges and the follow a marked path to the home of a local milk man. Once there they must make 50 traditional fuel patties out of buffalo manure and then slap them onto a wall to dry. Finally they have to load a stove with patties and light it. Production are providing plastic gloves for the teams which choose this option.

In Feed the Buffalo teams cross the Ganges and pick up a large load of hay. Then they must cross the river again and carry their hay through the narrow streets to the address attached to their bundle.

Choice quotes:
 "I think fuel definitely has somethin' to do with manure", Kisha & Jen realize what the detour option is about
 "We thought we knew India from Calcutta, this is so much different", Mallory upon seeing funeral pyres at the Ganges
 "Varanasi is like another planet. I have never seen anything like it, but I'm glad we saw it", Mallory enjoys the experience
 "The crap you do for a million dollars", Jen is kneading manure
 "Vyxin, I can't keep up with you", Kent is tired
 "Cow manure, seems like that is my Amazing Race Theme", Mallory fondly remembers a roadblock from her previous season
 "This is the exact same outfit I wore standing in that pile of cow manure in Russia", Mallory revels in memories
 "This outfit will go into trash after this. Because I know the next time I wear this, cow manure will be involved", Mallory again, perhaps those memories weren't so rosy after all
 "I was worried about not putting on deodorant this morning, Ha ha", Vyxin thinks she will smell of cow manure after the detour

Zev & Justin and the Globetrotters encounter a live road block while delivering hay. In one of the narrow alleys the encounter a herd of buffalo. They eventually manage to squeeze through, but not without the buffalo extracting a toll from the hay they are carrying.

The lady judging the patties teams make in fire is quite harsh, but at least she shows which patties are not good enough.

Teams complete the detour in the following order:
 1(+0) Zev & Justin (buffalo)
 2(+0) Flight Time & Big Easy (buffalo), before 14:36
 3(-1) Kisha & Jen (fire)
 4(+0) Kent & Vyxin (fire)
 5(+0) Gary & Mallory (fire)
 6(+0) Jet & Cord (buffalo)
 7(+0) Ron & Christina (buffalo)

The next clue is a picture of a doorway with the caption "Pit Stop: Ramnagar fort".

Kent & Vyxin follow the advice of some locals and hop onto a boat. But there is some discussions between the driver and some other guy so the boat stops a couple of meters from shore. Vyxin decides they have to go off so she jumps into the water and tows them to land. That is brave, or stupid, considering how polluted the water is. They decide to take a Taxi instead.

Choice quotes:
 "Trying to go from last to first baby", Flight Time has hopes
 "It's really scary, we don't know the whereabouts of Ron & Christina", Kent is nervous on the way to the Pit Stop.

At the end it comes down to a race between Kent & Vyxin in a Tuk-Tuk and Ron & Christina in a water taxi. Or at least that is how it is cut. We do not know how far apart these teams really were.

Teams reach the pit stop in the following order:
 1(+1) Flight Time & Big Easy, win a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii
 2(-1) Zev & Justin
 3(+0) Kisha & Jen
 4(+1) Gary & Mallory
 5(+1) Jet & Cord
 6(-2) Kent & Vyxin
 7(+0) Ron & Christina, are eliminated

Finally I must say that I very much like the band aid Big Easy has on his head. It's flesh colored and thus virtually invisible. Or at least would have been if he were a bit whiter:-) As it is right now it kind of stands out.

Next week we'll be in Vienna and there will be lots of Schnitzel and a couch.

Offline apskip

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Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #7 is on page 1
« Reply #18 on: April 17, 2011, 04:20:42 PM »
"Everybody on the first flight wonder how Jet & Cord could have missed it. And so do I, how could they make such a basic error?" There is an easy answer to that: trust. Jet and Cord did not ask the right questions and they got stuck on the later Jet Airways/Jet Airways flight combination rather than the Kingfisher/Jet Airways combination that all other teams got.

The most egregious example of this was the finale of AR6, where Kris and Jon arrived at Honolulu International Airport first, but failed to properly question the American Airlines customer service person on which flight arrived in Chicago first rather than which one was the fastest. They lost to Kendra and Freddie solely for that reason.
 
« Last Edit: April 17, 2011, 04:50:36 PM by apskip »

Offline redskevin88

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Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #7 is on page 1
« Reply #19 on: April 17, 2011, 07:52:10 PM »
travel agents are up there with used car and insurance salesmen in terms of honesty...


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Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #7 is on page 1
« Reply #20 on: April 18, 2011, 03:10:16 PM »
travel agents are up there with used car and insurance salesmen in terms of honesty...
As a former travel agent, I take offense at your absurd remark. Travel agents are honest, decent citizens just like other people. How knowledgeable they are about specific point-to-point city pairs and alternative routes determines how successful they can be. Some travel agents know more and work harder. Just hope that you get the privilege in the future of utilizing travel agents are in the more knowledgeable category.

Offline maf

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Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #8
« Reply #21 on: April 26, 2011, 03:42:49 PM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 18, Episode 8
Film date: 2011-12-05 - 2011-12-06

Any driving times given are calculated using the web and assumes no other traffic. Also when I list the order of the teams I usually also list how many spots they have gained(+) or lost(-) since the last place team order was given.

First there is the usual recap of the last leg. We see that Jet & Cord dug themselves into a hole at the start by booking a later flight.

Teams depart from the Pit Stop in Varanasi in the following order:
1.Flight Time & Big Easy02:07       
2.Zev & Justin          02:12(+0:05)
3.Kisha & Jen           02:53(+0:46)
4.Gary & Mallory        03:30(+1:23)
5.Jet & Cord            03:35(+1:28)
6.Kent & Vyxin          03:44(+1:37)

Route info: "Fly to Vienna Austria". Once teams land they will choose a brand new product placed car where they will get their next clue. From the team conversations we also learn that they must go to one of a number of listed travel agencies to get their tickets.

Choice quotes:
 "Rats", Mallory upon finding out that Vienna will be a cold place
 "We kind of dodged the bullet the last leg, but I'm not sure we can do that again", Jet realize they have to stop making mistakes
 "We are done plying cowboys and Indians", Jet make a bad joke about getting out of India
 "Lets just get this booked, let them concentrate and not bicker in from of others. It's... really tacky", Vyxin wants Kent to stop bickering
 "We are lone ranges again", The cowboys realize they are the only ones on the later flight

It turns out that there are two ways to reach Vienna. The safe choice is through Delhi and a slightly faster, but with more connections, is through Delhi and Mumbai.

In the end every team but one go for the faster but riskier flights. These work out so they land in Vienna at 05:34.

The lone team which will land after the others is yet again the Cowboys who land at 06.09.

When they land teams rush to a garage where they reach their cars and find the clue in the following order:
 1. Kent & Vyxin
 2. Zev & Justin
 3. Kisha & Jen
 4. Gary & Mallory
 5. Flight Time & Big Easy
 6. Jet & Cord

Route info: "Get into gear, climb into the *gratitious product placement* car and Phil will tell you what you need to know". In the car Phil is on a video screen telling them to put the car into reverse. Once they do the backup camera will activate and let them see where they need to go next. He also tells them that the winners of this leg will receive a car like this, each.

The next clue is written out in letters on the floor behind the cars. It simply reads "Schloss Schallaburg". Teams must now drive there (111km 1:17) and search for their next clue. The only team having trouble with this is Gary & Mallory who dig into the navigation system rather than backing up. But eventually they also figure it out and get going.

Most of the teams select to stop at the same gas-station and ask the same gentleman to show them where the castle they need to go to is.

Teams reach the castle in the following order:
 1(+1) Zev & Justin
 2(+1) Kisha & Jen, a couple of minutes after #1
 3(-2) Kent & Vyxin, seconds after #2
 4(+1) Flight Time & Big Easy
 5(+0) Gary & Mallory, a couple of minutes after #4
 6(+0) Jet & Cord

At the castle they are welcomed by a girl dressed as a medieval maiden. She gives them a big book opened on the first page where it reads:

Quote
BITTE BRINGEN SIE DIESES BUCH ZURÜCK ZU
Librarian
Prunksaal
Österreichische
National Bibliothek
Wien

The first line translates to "Please return this book to". So teams must now drive to the national library in Vienna (84km 1:06)

Choice quotes:
 "We didn't have to do much there, just grab a big book from a chick from Harry Potter", Justin
 "There is no way there is anybody behind us", The cowboys know they are last
 "Go into problem solving mode and just not like... emotional mean blaming mode", Vyxin gets irritated with Kent
 "Wow, this is a beautiful library", Mallory is impressed by the baroque library

Teams find the librarian in the following order:
 1(+0) Zev & Justin
 2(+0) Kisha & Jen
 3(+2) Gary & Mallory, minutes before #4 and #5
 4(+0) Flight Time & Big Easy
 5(-2) Kent & Vyxin
 6(+0) Jet & Cord

Quote
Detour: Long Hard Walk or
Quick And Easy Meal

Long Hard Walk: Make your
way to the Freud Museum,
which was once the home of
psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud.
Then, working together, move
an analyst's couch
approximately 1 mile to the
Marietta-Blau-Saal in the Main
building on the University of
Vienna. Once delivered you'll
receive your next clue.

Quick And Easy Meal: Make
your way to the Wiener
Riesenrad. Once there pick up
two Viernese meals and enter a
marked dining car. To receive
your next clue, finish the meals
during one rotation of the Ferris
wheel (approximately 12
minutes).

Teams may not drive to the detour locations. The meal is ~3km from the library and the Freud museum is ~2km away.

Three teams try the quick and easy meal, which turns out to be a big Wienerschnitzel and a large piece of Sachertorte. But nobody manages to finish their part of the meal in the allotted time. So they all switch to the other detour.

Choice quotes:
 "Bet that'll be the biggest wiener I'll ever eat", Jen
 "There's no try, there's only do right now", Justin feels the pressure
 "I want to talk with the manager", Zev was not happy with the amount of food they had to eat
 "That was a disaster", Justin after failing the quick and easy meal
 "Fantastic, delicious", Justin a minute later on a question from Mallory on how the meal was
 "I just guess he enjoyed Couches", Flight Time speculates on Freud and couches
 "It's okay, it doesn't say anything about keeping it clean", Kisha & Jen are careless with their couch
 "That was like the first light at the end of the tunnel", Jet & Cord finally spot another team
 "That was not fun, that was terrible", The Globetrotters did not enjoy the detour
 "That sucked", Justin did not either
 "It's affecting me when you are being so negative", Vyxin bites back at Kent (who does whine a lot)

Teams eventually finish the detour in the following order:
 1(+3) Flight Time & Big Easy (walk)
 2(+3) Kent & Vyxin (walk)
 4(-2) Kisha & Jen (meal and walk), just after Kent & Vyxin
 4(+2) Jet & Cord (walk)
 5(-4) Zev & Justin (meal and walk)
 6(-3) Gary & Mallory (meal and walk)

Route info:
Quote
Drive yourselves to the
city of Salzburg. Once
there, find your next clue
outside Sternbräu at
Griesgasse 23-25.

Part of the additional info reads:
Quote
* Return to your cars at the Österrichische...

* When you arrive in Salzburg, you should...
  ... on the Münzgasse.

Once in Salzburg (299km 3:19) they must find a restaurant where they will get their next clue.

Choice quotes:
 "That's the cowboys, I see the hats", Justin catches up to Jet & Cord on the freeway
 "I can not deal with your fricking psycho behavior", Vyxin continues to argue with Kent

Teams reach the restaurant in the following order:
 1(+0) Flight Time & Big Easy
 2(+3) Zev & Justin
 3(+1) Kisha & Jen
 4(-2) Kent & Vyxin
 5(-1) Jet & Cord
 6(+0) Gary & Mallory

Road block: "Who's feeling lucky as lucky can be?" One team member must dress in a chimney sweeper's uniform, climb to the roof and then use a specially weighed tool to clean one chimney pipe (3 times down and up). Once done they head to the cellar, open a small hatch (and duck for the spring loaded mechanism flinging soot at them) to retrieve the next clue.

Choice quotes:
 "I'm cleaning out for Santa Claus", Big Easy
 "Seriously heavy, I feel like I'm lifting weights", Kisha finds the work hard
 "Chicks dig it?", Cord puts on the uniform
 "I think I might have found a new calling already, chimney sweeping", Cord likes his new uniform

Teams complete the Road Block in the following order:
1(+0)Flight Time & Big Easy*(3-4)
2(+0)Zev* & Justin          (3-4)
3(+1)Kent & Vyxin*          (4-3)
4(-1)Kisha* & Jen           (4-3)Seconds after #3
5(+0)Jet & Cord*            (3-4)At around 15:20
6(+0)Gary* & Mallory        (4-3)

Route info:
Quote
Drive yourselves to the
next Pit Stop
The Villa Trapp.

Warning! The last Team
to check in may be
eliminated'

Teams must now drive (4km 0:10) themselves to the real home of the Von Trapp family which was immortalized by the film The Sound of music.

Choice quotes:
 "Let's not get lost", Zev
 "We're actually freakishly close", Vyxin has a way with words
 "These guys whipped your ass today, by at least 3 seconds", Phil to Jet & Cord after Kisha & Jen won the race to the mat

Teams eventually reach the Pit Stop in the following order:
 1(+1) Zev & Justin, each win a car from the sponsor
 2(-1) Flight Time & Big Easy
 3(+0) Kent & Vyxin
 4(+0) Kisha & Jen
 5(+0) Jet & Cord
 6(+0) Gary & Mallory, are saved by a non-elimination

Next week there will be taxi troubles, measuring of Lichtenstein and lots of cheese.
« Last Edit: April 27, 2011, 12:29:26 PM by maf »

Offline maf

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Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #9
« Reply #22 on: May 01, 2011, 01:14:33 PM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 18, Episode 9
Film date: 2011-12-07

First there is the usual recap of the last leg. Gary & Mallory were last but were saved by a non-elimination. Which means they face a speed-bump in this leg. We also get some product placement when Zev & Justin inspect their prices from last leg.

Teams depart from the Pit Stop in Salzburg in the following order:
1.Zev & Justin          03:14       
2.Flight Time & Big Easy03:25(+0:11)
3.Kent & Vyxin          03:39(+0:25)
4.Kisha & Jen           03:49(+0:35)
5.Jet & Cord            03:50(+0:36)
6.Gary & Mallory        04:36(+1:22)

Route info: "Make your way to Liechtenstein". Teams must now travel by train to Feldkirch and then cross the border into Liechtenstein at Schaanwald. Teams will find their next clue just inside the border. There is also a warning that a double U-turn will appear somewhere on this leg.

Choice quotes:
 "We've won more legs than anybody so our confidence is sky high right now", Justin feels good
 "We've been kind of bickering like bratty little kids", Kent realize they have not shown stellar performances lately
 "We're just going to play it positive and it will be a great day', Kent & Vyxin, who already tried that in Japan (and failed miserably)
 "I don't know if we are outcasts, but there sure hasn't been anybody just buddying up with us", Jet feels they are not really part of the group
 "Linkstenschein", Mallory tries to pronounce Liechtenstein

All teams make the same train from Salzburg to Feldkirch. Once there we get the usual mad dash for the taxis. Teams settle into their taxis in the following order:
 1. Jet & Cord
 2. Gary & Mallory
 3. Flight Time & Big Easy
 4. Kisha & Jen
 5. Zev & Justin
 6. Kent & Vyxin

But settling into a cab is only half the problem. The next half is to make the driver understand where to go, and to get him starting. Gary & Mallory have problems with the latter and get frustrated when their driver starts fiddling with his GPS (anybody remember the driver in the finale of S17? He had a GPS:-).

Choice quotes:
 "Don't worry, we are good American people", Zev reassures a taxi driver that they are not terrorists
 "Go go go go go go go, (steadily rising and accelerating voice) Mallory is stressed due to a slow driver
 "It's crazy what I do", Zev & Justin's Taxi driver makes some interesting maneuvers

Teams reach the border crossing and the next clue box in the following order:
 1(+4) Zev & Justin
 2(+1) Flight Time & Big Easy
 3(+1) Kisha & Jen
 4(-3) Jet & Cord
 5(+1) Kent & Vyxin
 6(-4) Gary & Mallory

Road block: "Who's ready to give a measured response?". In this road block one team member must ride a motorized bicycle, aka Solex. With this, a provided map and an odometer teams must measure the entire length of Liechtenstein (22km). Once done team members must present their guess to Marco Büchel (with six Olympic skiing gold medals). If their guess is correct he will direct them to the next clue at the Gutenberg castle. If they are wrong them must ride back and measure again.

This is also where Gary & Mallory encounter their speed bump. They need to figure out how much gas to add to a tank to achieve the proper mixture ratio of 25/1 (gas/oil) for their bike. Once the mechanic approves of their calculations they must add the gas and then fill up one of the bikes, which one team member then will use for the road block. They struggle a bit with the math (being stressed does not help) but fairly quickly figure out that they need to add 2l of gas to the tank. Which means that the can may have contained .08l of oil to start with. Or possibly .1l of oil and .5l of gas.

Choice quotes:
 "I haven't looked back because... looking back is a bad idea", Justin is not comfortable on his bike
 "I think I've got a 50/50 chance of getting this right", Jet knows it is hard
 "The map is pretty straightforward, but you do have to read it", Flight Time has an insight
 "For some reason, this doesn't make sense to me", Vyxin has trouble reading the map

Jen lost her map but encoutered Justin and worked together with him to find teh way.

Teams complete the road block in the following order:
1(+0)Zev & Justin*          (3-5)
2(+1)Kisha & Jen*           (4-4)Confirmed her count with Justin before submitting, but she already ha the correct answer
3(-1)Flight Time* & Big Easy(4-4)Asked Justin for the right answer (but was already close with a guess of 20)
4(+2)Gary* & Mallory        (5-3)Got told the answer by Flight Time
5(+0)Kent & Vyxin*          (4-4)
6(-2)Jet* & Cord            (4-4)Initially arrived as #3 but had the wrong answer (35km). Had to go back and try again, so they are about two hours behind

Route info: "Cross the alps". Teams must now travel by bus and train to Zermatt in Switzerland. When they arrive they must search the train station for their next clue. Teams travel by bus to Sargans and there catch different trains:

Train #1 carries:
  Zev & Justin
  Kisha & Jen
This probably was
 Sargans-Zürich 12:39-13:48
 Zürich-Visp    14:02-16:02
 Visp-Zermatt   16:25-17:34

Train #2 carries:
  Flight Time & Big Easy
  Kent & Vyxin
  Gary & Mallory
This probably was
 Sargans-Zürich 13:28-14:28
 Zürich-Bern    14:32-15:28
 Bern-Visp      15:34-16:31
 Visp-Zermatt   17:10-18:18

Train #3 carries:
  Jet & Cord
This probably was
 Sargans-Zürich 14:39-15:48
 Zürich-Visp    16:02-18:02
 Visp-Zermatt   18:10-19:14

Choice quotes:
 "Actually makes me more nervous because I know people are chasing me", Jen is not relaxed even though they are on the first train

Quote
Detour: Cheese or Wheeze

Cheese: Make your way to
a nearby restaurant and
share a pot of cheese
fondue. When you finish,
the Waiter will give you the
next clue.

Wheeze: Using wheeled
valet carts, transport
suitcases from the train
station to 5 different hotels.
When your deliveries are
finished, return to the train
station, where the Head
Porter will give you the next
clue.

In cheese teams make their way to the Walliserkanne restaurant and eat a large pot of hot cheese fondue. They have to eat everything "drippings on your plate must also be consumed".

In wheeze teams must deliver 20 pieces of luggage from a big pile at the station. Each bag is marked with a hotel and teams must visit at least five different hotels. Teams will get a tag for each correct delivery. Once they have 20 tags the head porter at the station will give them their next clue.

Choice quotes:
 "We're going to do cheese, I'm hungry", Justin
 "I don't think I can do this", Justin a few minutes into the meal
 "There's no question in my mind that the cowboys can make up time", Vyxin is scared of the cowboy's abilities
 "It doesn't taste that good, that's part of the problem", Justin has trouble with the cheese
 "Our hotel is kind of far", Kisha & Jen find that delivering is no walk in the park either
 "I'm not very FOuNDue of this fondue", Zev jokes
 "Try harder", Zev pushes Justin
 "I just puked", Justin to Kisha & Jen passing in the street below the restaurant
 "Beep beep. That's international language isn't it?" The cowboys run along with their luggage cart

Zev & Justin really struggle with the cheese. They almost switched detour at the start but kept going. This time it was Zev who did the most to devour the cheese.

Teams complete the detour in the following order:
 1. Zev & Justin (cheese), took 53 minutes to complete
 2. Kisha & Jen (started cheese but quickly switched to wheeze), completes as Jet & Cord start their delivery run
 3. Kent & Vyxin (wheeze)
 4. Gary & Mallory (wheeze)
 5. Flight Time & Big Easy (wheeze)
 6. Jet & Cord (wheeze)

Route info: "INDERBINEN BRUNNEN (fountain) at the Hinterdorf". Teams must now find this local fountain to find their next clue. This is also there the double U-turn sign is located. Teams reach it in the following order:
 1(+0) Zev & Justin
 2(+0) Kisha & Jen
 3(+0) Kent & Vyxin
 4(+0) Gary & Mallory
 5(+0) Flight Time & Big Easy, U-turns Jet & Cord
 6(+0) Jet & Cord

Choice quotes:
 "We don't wanna do it, but it is us or them. Sorry guys", The Globetrotters U-turns the cowboys

Jet & Cord are U-turned and have to go back to do the Cheese.

Choice quotes:
 "There's no way there is anybody behind us is it?", Jet
 "No", Cord dashes all hope
 "You'r joying for cheese?", Jet
 "Nope", Cord
 "Me neither", Jet

Route info: "Travel by electric taxi to the next Pit Stop". Moos Restaurant.

Choice quotes:
 "I might puke on Phil", Justin feels full after the cheese
 "We are just in it for the FUNdue of it", Zev can't stop making word plays on the delicious fondue
 
Teams reach the Pit Stop in the following order:
 1(+0) Zev & Justin, win a trip to Curazo
 2(+0) Kisha & Jen
 3(+0) Kent & Vyxin
 4(+0) Gary & Mallory
 5(+0) Flight Time & Big Easy
 6(+0) Jet & Cord, are eliminated

Jet & Cord went back to the cheese fondue. In the post race interviews we learn that they did not have to eat all the cheese but were handed the clue anyway. They we already pretty toast, and knew it.

Choice quotes:
 "I know they hit the nail on the head when they called this race amazing", Cord

Next week there will be tasks on the snow and making gnomes in a kitchen.

PS big thanks to askip who is the one who found the train times

Offline maf

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Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #10
« Reply #23 on: May 05, 2011, 01:21:55 PM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 18, Episode 10
Film date: 2011-12-08 or 09

First we have the usual recap. Teams helped each other out while measuring Liechtenstein, except for Jet who was left out in the cold. Jet & Cord fell behind and were unable to catch up despite a valiant effort.

Teams depart from the Pit Stop at Restaurant Moos in the following order:
1.Zev & Justin          06:54       
2.Kisha & Jen           07:02(+0:08)
3.Kent & Vyxin          08:00(+1:06)
4.Gary & Mallory        08:18(+1:24)
5.Flight Time & Big Easy08:43(+1:49)

Route info: "You are headed into the unknown". Teams must now make their way to the air rescue helicopter port and sign up for departures leaving at five minute intervals. They will receive their next clue just before takeoff. Teams receive $1 for this leg. At the heliport they also receive a large bag of extra clothing and safety gear they must put on before boarding the helicopter.

Choice quotes:
 "'You are headed into the unkown', that's comforting", Zev reads the clue
 "I'm not happy about this at all", Kisha does not look forward to riding a helicopter
 "We actually put on extra glitter today so we match the snow", Vyxin
 "Where can we go for one dollar?", Flight Time decides to splurge their allotted funds on a taxi (and enjoy a joke with the driver)

At the heliport the sign up reads:
Quote
  HELICOPTER
SIGN_UP SHEET

Helicopters will begin taking
off at approximately 9:15am
Weather permitting

Teams sign up in the following order:
 1(+0) Zev & Justin
 2(+0) Kisha & Jen
 3(+1) Gary & Mallory
 4(-1) Kent & Vyxin, had trouble finding a taxi
 5(+0) Flight Time & Big Easy

Choice quotes:
 "I think we're both pretty nervous", Justin does not know what is about to happen
 "It's about to be the best experience that you'll never get to have again", Jen encourages Kisha
 "We're going somewhere dangerous 'cuse we have a lot of safety gear on"", Mallory is positive (as usual)

Just before they enter the helicopter teams are given their next clue.

Quote
Detour: Search or
Rescue

Search: Using an
avalanche beacon, find a
rescue target buried in
the snow and then dig it
out

Rescue: Using
emergency equipment
rescue a stranded
mountaineer from 30'
down a crevasse.

In search teams must find and excavate a dummy in a large wind-swept snow field. The dummy is buried approximately 1 meter below the snow surface. It turns out that finding the correct spot to dig is fairly easy, it is the excavating which is the hard part.

In rescue one team member must rappel down into a 10 m deep crevasse, and connect the stranded mountaineer to a rescue line. Then their partner must hoist them up and finally they can work together to hoist the stranded mountaineer.

Both the tasks are very physical, and are not made any easier by the fact that they are performed in cold conditions fairly high up (think thin air). But the helicopter ride to the detour looked really awesome.

Choice quotes:
 "The Matterhorn was named after the Disneyland ride, pretty mind boggling", I sure hope Zev is joking here
 "It was awesome", The Globetrotters enjoyed the view
 "Stop Vyxin, stop, stop, stop...", Vyxin keeps lowering Kent deeper than needed into the crevasse (I would have been tempted to do the same)
 "We're going to save the body, but it might already be dead", Zev
 "She looks light, but she's kind of heavy", Kisha about Jen
 "I think he's gonna make it", Gary after excavating the dummy (which broke apart at the waist)
 "The altitude is killing my chest, I'm ready for some beaches and palm trees", Jen wants to go somewhere warmer

Teams complete the detour in the following order:
 1(+1) Kisha & Jen (rescue, Jen descended)
 2(+2) Kent & Vyxin (rescue, Kent descended)
 3(+2) Flight Time & Big Easy (rescue)
 4(-1) Gary & Mallory (search)
 5(-4) Zev & Justin (search)

Teams must now take their helicopter to a Riffelalp and then travel by train from there back down to Zermatt. Once there they must make their way to Le Petit Cervin where they'll find their next clue.

The first train which leaves at 11:08 carries:
  Kisha & Jen
  Kent & Vyxin
  Gary & Mallory
  Flight Time & Big Easy

The next train probably leaves at 11.32 and carries:
  Zev & Justin

Teams seem to have no problem finding the next clue at the Le Petit Cervin (270m), and it reads:

Quote
ROAD BLOCK

Who want to make a
new Friend?

Note: Zev must perform
this roadblock.

In this road block teams must make a gnome entirely of chocolate. Teams must paint the insides of a plastic mold with colored chocolate. Once approved the mold will be filled with hot chocolate. Teams must then bury it in snow for 30 minutes before opening the mold and apply any finishing touches. Once done they will receive the next clue:

The process is complicated and teams must place their molds in the freezer every now and then to make the chocolate set. This sets the scene for the big spat of this leg where Flight Time thinks somebody took half his mold from the freezer. It is impossible to say what happened form the provided footage, but the end result is that the Globetrotters and Kent & Vyxin are pretty mad at each other.

The team members not performing the road block must wait off to the side. The waiting is made easier by the nearby trays of chocolate which they nibble at.

The road block apparently took close to three hours to complete.

Choice quotes:
 "I want to eat that gnome", Mallory
 "So Jen works and I eat (chocolate)", Kisha enjoy the division of labour
 "I think there are too many cooks in the kitchen", Zev while Flight Time looks for his mold
 "Not your body, this body", The chocolatier tells Flight Time to shake the gnome, not his own hips
 "I like you better when you shut up", Jen (jokingly) to Big Easy
 "I think Big Easy was trying to be a Big Bully", Kent on the spat form his perspective

Teams complete the road block in the following order:
1.Kent & Vyxin*          (4-5)At 14:50
2.Flight Time* & Big Easy(5-4)
3.Kisha & Jen*           (4-5)
4.Gary & Mallory*        (5-4)
5.Zev* & Justin          (4-5)

The first four teams completed the road block very close together.

Quote
Make your way on foot to
the next Pit Stop.
Mittagsstadel and Mürini

Warning! The last Team
to check in may be
eliminated.

Teams must now make their way on foot to a Swiss cabin (1.2km) which is the pit stop of this leg. Most teams run for the local taxis to ask for directions. That is all except Kent & Vyxin who in a case of race-fatigue misses the "on foot" part of the clue and jumps into the taxi and ride to the pit stop.

Choice quotes:
 "They are about to get a bad penalty", Mallory sees Kent & Vyxin in the taxi
 "I'm nervous, and I don't think that this is correct", Vyxin feels that something is wrong in the cab

At the pit stop teams are enthusiastically greeted by the best greeter yet, a large St. Bernhard's dog complete with a keg around the neck. They arrive in the following order:
 1(+1) Flight Time & Big Easy, win a trip to the Cook islands
 2(+1) Kisha & Jen
 3(-2) Kent & Vyxin, receive a 30 minute penalty and are eventually eliminated
 4(+0) Gary & Mallory, check in as #3
 5(+0) Zev & Justin, arrive approximately 20 minutes after Kent & Vyxin and check in as #4

Next week there will be waxings and samba in Brazil

Offline maf

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Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #11
« Reply #24 on: May 21, 2011, 02:13:47 PM »
Sorry for the delay here. I have been out of town and real life(tm) has been kind of busy lately. But here it is finally:

Racing report
Amazing Race Season 18, Leg 11
Film date: 2011-12-10 - 2011-12-11

We start with an expose over what has happened earlier this season. We get to see which teams got eliminated. For the four remaining teams we get a flashback to how their original season ended for them and what happened to them in this season.

Last Pit Stop was at a small Swiss hut in Zermatt. Teams are however released from the train station in Zermatt in the following order:
1.Flight Time & Big Easy07:12       
2.Kisha & Jen           07:15(+0:03)
3.Gary & Mallory        07:18(+0:06)
4.Zev & Justin          07:31(+0:19)

Route info: "Make your way to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil". When they land teams will make their way to Carioca where they must board a tram and ride for 5 minutes. Then they must find Escadaria Selaron. Which is a world famous set of steps. There they must search for a tile resembling a route marker to receive their next clue.

All teams make the same train to Zürich which leaves at 07:39. At 11:18 the train arrives in the Zürich airport and Kisha & Jen starts running. Since all remaining teams are kind of competitive they also feel compelled to run. But not without some grumbling.

Choice quotes:
 "Aww, come on girls, Really?", Gary does not feel like running
 "Are we really gonna do this?", Flight Time shares his sentiments

Zev & Justin and the Globetrotters find a flight which arrives in Rio at 07:30 the next morning. Kisha & Jen and Gary & Mallory end up at a travel agency where they buy tickets with arrival in Rio at 17:40 the next day. While they sit there the Globetrotters walk in to check if they have found anything faster. Gary asks the Globetrotters if they have found anything better, and their poker-faces leave a lot to be desired. So both Kisha & Jen and Gary & Mallory realize there are better flights and start hunting.

Choice quotes:
 "I already sold some tickets to your colleague, I think", Airline representative to Justin, i.e. the teams stand out

All teams end up on the same flight. It is however very unclear exactly which flight this is.

On arrival there is the customary race to the Taxis. The taxis leave the Rio airport in the following order:
 1. Kisha & Jen
 2. Zev & Justin
 3. Flight Time & Big Easy
 4. Gary & Mallory

The Globetrotters get a slow cab so they arrive last at the Carioca Station (20km 0:28) where they need to board the Santa Teresa Tram. In fact they arrive about 6 minutes after the other teams and therefore they miss the first tram with about 1 minute. They have to wait 30 minutes for the next one.

Choice quotes:
 "What's meant to be is meant to be, and hey we had a good time", Big Easy is philosophical about missing the tram

At the stairs (300m) teams find route-marker tiles in the following order:
 1. Zev & Justin
 2. Gary & Mallory
 3. Kisha & Jen
And about 30 minutes later
 4. Flight Time & Big Easy

Quote
Make your way to
Largo de São Francisco da Prainha
and search for your next clue
near Rua Scadura Cabral.

Teams reach this clue box (4.7km 0:08) in the following order:
 1(+0) Zev & Justin
 2(+0) Gary & Mallory
 3(+0) Kisha & Jen
 4(+0) Flight Time & Big Easy

Road block: "Who's not afraid of shaking their boots", team members must dress up in a carnival costume and learn to dance the samba. They must then lead their personal samba troupe on a short parade. Finally they will receive the verdict from the local judge.

From interviews we learn that the clue also said which team members must perform this road block. Apparently team members must enter the final leg each with 5 performed road blocks.

Choice quotes:
 "This is so cool", Zev when he sees the Samba troupes
 "I'm not a good dancer at all, I hate dancing", Zev explains his performance
 "I've seen him dance, but not sober", Justin about Zev
 "I have danced for 22 years", Mallory felt this was her cup of tea

Teams complete the road block in the following order (and how many attempts we were shown):
1(+1)Gary & Mallory*        (5-5)On her first attempt
2(+1)Kisha* & Jen           (5-5)On her first attempt
3(-2)Zev* & Justin          (5-5)On his third try[/td[
4(+0)Flight Time & Big Easy*(5-5)On his second attempt

Route info, teams must now make their way to the Copacabana and find a specified salon (8.5km 0:12). Teams reach it in the following order:
 1(+0) Gary & Mallory
 2(+0) Kisha & Jen, arrive after #1 have left
 3(+1) Flight Time & Big Easy, arrive as #2 are being waxed
 4(-1) Zev & Justin, arrive as #3 are leaving (taxi trouble)

Route info: "Consider this the ultimate riperee", Here all team members must endure 15 minutes of Brazilian waxing. That is the staff removes as much hair form their body (arms, feet and chest) as they can during 15 minutes. That this is a very painful process is soon apparent from the team member's reactions.

Choice quotes:
 "I think this is going to be painful", Gary going into the waxing
 "Beauty knows no pain", Mallory
 "Oh my god, Dad think of Zev. I have never seen a hairier person than Zev & Justin", Mallory realize that this will be painful for Zev & Justin
 "Ouch", Kishas immediate reaction upon reading the clue
 "That's making me feel better", Kisha upon hearing the Globetrotters in pain
 "Zev, these challenges were not made for us today", Justin is getting waxed
 "What's the penalty for knocking her out cold?", Justin feels like hitting the girl waxing him

Since the time spent on this is fixed the team order is unchanged as teams get their next clue.

Detour: "On the Rocks or On the beach".

In on the rocks teams make their way to a local bar where they must learn to make the most popular drink in Brazil, the Caipirinha. When they have made 100 acceptable drinks they will get their next clue.

In on the beach teams make their way to Copacabana beach and pick up an umbrella decked out with bikini tops and a portable changing room. They must then sell enough bikini-tops to earn 100 reals (~$60). The catch is that they must get each customer to change into their new top.

Both detour options are on the beach nearby.

The first three teams all choose rocks. From interviews we later learn that Zev & Justin initially also went there. But when they arrived and saw that all other teams had a significant lead the realized that their only chance was the other side of the detour. Unfortunately for them they did not manage to get any girl to buy and model (the latter part was a deal breaker) a new bikini. So they had to go back to mixing drinks, now even further behind.

Gary & Mallory start making drinks at 11:45. They quickly learn that they must add the ingredients in the correct order or the drink is rejected.

We see that Zev & Justin try to sell bikinis at 12:38. Later they give up and start making drinks instead. They arrive as Kisha & Jen leave, at this stage the Globetrotters have made more than 60 drinks. Zev & Justin quickly realize that there isn't really any way to make up time on this side of the detour. Since the drink making process is mandated there is really nothing you can do to speed up the process. Hence there is really no way to gain any significant time on another team. Both remaining teams realize this so the Globetrotters start dancing with the music and Zev & Justin starts tasting their drinks.

Choice quotes:
 "We need somebody who is drunk", Justin identifies their target customers
 "I really want to have one", Jen wants one of the drinks
 "We don't have any problem drinking all of them when we are done", Big Easy is thirsty

Teams complete the detour in the following order:
 1(+0) Gary & Mallory (rocks)
 2(+0) Kisha & Jen (rocks)
 3(+0) Flight Time & Big Easy (rocks)
 4(+0) Zev & Justin (beach and then rocks)

Route info: "Make your way to the next Pit Stop". Teams must now make their way across town to the Museum of Contemporary Art (32km 0:32). The pit stop is located on the beach below the museum.

Choice quotes:
 "This is where it ends", Justin gets the episode title
 "He was the race and I was the amazing", Zev sums it up

Teams reach the pit stop in the following order:
 1(+0) Gary & Mallory, win a cruise in the Mediterranean
 2(+0) Kisha & Jen
 3(+0) Flight Time & Big Easy
 4(+0) Zev & Justin, are eliminated

Offline georgiapeach

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Re: Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #11 is on page 1
« Reply #25 on: May 22, 2011, 12:07:03 AM »
Love your summaries!! Thanks for sharing them!
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Offline Prophet

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Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #11 is on page 1
« Reply #26 on: May 22, 2011, 01:05:45 PM »
Thanks for keeping up with these all season, maf! They're really good! :waves:
Physics alone is not enough.

Those who forget history are sure to repeat it.

Offline maf

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Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #12
« Reply #27 on: June 05, 2011, 01:21:58 PM »
And here, finally, is the last leg:


Racing report
Amazing Race Season 18, Leg 12
Film date: 2011-12-12 - 2011-12-13

Teams depart from the same beach they checked in at in the following order:
1.Gary & Mallory        08:54      
2.Kisha & Jen           09:05(+0:11)
3.Flight Time & Big Easy09:29(+0:35)

Route info: "Fly to your final city, Miami Florida". When they land they must make their way to the Richenbacher marina where they will find their next clue. Teams get $354 for this leg of the race.

All teams book the same flight AA 998 from San Paolo at 01:10 with arrival in Miami at 06:30. Why they choose to fly through San Paolo is unclear since there were better direct flights. Also it turns out that AA998 had major problems and was delayed for almost 10 hours. So teams were apparently switched over to AA930 which departed 03:36 (1.5h late) and landed 09:36 (2h late).

Flight Time & Big Easy check their bags in San Paolo and plan to not fetch them in Miami so they can run faster. we also get to see Gary pushing a baggage cart with Mallory sitting on it (strangely reminiscent of the way Vyxin drove Kent in Zermatt).

Once the plane lands in Miami there is the usual mad dash for the taxis. Teams leave the airport in the following order:
 1. Flight Time & Big Easy
 2. Kisha & Jen
 3. Gary & Mallory

At this time teams have a clue which reads:
Quote
Welcome to Miami

Make your way to the
water! You'll find your
next clue at the Marine
Stadium Marina.

From the wording of that clue we can guess that teams got it after they landed. Sightings at the airport also indixate that all teams of the season were seen and all received clues and rushed into taxis. This level of decoy usage is something we haven't seen before.

Gary & Mallory get a double zero in the taxi roulette and get a driver who does not know where the marina is and apparently is unable to call for help. So they fall behind.

Teams arrive at the marina (18km 0:21) in the following order:
 1(+1) Kisha & Jen, around 10:10
 2(-1) Flight Time & Big Easy, seconds after #1
 3(+0) Gary & Mallory, after the first two teams have left

Road block: "Who's confident about handling a boat?" Here team members must operate a forklift to transport a boat from the edge of the water to a storage rack without dropping it.

Choice quotes:
 "Basically, it's like a car", The operator makes the forklift sound easy to operate

Teams complete the road block in the following order:
1(+1)Flight Time* & Big Easy(6-5)
2(-1)Kisha* & Jen           (6-5)
3(+0)Gary* & Mallory        (6-5)Probably about 25 minutes behind the first teams

Route info, teams must now head to Key Largo and find Jules' undersea lodge. Teams arrive at the lodge (95km 1:10) in the following order:
 1(+0) Flight Time & Big Easy
 2(+0) Kisha & Jen
 3(+0) Gary & Mallory

Flight Time & Big Easy send their taxi to fill up the tank while they perform the task.

Here teams encounter a second road block:
Quote
You're going on a
treasure hunt.

Using a personal
submarine, search the
undersea world for your
next clue.

Team members must drive a personal submarine, know as a Bob dive, through a school of mermaids as they search among dozens of floating treasure chests for one containing their next clue.

The underwater world teams must travel through is bizarre, with a mermaid band playing at a stage and a number of mermaids swimming around.

Choice quotes:
 "I'm not necessarily afraid of water. I just panic at, you know, appropriate times when people should panic", Jen explains her fear of water
 "It was fun, it was like a little motorcycle under the water", Big Easy enjoyed the road block
 "Two wetsuits lying up there is not a very good sign", Gary realize the other teams have already left

Teams complete the road block in the following order:
1(+0)Flight Time & Big Easy*(6-6)
2(+0)Kisha & Jen*           (6-6)
3(+0)Gary & Mallory*        (6-6)

As they leave the road block Big Easy & Flight Time realize that their taxi driver has not returned yet. They start running up the road and soon encounter him so they do not loose that much time.

Route info: "Off the coast of Big Pine Key there is a camp just by the sea. To find the mile marker near where you should be subtract 4 from 33. Teams must now figure out that they need to find a camp site near mile marker 29. Teams reach this clue box (121km 1:38) in the following order:
 1(+1) Kisha & Jen
 2(-1) Flight Time & Big Easy, arrive a couple of minutes after #1
 3(+0) Gary & Mallory, arrive after the others have left

As the first two teams left the undersea lodge we see that the Globetrotters stop to ask for directions while Kisha & Jen seems to know where it is so they just drive on and thus they jump ahead of the Globetrotters.

Route info: "Walk across the ocean to Horseshoe island. If you can find the tallest tree you will find your next clue." Teams must now wade to a small island covered in bushes and a few trees. Teams find the clue box on the island in the following order:
 1(+1) Kisha & Jen
 2(-1) Flight Time & Big Easy
 3(+0) Gary & Mallory

Route info: "Time for you to pick up speed. Return to the Sea camp and pick up a speed boat..." Teams must now return to the mainland and take a thrilling high speed boat ride to Maraton marina. Once there they will travel on foot to the Galway bay mobile home park to get their next clue.

The boat ride is fast, wet and cold. And unlike some earlier seasons (for example 13) none of the boats break down so team positions and intervals are unchanged as they reach the mobile home park (which is very close to the marina).

Route info: "Create trailerhood". Teams must choose a small trailer, wheel it onto a marked lot and hook it up to the local utilities. Then using a picture as a reference teams must set up the ultimate Florida trailerhood. Complete with a kiddie pool (incl rubber ducks), ornaments and a table with ketchup etc on it.

This is a pay attention to detail type of task. It is not made any easier by the fact that Florida may be sunny today, but it also is very windy. So getting things to stay put is a challenge. The only thing not moved by the wind is the hairdo of Rosie, the judge. Also all Rosie says is that it is not correct and it is up to the teams to figure out what is wrong.

This is the task where Gary & Mallory finally catches up with the other teams. They are vitalized by the sight of the other teams (which they haven't seen since the airport) and do their utmost to catch up.

Choice quotes:
 "All of a sudden hurricane Andrew hit, and we were in trouble", Big Easy explains how the wind suddenly picked up
 "When they do somethin' stupid, we think it's funny", One of the locals watching the show
 "This is ridiculous", Kisha & Jen have trouble with the wind
 "Despite the wind, it does not look like the brochure", Rosie the judge gets to say this a lot

The details most of the teams had the most trouble with was the soda cans which were supposed to be on the table. They were in a cupboard inside the trailer and therefore not obvious as most of the other stuff seemed to be.

Teams complete the challenge in the following order:
 1(+0) Kisha & Jen
 2(+0) Flight Time & Big Easy
 3(+0) Gary & Mallory

Route info: "At last, the Finish line. Travel by taxi to the parking lot before old 7 mile bridge...". Once teams reach the parking lot they find tricycles which they are meant to be riding to the finish line at Pigeon Key.

Teams reach the parking lot (1.5km 0:03) in the following order:
 1(+0) Kisha & Jen
 2(+0) Flight Time & Big Easy
 3(+0) Gary & Mallory

Teams now have to endure a grueling 2 miles cycling leg. That would not have been too bad if it wasn't for the now very strong wind from the front and the side. This makes the going slow and unsteady.

Choice quotes:
 "We are going on those tricycles, just 7 miles", Kisha is pumped for the final sprint
 "I ain't in that kind of shape", But Jen is a bit more hesitant

Despite her bravado Kisha is the one struggling on the bridge and Jen is the one in front who have to shout encouragement all the time.

The cycling sequence is cut to look like the Globetrotters are about to catch up. But despite the fact that there is aerial footage of them cycling they never show a shot containing both teams. Form this we can deduce that the distance between them was pretty great. This is confirmed in the exit interviews where the Globetrotters say they never even saw Kisha & Jen. But at least it looks exciting.

Teams eventually reach Phil at the finish line in the following order:
 1(+0) Kisha & Jen, win $$$$$
 2(+0) Flight Time & Big Easy
 3(+0) Gary & Mallory

Choice quotes:
 "The Sinister Deaf Kid TAR-14", Shirt worn by Luke shows he has humor
 "Three second places and we came in first when it counted", Jen
 "Team number one?", Big Easy jokes on the finish line
 "We got beat up by a couple of girls, but that's okay", Flight time
 "We know money isn't everything, but the experience is priceless", Mallory
« Last Edit: June 06, 2011, 02:21:14 PM by maf »

Offline georgiapeach

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Re: Re: Racing report TAR18, leg #12 is on page 2
« Reply #28 on: June 10, 2011, 06:46:30 PM »
Thanks Maf for another great season of outsatnding recap/summaries!! This will be of great historical use in the future as well.

:yourock:
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