Topic: TAR 18 Elimination Station--Speculation/Discussions **may contain spoilers**

[DrRox]

With that arrival of the Elimination Station teams with the Final 3.......it might be fun to try to figure out where the ES was located and how TPTB got all the teams to Sao Paulo. I will try to copy and paste all the posts so far about the ES from the TAR 18 Speculation thread over here.

Normally, we have 5 teams travel to the Eliminatin Station, So far for TAR 18, we know 3.
Eliminated Teams
1) Amanda and Kris   Broken Hill, Australia
2) Mel and Mike         Tokyo, Japan
3) Jamie and Cara     Kunming, China
4)                    
5)                        


Where ever you speculate the ES is......how are you gonna get the teams to Sao Paulo, Brasil?

Past Elimination Stations
TAR11   Acapulco, Mexico                     west to east race                        End City  =  San Francisco, CA
TAR 12  Portugal                                   west to east race                                      =  near Anchorage, AK
TAR 13  Acapulco, Mexico                      east to west race                                      =  Portland, OR
TAR 14  Ko Samui, Thailand                   west to east race                                       =  Maui, Hawaii
TAR 15  Vietnam                                   east to west race                                       =  San Francisco, CA
TAR 17  Isla Mujeres, Mexico                 west to east race                                       =  Los Angeles, Ca   

[DrRox]

Posts from the Live Sightings Thread.

to TAR 18 FINALE DAY!

ALL 11 teams have arrived into Miami airport from Sao Paulo Brazil. 

more coming.

[DrRox]

Posts from the TAR 18 Speculation thread.

Did you all even read this??

to TAR 18 FINALE DAY!

ALL 11 teams have arrived into Miami airport from Sao Paulo Brazil.  

We were telling you that ALL 11 teams arrived on the same flight.

8 teams exited customs and immediately began racing decoy thru Miami airport....some with clues in hand...in MIAMI airport on a busy Monday morning around 930!!

Yeah now I think about it, it's possible that ES was in SE Asia or Australia. Then a flight to Sao Paulo from Sydney or Auckland.

I was very surprised at the lack of social networking activity yesterday. They usually do a pretty good job of hiding the final though and having all the teams running around is going to make a mess of things.

One thought from that info is that ES may have been in South America so the FT/BE sighting does not definitely mean that they were still an active team.

I spent most of yesterday looking for clues - nothing out there - or it was hidden under tons of TAR17 congratulatory tweets. (Apparently TAR 17 ended on Sunday.)

Oh - did you mean Miami Florida or Miami Ohio?  

You are so funny.... Miami Ohio indeed.

That was good strategy.  Whether it worked or not!

Lots of distracting tweets.... something else going on... ALL teams on the same flight!! (I think that is a first)... lots of ohmygoshIcan't believe NO-ONE saw themdecoys!!!!!!!!!!

Was ES in Brazil? I like that!  

Was ES in Brazil? I like that!  

I don't think so....I think they were just brought in.

Not sure that there was a task in SP either, they could have just driven to the flights??

And that hours long flight delay could nave been due to pilot illness....

Yeah now I think about it, it's possible that ES was in SE Asia or Australia. Then a flight to Sao Paulo from Sydney or Auckland.

Yes, it could have been there but why not South America? There are plenty of nice resorts to send them to along the Atlantic coast in Brazil, or to an estancia in Uruguay or Argentina or even to somewhere near Santiago. The 2 places I know for sure that have non-stop flights from Auckland are Santiago and Buenos Aires and from Buenos Aires you can get to Uruguay or Brazil.

Yeah now I think about it, it's possible that ES was in SE Asia or Australia. Then a flight to Sao Paulo from Sydney or Auckland.

Yes, it could have been there but why not South America? There are plenty of nice resorts to send them to along the Atlantic coast in Brazil, or to an estancia in Uruguay or Argentina or even to somewhere near Santiago. The 2 places I know for sure that have non-stop flights from Auckland are Santiago and Buenos Aires and from Buenos Aires you can get to Uruguay or Brazil.

Maybe they chose Elimination Station for Australia or South-East Asia because a majority of the early eliminations took place in that part of the world. We know they were in India until Leg 5, maybe even Leg 6.

It would minimise costs to keep everyone in that part of the world, for example, getting Amanda & Kris a flight from AUS to for example Sao Paulo, getting Mel & Mike a flight from Japan to Sao Paulo, Jaime & Cara a flight from China to Sao Paulo - that would be more expensive than keeping them all in, for example, Australia.

I dunno, I'm just speculating here.

The Elimination Station could be in India for all we know.  

did you thing brazil elimatoin statoin

If 9 of 11 teams were spotted in Miami airport, do you think the Elimination Station is located somewhere in the Caribbean?

If 9 of 11 teams were spotted in Miami airport, do you think the Elimination Station is located somewhere in the Caribbean?

All the teams came in via Sao Paulo. No idea where ES is....I was guessing Asia.

Hope it's in Asia and i feel that it is located in Southeast Asia if this is their ES location and these are my possible choices:
Thailand, Malaysia or the Philippines.

It could be the Australian outback for all we know (That or SE Asia).

Im thinking south america. Brazil maybe? and welcome to the rff

My two cents worth about the Elimination Station is that it is SE Asia or Australia. My only reasoning is that the first 4-5 elimination would've all taken place before teams left India, which would make that region geographically feasable.

However, I think that RealityTVistheBest's idea of South America could also be very likely, since we know teams flew to Miami from Brazil.

Considering all of the facts that we have accumulated, all I can conclude is:

ES is not in Antarctica!

I also was thinking the eliminated teams could have been brought back as part of a challenge for the first time.

If the E/S was in Asia it was probably 80% sure in Thailand.

Considering there is no direct flights between Bangkok and Rio De Janiero, a stop in Brazil and a part in a challenge could be very possible.

at antarctica.

I think they may have changed up the ending but only on the spot. What I mean is that they knew everything was getting spoiled by us. Rob mentioned on his radio program how CBS was upset. It possible they decided the throw us all off at the last minute. Send all the teams to Brazil instead of Miami first.

 

[theschnauzers]

It wouldn't surprise me if the Elimination Station was in Brazil.  It'd be a new location, and with the lower exposure, it would be easier to hide the teams there before the return to the final destination city.

[Prophet]

I wouldn't be surprised if ES was somewhere in Europe or South America.

[georgiapeach]

ES is not in Antarctica! 

Darn!! More Unfinished Business!!

[Prophet]

ES is not in Antarctica! 

Darn!! More Unfinished Business!!

How would teams even race in Antarctica? People can only get down there by boats from New Zealand, and these trips are seasonal.

[georgiapeach]

That was a joke.

  But since I researched this heavily for TAR 11, I can tell you it is quite possible to fly in and out.

[Prophet]

That was a joke.

  But since I researched this heavily for TAR 11, I can tell you it is quite possible to fly in and out.

Sorry...guess I don't know that much about Antarctica.

[theschnauzers]

I think Peach and i both researched that for TAR 11; and if anything, it's easier now to fly to the one peninsula of Antarctica than it was then, and that was only 4 years ago.

[DrRox]

One of the places that apskip mentioned......the coast of Brasil is good choice.....fromSantos up to Rio de Janeiro is rift with possibilities........one place I am familiar with is Angra dos Reis....lots and lots of villa type places to rent....and somewhat easy access to GRU for flights to Miami.

[DrRox]

It wouldn't surprise me if the Elimination Station was in Brazil.  It'd be a new location, and with the lower exposure, it would be easier to hide the teams there before the return to the final destination city.

As apskip mentioned......it would be easy to get Amanda/Kris there......two basic routes....Sydney to Auckland to Buenos Aires to Sao Paulo........or Sydney to Auckland to Santiago, Chile to Sao Paulo.....

How would you get Mel and Mike there from Toyko.......JAL used to have a flight from Toyko to Rio/Sao Paulo.....through NYC....over the pole........you could do the same thing for Jamie/Cara......but do you think they would be seen in JFK???    I think maybe JAL stopped the JFK to GIG/GRU portion and only does some codeshares for that part of the flight. Outside Japan and the US......the highest concentration of Japanese people in the world is around Sao Paulo.......hence the reason for the JAL flights there.

Then probably two eliminations in India.....

[Glamazon Racer]

I'm going with my gut feeling and speculating South-East Asia, perhaps even somewhere in China. Amanda & Kris can get to SE Asia from Australia pretty easily, as can Mel & Mike from Japan. Jaime & Cara were out in China anyway, and the fourth eliminated team would be sent home in India. Chances are, the fifth and final team to head to ES was also eliminated in India, so that would minimise costs.

The only problem with my theory is that teams were in Sao Paulo before heading to Miami. That makes me think it was in Brazil or anywhere else in South America.

For me, the biggest possibilities are Asia and South America, but as I said earlier, it could be anywhere but Antarctica!

ES is not in Antarctica! 

Darn!! More Unfinished Business!!

  That's probably the only concrete information I can provide!

[DrRox]

Southeast Asia covers a lot of territory.......can you narrow it down to a country......as you did with Brasil.......What I am getting at.....ES has to be a place where you can load em all up and get them to Sao Paulo rather easily......right?

[Caelestor]

Bangkok to Auckland to Buenos Aires/Santiago to Sao Paolo.

[Reilly Queens]

I was looking into this.

With past elimination stations it is usually put near/close to the first elimination

Like..

TAR11- ES= Mexico, 1st Elimination: Ecuador

Ecuador is close to Mexico

TAR12- ES= Portugal, 1st Elimination: Ireland

Ireland is close to Portugal

TAR13- ES= Mexico, 1st Elimination: Brazil

Brazil is near Mexico

TAR14- ES= Thailand, 1st Elimination: Switzerland

Switzerland is nearish? to Thailand

TAR15- ES= Veitnam, 1st Elimination: Veitnam( USA doesnt count because they didnt go to ES)

Veitnam is Veitnam!


TAR16- ES= Mexico, 1st Elimination: Chile

Chile is near Mexico

TAR17- ES= Mexico, 1st Elimination: England

England is near Mexico


so they are relatively close (except maybe tar14) so maybe this seasons ES is in Asia? or maybe Australia?

[DaNutzki]

i bet this would be in Asia.

[KevinTheAmazingRaceFAN]

I was looking into this.

With past elimination stations it is usually put near/close to the first elimination

Like..

TAR11- ES= Mexico, 1st Elimination: Ecuador

Ecuador is close to Mexico

TAR12- ES= Portugal, 1st Elimination: Ireland

Ireland is close to Portugal

TAR13- ES= Mexico, 1st Elimination: Brazil

Brazil is near Mexico

TAR14- ES= Thailand, 1st Elimination: Switzerland

Switzerland is nearish? to Thailand

TAR15- ES= Veitnam, 1st Elimination: Veitnam( USA doesnt count because they didnt go to ES)

Veitnam is Veitnam!


TAR16- ES= Mexico, 1st Elimination: Chile

Chile is near Mexico

TAR17- ES= Mexico, 1st Elimination: England

England is near Mexico


so they are relatively close (except maybe tar14) so maybe this seasons ES is in Asia? or maybe Australia?

Just so you Switzerland IS NOT near Thailand. It is like ffffaaarrrr away. An England IS NOT near Mexico...are you kidding me?! Somebody needs to study some geography lol

[Glamazon Racer]

Southeast Asia covers a lot of territory.......can you narrow it down to a country......as you did with Brasil.......What I am getting at.....ES has to be a place where you can load em all up and get them to Sao Paulo rather easily......right?

I would place my wager on Thailand, because they've done Thailand before for an ES (TAR14 if I'm not wrong) and I believe Bangkok Airport is fairly large, so they could potentially find a decent route to Sao Paulo.

[gl14]

Southeast Asia covers a lot of territory.......can you narrow it down to a country......as you did with Brasil.......What I am getting at.....ES has to be a place where you can load em all up and get them to Sao Paulo rather easily......right?

I would place my wager on Thailand, because they've done Thailand before for an ES (TAR14 if I'm not wrong) and I believe Bangkok Airport is fairly large, so they could potentially find a decent route to Sao Paulo.

Bangkok is a big hub for flights and so is Kuala Lumpur and there are nice beaches in Malaysia for an ES.

[theschnauzers]

Has the political situation settled down in Bangkok? That has probably been the primary reason they've avoided Thailand in recent seasons.

WRP would want to have eliminated teams in an area they are unlikely to be recognized. Southeast Asia, because of AXN probably comes closer to saturation about the teams, even more than the U.S., because of the multiple airings of each episode, including China, India, Japan, and the Philippines, just for starters. I'm not sure about the level of saturation in Latin America (as to the U.S. version, anyhow, and as I suggested before, that might allow TPTB to hide the eliminated teams better and have them closer to Sao Paulo to meet the final three remaining teams.

[Dånooky]

Blind guess: Brazil

[NumfarPTB]

How would you get Mel and Mike there from Toyko.......JAL used to have a flight from Toyko to Rio/Sao Paulo.....through NYC....over the pole........you could do the same thing for Jamie/Cara......but do you think they would be seen in JFK???    I think maybe JAL stopped the JFK to GIG/GRU portion and only does some codeshares for that part of the flight. Outside Japan and the US......the highest concentration of Japanese people in the world is around Sao Paulo.......hence the reason for the JAL flights there.

Then probably two eliminations in India.....

JAL used to have flights from Narita do GRU. Used to, cause that route was cut during the airline restructure a few months ago, and the last time that route was in action was back in September. The code-share thing with AA is in order, but not with same structure.
Supposing that destination to Sao Paulo is accurate, they probably got Mel / Mike a flight to Seoul, Korea Airlines still have flights to Sao Paulo from Seoul or a flight from any airline to a large city in the US (either LA, Atlanta, Houston or NY), then down to Sao Paulo.

Dånooky  I don't think it might be such a blind guess, as if I read it correctly eliminated teams were spotted boarding flights to Miami from Sao Paulo.

Personal speculation for the ES, if it was really down here somewhere close to Sao Paulo. As Sao Paulo is not a seaboard city, and would make it a boring ES, I say they went to some close city like Ubatuba/SP (about 200km/140mi from GRU) or Paraty/RJ (about 260km / 160mi from GRU). But that's pure speculation of mine, with no research of possible sightings or anything related.

[alextofu07]

blind prediction: New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Hawaii

[Alfwin]

blind prediction: New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Hawaii

If you list these 4,