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Episodes September 25 October 2 October 9 October 16 |
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| Eleven teams of two, joined by family or relationship, follow a path of twists and turns in a frenetic race around the world for $1 million. Who will be the first to cross the finish line? Recaps by Chris Wolvie, GSNN
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I Feel Like I'm In
the Circus PREVIOUSLY ON THE AMAZING RACE: Sixteen wacky Racers travelled from Indonesia to the beautiful tropical island of Phuket, Thailand. They sprinted on a long floating dock, built coral reef nurseries, set up beach chairs and umbrellas and climbed limestone rock faces en route to a floating village. For the third straight time (and first CLEAN time, according to them), Andy & Tommy (Team Snow Shredders) nabbed the coveted "Team #1" spot AND five grand apiece. Liz & Marie (Team Twin Grads) struggled with the DETOUR and ended up last to arrive...but were saved as this was another Non-Elimination Leg (N.E.L.). They'll have a SPEED BUMP to do THIS Leg...but at least they're still Racing. Eight teams continue to circumnavigate the globe for a million dollars...which one will be outta here NEXT?! PIT STOP
#4A The teams were transported off the village and back to the marina where the chaos started yesterday. Three times, Team Snow Shredders have stood on the mat ahead of everyone else. Three times, they received the Leg-starting clue. And, for the third time, they "rip and read"...this time to start Leg 5:
(The "local transportation", unbeknownist to them, are four-ton Asian elephants.) Andy & Tommy are God-fearing
snowboarders. In fact, they each have a reading from the Bible etched
on their backpacks: Andy has Proverbs 19:2 and Tommy has 1 Thessalonians
5:16 (look 'em up, if you'd like). The other teams' deaprture times
(local time): ANDA
ADVENTURES It's a quick ride to the Adventure and it's stress-free with the hour-long lead they have...but, before Team Snow Shredders head to the hills, they notice a black-and-yellow sign with the picture of a pair of twins on it. It's the SPEED BUMP Team Twin Grads will have to endure. More on that later. The dudes seem stoked to be riding an elephant up the river. After a while, the "driver" hops off and lets Tommy on the elephant's thick neck to let HIM "drive". Andy says he's getting an elephant if they win the Race; "they can do some serious four-wheeling!". An hour later, Justin & Jennifer hope on their own pachyderm (with Jennifer promising a back massage with her feet). As other teams start the ride to the ride (and Bill & Cathi and Liz & Marie are still PIT STOPped), Andy & Tommy arrive at their next clue. And it's a:
Ro-sham-bo...and Andy is forced into the jungle. The flutist is easy to find...but the clue...not so much. The mud is churned by the waterfall and makes the water a brown and cloudy mess. And it's fairly deep, too. So Andy dives in, looking for the clue. He's not even sure what the clue LOOKS like. Fortunately, something bumps against his foot and, when he dives, he emerges with a brown burlap package tied up with a red-and-yellow Race tag on it. Andy unwraps the package to find a ceramic koi fish with the words "BREAK ME" on its bottom. Bringing it to Tommy, they bust it up to find this clue:
Up on the elephant the leaders go as it heads on its long trek back to home base. As Team Sexagenarians start their Leg, Team Georgia Sibs hit the ROADBLOCK and Justin goes to work looking for that clue. Unlike Andy, he uses a stick to try to haul up the clue...but he STILL has to wade deep into the pool. As Team Get-To-Know and Team Drake Wannabes start the trek up river, Justin finds the koi fish and he and his sis depart in 2nd. Team Hut-Hut! and Team Contradiction arrive at the start of the ride. And Liz & Marie STILL haven't STARTED the Leg...and STILL need to do that SPEED BUMP! Oh, dear.... LOCAL
SHOPPE Many Thai workers are busy building and painting the VERY intricate little shrines. It is here that Team Snow Shredders jog into. They decide to take a "mental picture" of the "Spirit House" just in case they need to RE-assemble it at the Temple. Slowly and carefully, they remove the ceramic figurines from the shrine and then take the shrine itself apart. Along with the pedastal the shrine was on, they load everything into their awaiting songthaew and head for the Temple. As Team Georgia Sibs head downstream, they pass the next two teams going UPstream. They exchange a few words as the elephants maneuver around each other...and, suddenly, Sandy is scared for some reason. WAT
CHANATHIGARAN TEMPLE At the beautiful Temple built in 1630, Andy & Tommy arrive. They find the pot with the clue...and they run into ANOTHER:
Well,...whadayaknow? It WAS a good thing that Andy & Tommy remembered how it looked before! Now Tommy can reassemble it right! Or...TRY to, anyway. Strangely, these Christians have no qualms about being at a Buddhist temple; they feel their God is the one true one but...they are tolerable to other beliefs. Sadly, Tommy's first attempt to reassemble it is dismissed by the monk; he only paid attention to one side of the "house". Finally, after a few other failed attempts, Tommy decides on something drastic: RETURNING to the shoppe and memorizing the WHOLE Spirit House himself.. Back at the first ROADBLOCK, Sandy elects to go swimming for Team Get-To-Know and Laurence for Team Drake Wannabes. The water is still cloudy...but, suddenly, Laurence sees the burlap on the bottom, dives and retrieves the clue. He and Zac depart in 3rd...and Sandy realizes SHE has to dive down to get HER clue and DOES, allowing her and Jeremy to leave in 4th. Uh,...one problem, though; Laurence & Zac's elephant is being tempermental and is not going too willingly. That's a shame because Amani & Marcus and Ernie & Cindy are just arriving at the ROADBLOCK. Tommy arrives back at the shoppe and jots down how the shrine looks on a clue (not against the Rules of the Race, apparantly). And Bill & Cathi arrive at the start of the elephant trek. And, FINALLY, Team Twin Grads depart the PIT STOP. Three hours behind the leaders and nearly a whole hour behind the 7th-place team, their prospects are grim. But...they're smiling. Even if they remain last, they'll still staying positive as per the instructions of their recently-departed father. Marcus and Cindy are the "water music" lovers for this ROADBLOCK for their teams. They look among the foliage and nearby the waterfall itself, not suspecting they need to dive. Back at the second ROADBLOCK, Tommy has returned and is working on the Spirit House again. And THIS time, he gets it correct! He and Andy go to another monk who hand them this clue:
As the snowboarders haul to the bus, Justin & Jennifer arrive at the shoppe and start to take the shrine apart...and they, TOO, feel that the details of the shrine are important. THEY, however, are clever and use the songthaew driver's camera phone to take pics of the temple before taking it apart. When they arrived at the second ROADBLOCK, Jennifer asks the driver to help her take the pieces out and uses the phone pics to reassemble it easily. Not only do Team Georgia Sibs leave this ROADBLOCK still in 2nd, but they gained some valuable time on Team Snow Shredders. Back at the Water Music ROADBLOCK, Marcus reaches down to grab his clue, allowing him and Amani to leave in 5th. Cindy takes the hint and dives down to retrieve HER koi, meaning she and Ernie can leave in 6th. And over at the shoppe, Jeremy & Sandy LIKEWISE surmise they'll need to reassemble the shrine...so they get to memorizing and taking notes. If Laurence & Zac didn't figure out that part en route, seeing Team Get-To-Know taking notes should have given them the hint. But Laurence insists on disassembling it and getting ahead of the other team. They do leave for the Temple in 3rd...but the lack of notes MIGHT cancel that lead out. Surprise, Zac! Ya shoulda taken notes like you thought! Now Jeremy can SPRING ahead of you on this ROADBLOCK with the notes HE took! Sure enough, Zac can't seem to get it right...while Jeremy zips through it and he and Sandy depart for the bus depot in 3rd. As such, Zac takes his taxi back to take notes, all but swearing about his father as he does. Laurence mutters that HE could've done this well enough. Too bad it wasn't his decision this time. Still, he's man enough to admit it's not ZAC's fault. Back at the first ROADBLOCK, Cathi goes diving for the clue...and, as she's been doing a LOT of lately, slips into the pool. Still, after some cold groping with her feet she grabs the burlap package, rejoins Bill and they depart for the shoppe in 7th. And NOW Liz & Marie arrive at the Conservation Area. And NOW they're ready to ride the elephant (which Marie is VERY excited about). But NOW they have to do a...
They seem fine with the task, especially since the manure doesn't seem to smell too bad. It takes some time to fill the basket, though. Marie is thrilled to DEATH to even be TOUCHING the elephant, let alone washing it. As Team Twin Grads finish the SPEED BUMP, Team Sexagenarians arrive from the return trek and head for the shoppe. Back at the shoppe, Zac makes notes and splits...just as Team Hut-Hut! and Team Contradiction arrive. Ernie & Cindy don't seem to figure out about making notes about the spirit house...but Amani & Marcus take down diligent notes. Well,...Sandy has an INKLING as she watches the other couple jotting...but Ernie seems to think it's unnecessary as they load the house into the taxi (he says the clue didn't say anything about re-assembling it). Meanwhile, Zac returns to the temple, assembles the house correctly and he and Laurence leave in 4th. And, when Team Contradiction arrives, they get the bad news: Ernie needs to put the house together blindly. He seems confident enough as he starts and Amani gets HER clue and builds with the notes taken PHUKET
BUS TERMINAL Would you pay $150 for taxi service? Well, that's what team Snow Shredders did when prompted for the bill. Now they only have $36 for the rest of the Leg. the GOOD news is they're on the earliest 18-hour bus ride to Bangkok, which leaves at 4:30pm local time. Right behind them is Team Georgia Sibs, who likewise catch the same bus. Behind them are Team Get-To-Know and Team Drake Wannabes. The four teams get ready to start their LONG trek to the Thai capital. But...Laurence & Zac booked through a different company and got "first class" tickets on a DIFFERENT bus. Da Rules of Da Race state you can't book first class seats on a plane...but does it also apply to OTHER transportation? Well, when the two busses roll out to Bangkok, Zac starts getting worried about a penalty. They get off the bus and start the long trek back to the bus station, leaving the other three teams well ahead. Back at ROADBLOCK #2, Ernie finally gives up and takes his taxi back to the shoppe to get notes on the house. This allows Amani to finish unharrased and she and Marcus head for the bus station in 5th...and leave Sandy a little upset. Before Ernie arrives there, Bill & Cathi show up. They, likewise, get out paper and pencil and jot down how the house looks. As they start to dissasemble, Ernie shows up and starts to jot. The two arrive back at the temple about the same time and Bill gets to work. Ernie works things out...but STILL gets a 'no' from the judge. But he finally gets it right and he and Sandy leave in 5th. Bill has it easy and he and Cathi to depart in sixth. Back at ROADBLOCCK #1, Marie dives in to find the last burlap bag of ceramic koi...which she finds rather quickly. They then head for the shoppe, take notes, disassemble the house and bring it to the temple. Liz gets to reassemble...but her notetaking might be a bit off. At the terminal, Amani & Marcus get tickets to a 5:30pm-departing bus, followed swiftly by Bill & Cathi (who somehow passed Team Contradiction, who arrive close behind). Ernie & Cindy have a hard time ponying up with their driver, though, as he refuses American currency. They give him a $100 bill and leave it at that...but he FOLLOWS them and all but demands the 4500 bhat owed. A female bystander throws in HER two bhat, saying the Americans are ripping the driver off. The woman even says she'll call the police on them. They finally compromise for US$150...and take a DIFFERENT bus (though not first-class, apparantly) than the other two teams. As both teams depart...an exhausted Laurence & Zac return. The next bus to Bangkok is not until 8pm. So they kick back and relax. Liz finishes the rebuilding and she and Marie deaprt the ROADBLOCK in last. The sun sets...Laurence & Zac board (though they're not happy with the crying baby in the back)...and the bus takes off before Team Twin Grads arrive. They have to take the next bus, leaving...RIGHT AWAY. But, again, the language barrier and the money barrier hit hard as the girls give all their money to their cabbie...and STILL don't have enough according to him. As they haggle...the bus leaves. Marie's "best day ever" has officially turned into a nightmare! But, WAIT...the driver agrees to the money given...and the bus has stopped to WAIT for them! PLUS, the cabbie drives them TO the bus for FREE! They're broke...but they're on their way to.... BANGKOK, THAILAND It's been said one night here makes "a hard man humble" and "a tough man tumble". Well, what does an all-night bus ride INTO the city do to a man? Let's find out, shall we? Apparantly, Ernie & Cindy took a "bullet bus" with very few stop-overs as they arrived in the city first and they catch a cab to the canal. A few minutes later, the first major bus arrives. Teams Georgia Sibs, Snow Shredders and Get-To-Know get out, get taxis and get going. Not too soon after THAT, the OTHER packed bus arrives and Team Sexagenarians and Hut-Hut! load out to find cabs. The last two teams are still on the road (and Liz & Marie are wondering how they'l do by walking everywhere). BANGKOK
NOI CANAL Team Contradiction are pointed to the right area by a red-and-yellow arrow sign. The onlooker allows them to go to the edge of the lake and toss hunks of the food over the rail and to the frenzied koi fish. Once every crumb has been sent to be devoured, the onlooker gives them this clue:
The cabbie's none to sure about where the place is...but he phones a friend who most likely knows so...no worries for Ernie & Cindy. Traffic in downtown Bongkok is none to different from any other big city in the world. In other words, it STINKS! Andy & Tommy, Jeremy & Sandy and Justin & Jennifer know that firsthand. But Bill & Cathi and Amani & Marcus...their cabbies found a way AROUND it and brought them to the canal in record time. After feeding the fish, they head for the PIT STOP in second and third place. Team Drake Wannabes finally arrive at the bus terminal and get a cab. They feel they have to go really fast...but, really, there's no need. Liz & Marie arrive a little later and, without money for a cab, find directions to the canal and get to hikin'. Then again, they ARE going faster than some of the teams in traffic. Ernie & Cindy decide to ditch the cab and hot-foot it the rest of the way to the PIT STOP...or, at least, find a cab NOT stuck between cars. Later, they regret it. PIT
STOP #5 Up to Phil and the local greeter one team comes. They hit the mat, get the greeting and the good news from Phil: "Amani & Marcus...you are Team # 1!" They were in dead last for a while earlier in the Race...but the pro-footballer and his wife rose to the top of this Leg. (Kinda like the Detroit Lions, huh?) And their reward for their persistance? Besides getting hugs from Bill & Cathi (Team #2)? A 5-night trip to Bali from Travelocity(TM)! Ah, HERE comes Ernie & Cindy. They're SURPRISED to be Team #3...but, hell, they'll take it! Oh, Liz & Marie are in trouble. According to a local, it would take them FIVE HOURS to walk to the canal from there. Still, they had no money...and it would've felt wrong to them to beg for money in such a poor neighborhood...and hitchhiking is illegal...so what choice do they have? Back on the road, Andy & Tommy arrive at the canal at last. Right behind them are Jeremy & Sandy. They start another fish-feeding frenzy and grab their clues in 4th and 5th respectively. While Team Snow Shredders run off, Team Get-To-Know take a tuk-tuk (three-wheeled taxi found in Southeast Asia) and have HIM take them there. As they go, Team Georgia Sibs arrives, feed the fish and head for the PIT STOP in 6th. OK, the hiking has lost its luster; Team Twin Grads decide to beg a taxi driver for a ride. They come across someone...and, lo-and-behold, he say he'll do it pro bono for the girls! The roller coaster of a 24 hours is back up for them...though, if they don't beat Laurence & Zac, that last dip will be a doozy! Andy & Tommy likewise count on the kindness of strangers to get directions to the PIT STOP, stopping at a college and asking a lady for the way. As they wait for the results, Team Drake Wannabes arrive at the canal and feed the fish. They leave in 7th and decide to cab it. And that's when Team Snow Shredders find out they gave their clue to a TEACHER...who was rushing to a CLASS! But they can't wait for the class to end! Another girl decides to CALL the teacher to sort things out. They wait...and pray...and finally the teacher appears with someone else who had access to Google Maps(TM). Once they learn how far it was, they look for a cheap taxi. Back at the PIT STOP, Justin & Jennifer check-in as Team #4. Again, they'll take it. Some ways away, Team Get-To-Know get walking directions to the home. And Liz & Marie arrive at the canal, feed and depart in last. They try begging ANOTHER cabbie for a free ride...and they get ANOTHER one. They may be in last...but they're still not out of it yet. Jeremy & Sandy find a cab and learn it's a half-hour walk to the place...so they get in the cab and haul. Andy & Tommy arrive at the PIT STOP...with Laurence & Zac right behind them. They are Teams #5 and #6 respectively...and the snowboarders' three-Leg winning streak is over. And the father and son learn that the rule about first-class travel ONLY applies to planes...so they got off the bus in Phuket for naught! DOH!! Two teams...two cabs...two hard days...who will be the last to the Heritage Home? "Jeremy & Sandy," says a saddened Phil, "guess you have a pretty good idea what I'm going to say." As the couple get ready to say good-bye to the Race, Phil shocks them by saying they're Team #7 and still in the Race! Liz & Marie get the bad news from Phil: they're last...and their globe-hopping days are over for this Race. They cry because they wanted to keep going after the "bad year" they've had what with their dad gone and all. Still, they think their dad would've been proud with how they ran the Race. Plus, hell, they played with elephants! How often you gonna do THAT in your life?! All-in-all, no regrets.
To see this episode in its entirety, or to apply to be a contestant on "The Amazing Race", visit the official website at www.cbs.com/amazingrace. |
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