I'd like to digress from the Ep 8 discussion a moment and jump ahead to the last 2 legs before the finale.
We know thanks to puddin's and Boingo's work on the Intro screencaps that they are going to Muscat, Oman.
http://forum.realityfanforum.com/index.php/topic,15379.msg350220.html#msg350220 
This is the Barr Al Jissah Resort - Muscat, Oman
So where else will they go before the finale?
We have some Intro vidcaps that strongly suggest East Africa to me.
We have what on first glance looked like Jumping Maasai warriors, but on second glance are women. Those dresses are distinctive and could possibly be matched?
We also have what Slowhatch identified as Cape Buffalo:
Are we sure they're water buffalo and not Cape buffalo?
And we have this generic street scene which looks like so many I have seen in Kenya and Tanzania.
There is also this one which looks like an Arab dhow to me. Could be Oman or even Cochin, but reminds me again of East Africa.
Other connections: Michael McKay produced "Ultimate Escape" which went to both Oman and Tanzania so it is reasonable to think that he has connections there. He said in
TarAsiaFan's Interview:
Actually one of my absolute favourite locations comes up towards the very end of this series so more on that another time.
That could be Oman, but I keep thinking/hoping Tanzania.
And lastly, TARA has been following in the footsteps of TAR a lot this season. There is a "lost" ie unused Tanzanian leg from AllStars that was cancelled at the VERY last minute. It seems reasonable to think that the plans for that leg are intact and could be utilized for TARA 3.
And mostly, sentimentally, East Africa is one of my most favorite places in the world, and I would love for them to go there.
SO we still have loads to accomplish in Oman, and lots to speculate on re if East Africa (I think Tanzania) seems likely.
Apskip I'm sure can give us some insight as to whether it would make more sense to go Cochin>>Oman>>Tanzania>>Asia? or to go Cochin>>Tanzania>>Oman>>Asia? always realizing of course, that Tanzania is speculation only at this point.
And then we have the Finale....
We still have that one news article saying "filming in Europe" but I think personally that is unlikely.
Will they follow tradition and return to Bangkok? Maybe...but somehow that doesn't seem likely either.
I will say that I am still hearing buzz about Beijing, so perhaps that is not entirely out of the picture? But so far this is the best kept secret of TARA 3 and good for them!
So maybe:
Leg 1
Bangkok to
Chiang Mai Neena/Amit eliminatedLeg 2 Chiang Mai to
Saigon William/Isaac eliminatedLeg 3 Saigon to
Hue Natalie/Pailin eliminatedLeg 4 Hue to
Taiwan Niroo/Kapil eliminated Leg 5
Taiwan Mai/Oliver eliminatedLeg 6 Taiwan to
Hong Kong NEL
Leg 7 HK to
Macau NEL
Ida/Tania must arrive first in the next leg or receive a 30 minute penaltyLeg 8 Macau to
Cochin, India Must be an Elim (I&T, please take your 30 minute penalty and then...keep on racing?
) 4 teams remain
Leg 9 Cochin to
East Africa?? either NEL or TBC
Leg 10
East Africa?? to
Muscat, Oman Elim, 3 teams remain
Leg 11 Muscat, Oman to
Finale, location
unknown possibly back to
Thailand OR
Leg 9 Cochin to
Muscat, Oman either NEL or TBC
Leg 10 Muscat, Oman to
East Africa?? Elim, 3 teams remain
Leg 11
East Africa to
Finale, location
unknown possibly back to
Thailand by "Tradition"
BLUE=speculation
Thoughts? Ideas? Spoilers?
