Topic: AMAZING RACE ASIA COMMENTARY

[zippo]

Thanks. Apparently, Marc & Rovilson's fans aren't happy with me

I'm a fan of M&R and I hope they win.  That being said, TARAsia Fan, you're entitled to hate them and express your opinion about them as much as I'm entitled to like them and express your opinion of them.

Free expression rules! 

[georgiapeach]

to the forum, zippo! 

And Ken will love you for this:

That being said, TARAsia Fan, you're entitled to hate them and express your opinion about them as much as I'm entitled to like them and express your opinion of them.

[apskip]

I thought it would be appropriate to record my prediction of flights taken from Capetown to Bangkok, assuming that that is the metorpolitan area for the ARA2 Finish Line of this race. This could have been on July 22 if normal rest stop or on July 23 if the Aquila Game Reserve as an extended 36 hour rest stop. It doesn't matter as these flights are the same either way:

Teams will release from pitstop in the early morning and drive about 2 hours to the CPT airport, then

Capetown to Johannesburg  Air Mango 122 0545 0750  or any of 13 other flights that arrive by 1230 in JNB
Johannesburg to Singapore  South African Airways 479 1330 0555
Singapore Bangkok  Jet Asia 511 0705 0825

[apskip]

My final TIMELINE for ARA2:

July 5 - ARA2 begins in Singapore

July 6 - Manila

July 7 Hong Kong; Auckland

July 8 Auckland

July 9 drive to Rotorua

July 10 - Rotorua

July 11 - fly Rotorua to Tokyo; train to Fukuoka; TBC

July 12 - hydrofoil Fukuoka to Busan,Korea

July 13 - drive Busan, Korea to Seoul

July 14 - fly Seoul to Frankfurt

       15 Frankfurt; Frankfurt to Prague by train

July 17 - Prague

July 18 - Prague to Budapest by train
              Budapest  

July 20 - fly Budapest to CapeTown
       21 CapeTown area

July 22 - CapeTown area;
       23  fly to Singapore
       24 Tanjong Beach, Sentosa Island Singapore for Flag ROADBLOCK; FINISH LINE at nearby Chinese Gardens

TOTAL DURATION of AMAZING RACE ASIA - 20 Days

[apskip]

Here is some information that I consider important about the episode 13 flight:

1. The entire episode was built around it, because SQ481 only flies on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. In order for the race to get this nonstop flight(highly desirable because the race designers hate connecting flight for going to the Finish Line) they had to assure that the tasks would occupy the teams until after 1030, which is when the last flight to Johannesburg that could catch a connection to Singapore on Sunday July 22 would leave.

2. All that frenetic activity around CapeTown was merely to make sure no team could get to the airport too early. Marc and Rovilson got to the first task at the District Six Museum presumably just after it opened at 8am. Sunset was 6pm at CapeTown on July 22 and I think Pamela and Vanessa arrived at the airport after completing all those tasks at about 6pm judging from the clouds.

3. All teams would have gotten a hotel near the airport.

4. SQ481 departed at noon on July 23 and arrived Singapore at 0525 July 24. This had the benefit of getting the teams to Sentosa Island Jantong Beach long before the public would have wanted to be there.

[apskip]

Adrian and Collin were fortunate to avoid the home-town hex. It nearly got them, as their unfortunate and unthinking decision to not retain their taxicab at the Raffles Statue might have been extremely costly. They were lucky for these reasons:

1. The Roadblock was tailor made to fit Adrian's extraordinary knowledge of world flags. It could have been anything, although a knowledge-based roadblock was a good bet.

2. The decision of Marc and Rovilson to alternate roadblocks and the fact that Marc had already used up his 6th one left it to Rovilson to do that task. Had Marc been able to do it, they probably would have finished before Adrian and Collin even arrived at the roadblock.